National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) chair Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects across the country in the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $20,000 to the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) to expand its Artist-in-Residence Program. The NEA received 1,728 Art Works applications, and will make 1,029 grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.  

“The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America’s artists and arts organizations,” says NEA chairman Jane Chu. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as IAIA in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences.”

Associate dean and Artist-in-Residence Program director Dr. Lara M. Evans (Cherokee) explains, “This NEA funding makes it possible to bring an additional three artists to our campus in Santa Fe for month-long residencies. Up until now, we have had a geographic emphasis on Native and First Nations artists from just three regions of the U.S. and Canada. NEA Art Works allows us to bring in tribally enrolled artists from the entire U.S.”

IAIA will host 10 IAIA Artist-in-Residence artists in Fall 2017. Lara Evans says, “We select the artists with a community process. Artists apply online and then, for each application cycle, we gather a new committee of students, staff, and faculty to select artists who will bring something special to our campus community. There are many logistics to juggle, including studio facilities and equipment, what courses align with particular artistic media, and then there is also the artists’ own availability schedules. We tackle all those moving pieces as a team.”