National Endowment for the Arts Chairman 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 University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design and Jacob Lawrence Gallery supporting the Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency. 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," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as the School of Art + Art History + Design and Jacob Lawrence Gallery in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences."
Emily Zimmerman, Director of the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, said, "We are thrilled to receive this support from the NEA for the Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency, a program that celebrates the life of the great American artist Jacob Lawrence and the crucial importance of artists teaching through their embedded presence within a community. The Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency will foster new art and dialog centered on equity, social justice, and the African diaspora to impact the many communities brought together through the University of Washington School of Art + Art History + Design. It would not be possible to realize the residency at this scale without the support of the NEA."
Beginning in 2015, the Gallery made a commitment to dedicate every February — Black History Month — to artists and ideas of the African Diaspora. Originally conceived as an exhibition initiative, it quickly expanded to become an artist-in-residence program. HOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN? and Steffani Jemison participated in 2015 and 2016 respectively. This year, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Jacob Lawrence’s birth, we featured programming and an exhibition of the artist's work.
With this crucial funding, African American and African Diaspora artists from the Puget Sound area and beyond will be eligible to travel to Seattle for a one-to-four week residency. During this time frame, the artists will have access to and benefit from all of the School’s resources to produce new work for an exhibition in the Jacob Lawrence Gallery. Residents will work closely with students, faculty, interns, the Director of the Gallery, and community partners at all stages of the project to ensure the gap between practice, pedagogy, presentation, and reception is narrowed. The School hopes that the Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency will become the signature program honoring the Gallery’s namesake and further advance its mission.
To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring17 and tag @uwsoa. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov.