National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government by an act of the U.S. Congress, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 29, 1965. It is a sub-agency of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The NEA has its offices in Washington, D.C. It was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1995, as well as the Special Tony Award in 2016. In 1985, the NEA won an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its work with the American Film Institute in the identification, acquisition, restoration and preservation of historic films. In 2016 and again in 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts received Emmy nominations from the Television Academy in the Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series category.
In 2025, the Donald Trump administration issued executive orders leading the NEA to ban federal funding for programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion or “gender ideology”, sparking backlash from over 400 artists and a lawsuit from major arts groups with ACLU support. On May 3, the NEA revoked dozens of grants for non-compliance and the same day, Trump proposed eliminating the agency entirely.
History and purpose
The National Endowment for the Arts was created during the term of President Lyndon B. Johnson under the general auspices of the Great Society. According to historian Karen Patricia Heath, "Johnson personally was not much interested in the acquisition of knowledge, cultural or otherwise, for its own sake, nor did he have time for art appreciation or meeting with artists."The NEA is "dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education".
Leadership and initiatives
Governance
The NEA is governed by a chairman nominated by the president to a four-year term and subject to congressional confirmation. The NEA's advisory committee, the National Council on the Arts, advises the chairman on policies and programs, as well as reviewing grant applications, fundraising guidelines, and leadership initiative.National Council on the Arts
The council is composed of 25 members, 18 appointed by the president of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate, six ex officio members, and the chairperson of the NEA, who also serves as chair of the council. The six ex officio members are members of Congress, where two are appointed by the Speaker of the House, one by the Minority Leader of the House, two by the Majority Leader of the Senate, and one by the Minority Leader of the Senate. These six serve two-year terms, and serve as nonvoting members of the council.The eighteen appointed by the President are selected from among private citizens of the United States who are widely recognized for their broad knowledge of, or expertise in, or for their profound interest in the arts; and have established records of distinguished service, or achieved eminence, in the arts; so as to include practicing artists, civic cultural leaders, members of the museum profession, and others who are professionally engaged in the arts; and so as collectively to provide an appropriate distribution of membership among major art fields and interested citizens groups. In making these appointments, the President shall give due regard to equitable representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities who are involved in the arts and shall make such appointments so as to represent equitably all geographical areas in the United States. These are appointed to serve terms of six years. The terms are staggered so three terms end September 3 each year. These members are not eligible for reappointment during the two-year period following the expiration of their term. However, they may continue to serve on the council after their term's expiration until a successor takes office.
Ten members of the council constitutes a quorum.
Current council members
The current council members as of 2024:| Position | Name | Confirmed | Term expiration | Appointed by |
| Chair | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Barack Obama | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member | Joe Biden | |||
| Member ' | — | Chuck Schumer | ||
| Member ' | Vacant | — | — | Chuck Schumer |
| Member ' | Vacant | — | — | Mitch McConnell |
| Member ' | — | Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy | ||
| Member ' | Vacant | — | — | Mike Johnson |
| Member ' | — | Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries |
Nominations
President Biden has nominated the following to fill seats on the commission. They await Senate confirmation.| Name | Term expires | Replacing |
Budget and grants
Between 1965 and 2008, the agency has made in excess of 128,000 grants, totaling more than $5 billion. From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Congress granted the NEA an annual funding of between $160 and $180 million. In 1996, Congress cut the NEA funding to $99.5 million as a result of pressure from conservative groups, including the American Family Association, who criticized the agency for using tax dollars to fund highly controversial artists such as Barbara DeGenevieve, Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, and the performance artists known as the "NEA Four". Since 1996, the NEA has partially rebounded with a 2015 budget of $146.21 million. In FY 2010, the NEA's budget reached mid-1990s levels with a $167.5 million budget but fell again in FY 2011 with a budget of $154 million. On March 11, 2024, President Joe Biden released the President's Budget for FY 2025, with $210.1 million budgeted for the NEA.Grantmaking
The NEA provides grants in the categories of arts projects, national initiatives, and partnership agreements. Grants for arts projects support exemplary projects for artist communities, arts education, dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, local arts agencies, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting, theater, and visual arts.The NEA also grants individual fellowships in literature to creative writers and translators of exceptional talent in the areas of prose and poetry.
The NEA offers partnerships for state, regional, federal, international activities, and design. The state arts agencies and regional arts organizations are the NEA's primary partners in serving the American people through the arts. Forty percent of all NEA funding goes to the state arts agencies and regional arts organizations. Additionally, the NEA awards three Lifetime Honors: NEA National Heritage Fellowships to master folk and traditional artists, NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships to jazz musicians and advocates, and NEA Opera Honors to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to opera in the United States. The NEA also manages the National Medal of Arts, awarded annually by the President.