National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Arts Program selected records, 1969-1989

Collection Information

Size: 15.5 Linear feet

Summary: The selected records of the National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Arts Program measure 15.5 linear feet and date from 1969 to 1989. The records contain supporting documentation for grant applications awarded and final reports submitted to the NEA's Visual Arts Program in the categories of: Workshops (1972-1976), Workshops/Alternative Spaces (1976-1979), Artists' Spaces (1980-1982), and Visual Artists Organizations (1983-ca.1987). Included are a variety of materials, such as slides, photographs, sound and video recordings, letters, resumes, newsletters, financial reports, operational procedures, and printed materials. After circa 1990, the NEA began returning supporting documentation to the applicants, hence, no records from the 1990s are included, although grants were awarded in the Visual Artists Organizations category until 1995.

Biographical/Historical Note

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts. From its founding, the agency provided grant funding in support of museums and other visual art programs. In 1972 a separate program to support museum funding was established. By 1981 there were as many as fifteen categories of funding in support of public art projects, workshops, artists' residencies, exhibitions, and other visual art programs. Organizations and individuals would submit NEA grant applications including extensive supporting materials. After ca. 1990, the NEA began returning supporting documentation to the applicants, although grants were awarded in the Visual Artists Organizations category until 1995.

Provenance

The National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Arts Program selected records were donated in 1996 by Michael Faubion, Director.

Related Materials

The National Endowment for the Arts grant applications are housed in the National Archives. The Smithsonian American Art Museum holds the National Endowment for the Arts Artists Archive. Approximately 80 linear feet of exhibition catalogs and monographs received from the NEA along with the Visual Arts Program records were transferred to the Library of the National Museum of American Art.

Funding

The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.