NEHMA Awarded $50,000 Grant from National Endowment for the Arts

As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is awarding a total of $44.5 million in nonmatching funds to nonprofit arts organizations across the country. Utah State University's Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA) is grateful to be one of four such organizations in Utah and is the recipient of a $50,000 CARES grant from the NEA.

Arts and culture are an important part of the U.S. economy, making up $877.8 billion (4.5 percent) of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2017 and employing over 5 million wage-and-salary workers. The NEA funding will help support those jobs and organizations in this time of great need so that the arts can continue to thrive.

For NEHMA, the NEA funding will support its collections and exhibitions coordinator position, which provides critical help for planning and installing exhibitions, caring for artworks in the collection and training museum attendants. This $50,000 grant will provide a much needed “bridge” to help us retain this position during the next two fiscal years.  

NEHMA’s core work is education. Due to COVID-19, its educational and in-person experiences will look different. The coordinator will be on the front lines as the museum augments its online offerings with video and audio resources and will train and supervise staff in new safety precautions.

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965. It is an independent federal agency devoted to funding and supporting the arts in America through partnerships with other federal and state agencies, local leaders, and philanthropies. Its mission, like NEHMA’s, is to support art-based learning, celebrate culture, and promote access to the arts in every community. To learn more, visit arts.gov.

Visit artmuseum.usu.edu to stay up to date on future museum events.