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NEA National Initiatives

Arts Midwest manages several initiatives in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to deliver programs to communities across the country.

The Big Read

The Big Read provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The program supports innovative reading initiatives in selected cities and towns, by providing grants, comprehensive resources, and support for reading and discussing literature.

For information about participating communities, featured books, and more, visit www.NEABigRead.org or e-mail thebigread@artsmidwest.org.

Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare in American Communities is a national theater program that reaches middle- and high-school students in underserved schools throughout the United States by supporting high-quality, professional productions of Shakespeare’s plays and comprehensive educational resources.

For more information visit www.ShakespeareinAmericanCommunities.org or email shakespeare@artsmidwest.org.

NEA Jazz Masters Live

NEA Jazz Masters Live celebrates the living legends that have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz by providing funding to support innovative, focused engagements that honor the NEA Jazz Masters’ body of work, history, or style; provide understanding of their significance to jazz through thematically-designed or retrospective programming; and increase the audiences’ knowledge of their contribution to this American art form.

For more information, visit NEA Jazz Masters.

Tools for 2012 Selected Organizations

  • NEA Jazz Masters Logo.
  • Standards Manual: Proper crediting is an essential part of the grant. The National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest expect participating organizations to ensure proper crediting and visibility for the benefit of both the participating organization and this national program.
  • Calendar of Activities: Please complete and submit an initial calendar of activities at least six weeks prior to your first activity (performance or outreach activity). Your initial calendar should not include attendance figures. Remember to save a copy of the calendar in order to report on the attendance for these activities as part of your Final Report.
  • Final Report: To enable us to compile a comprehensive report to the NEA, a final report must be submitted within six weeks following the conclusion of your NEA Jazz Masters Live activities.