Government agency created to promote the arts.
In 1965 Congress established the National Endowment for
the Arts, an agency proposed by President Lyndon B. Johnson
under his Great Society program. The NEA sought to celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the United States, support
artists demonstrating excellence in their particular medium,
and promote learning in the arts, and it has been involved in
development of the arts in local communities through a variety of programs. Since 1965 the agency has awarded more
than 119,000 grants in the United States and its territories. In
1966 Congress appropriated $2.8 million for the NEA. Since
that time the budget has increased substantially, reaching a
peak in 1993 with more than $174 million and falling sharply
in 1996 to $99 million. By 2002 the NEA budget had risen
again to $115 million.
The NEA has achieved several successes since its inception. The agency sponsored the competition for the design of
the Vietnam veterans’ memorial in Washington, D.C., funded
the Celebration of Spirit memorial in Oklahoma City to
honor victims of the bombing of the federal building there,
and implemented the Healing Power of the Arts program at
Columbine High School in Colorado after the fatal shooting
of students and teachers. The NEA has also sponsored many
writers who have gone on to win National Book Awards, National Book Critics Circle Awards, and Pulitzer prizes.
The agency often faces sharp criticism when it funds
artists that deviate from accepted forms of art. Several artists
who have received funding from the NEA have used the
money to create projects that are offensive to a large portion
of the American public. The lower level of funding in recent
years may be attributed to the public outcry that resulted in
these cases.
—Cynthia Clark Northrup
References
National Endowment for the Arts: 1965–2000: A Brief
Chronology of Federal Involvement in the Arts.
Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts,
2000.