Grant Projects Designed to Expand Access to Arts Participation in Communities Nationwide
Durham, N.C. – Southern Documentary Fund is one of 112 organizations nationwide selected to receive an ArtsHERE grant as part of a new pilot program from the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. These grants support specific projects that will strengthen the organizations’ capacity to sustain meaningful community engagement and increase arts participation for underserved groups and communities.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is thrilled to provide resources to a group of exceptional organizations through ArtsHERE, a program to help deepen meaningful and lasting arts engagement in underserved communities,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Everyone should be able to live an artful life, and ArtsHERE is an important step in ensuring we are strengthening our nation’s arts ecosystem to make this a reality.”
Historically underserved groups and communities—those whose opportunities to experience the arts have been limited by factors such as geography, race or ethnicity, economics, or disability—frequently report lower rates of participation in various arts activities than other groups do. ArtsHERE aims to address disparities in arts participation through grants that help organizations better serve and reach their communities.
Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) supports documentary filmmakers in the American South by providing funding, resources, and mentorship. SDF’s work is focused on amplifying diverse voices and stories through the power of documentary film. The ArtsHERE grant will help SDF further its mission by supporting data analysis and environmental scans to develop an informed strategy that will build partnerships, identify new funding practices, and serve more underrepresented artists in the American South.
Southern Documentary Fund is grateful for this opportunity to expand our capacity, develop key partnerships, and reach more documentary makers across the South,” said Executive Director, Clint Jukkala. “From its founding, SDF has been dedicated to supporting underserved artists throughout the region, and this award is a huge boost to helping us advance this work.”
“We are very excited to work with these organizations on their projects,” said Susie Surkamer, president and CEO of South Arts. “The arts are essential to the fabric of our nation, and at the heart of this necessity are the organizations and individuals who champion them. Through ArtsHERE, we are excited to continue expanding and enriching the arts landscape both nationally and within these unique local communities.”
In addition to grant awards, ArtsHERE grant recipients will also participate in quarterly peer learning workshops, monthly cohort sessions, and one-on-one meetings with technical assistance coaches and field experts. These meetings are designed for knowledge sharing, learning, and capacity-building, to help reinforce the initiative’s opportunities for cross-sector engagement.
As a pilot program, ArtsHERE will be documented and evaluated by the NEA to better understand the project activities supported by this program and how grantees approached the work. These insights may inform the future of ArtsHERE and similar funding programs in the future.
More than 4,000 organizations applied for ArtsHERE funding in late 2023 and early 2024. Applications were reviewed by multiple review panels based on published review criteria, including the applicant’s organizational capacity and their capacity-building project, alignment with ArtsHERE’s commitment to equity, and engagement with historically underserved communities. The selected organizations will receive funding to support their projects, which will take place between October 2024 through June 2026. For more information on all of the ArtsHERE recommended grants, visit artsHERE.org.
ArtsHERE is also supported by The Wallace Foundation through matching funds to the Regional Arts Organizations in support of this program.
About Southern Documentary Fund: Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) champions Southern documentary makers and stories. Inspired by our belief in the power of media to educate and change lives, we provide documentarians with diverse resources, including grants, fiscal sponsorship, community dialogue, and mentorship–all to promote Southern stories and lower barriers for documentary makers and underrepresented voices.
About the National Endowment for the Arts: Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. To learn more, visit arts.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About South Arts: South Arts advances Southern vitality through the arts. The nonprofit regional arts organization was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to support the success of artists and arts providers in the South, address the needs of Southern communities through impactful arts-based programs, and celebrate the excellence, innovation, value and power of the arts of the South. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.
About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations: The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs)—Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and Western States Arts Federation—are a collective of six nonprofit arts service organizations committed to strengthening America’s infrastructure by increasing access to creativity for all Americans. They serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which they work. They partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Together, the USRAOs work to activate and operate national arts initiatives, encourage and support collaboration across regions, states, and communities, and maximize the coordination of public and private resources invested in arts programs. In Fiscal Year 2023, they invested over $18.4 million across the United States and Jurisdictions, through nearly 2,400 grants that reached more than 1,000 communities. For more information, visit usregionalarts.org.
