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For Immediate Release    Dec. 19, 2014

New arts programs available to Kansas communities and organizations

KCAIC, M-AAA and NEA announce opportunities for Kansas arts

The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission (KCAIC) has announced that several new arts opportunities are available for Kansas communities. These include the following projects and programs from the KCAIC, the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA):

• The Kansas Alliance for Arts Education and the KCAIC are partnering to launch the Kansas A+ pilot project in two schools during the 2015-2016 school year. The project will bring a multistate, research based educational model to Kansas. Pre-application meetings will be held on Feb. 11 and 12 from 1-4 p.m. for schools to send teams to learn more about the pilot program. The meetings will be open to all interested educator teams. Locations for those meetings will be finalized in early January. For more information, please contact KCAIC Director Peter Jasso at pjasso@kansascommerce.com.

• The M-AAA is accepting letters of intent for Artistic Innovations Grants until Jan. 16. These grants support the creation of new work and are designed to encourage experimentation and collaboration, and engage audiences throughout M-AAA’s region. For more information, visit maaa.org/innovations16.

• The M-AAA has also announced that its next Regional Touring Program (RTP) grant application deadline is Feb. 1. RTP grants support projects of artistic excellence and merit by underwriting fees of artists who live in the region. For more information, visit maaa.org/rtp.

• The NEA has announced application deadlines of Feb. 19 and July 23 for its Art Works program, supporting the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. Matching grants generally range from $10,000 to $100,000. For more information, visit arts.gov.

• The NEA has announced an April 16 application deadline for Challenge America. This program offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics or disability. For more information, visit arts.gov.

• The NEA has scheduled webinars covering the basics of the Art Works and Challenge America funding categories, including how to apply to the NEA, how to select work samples and how to prepare a strong application. The Art Works webinar is scheduled for Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. The Challenge America session will be on March 11 at 2 p.m. To sign up for the webinars, go to arts.gov/videos/webinars.

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