Eight Kansas City area arts organizations received nearly $2 million in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA distributed more than $91 million nationwide during this second round of grants for fiscal year 2022.

The Arts Asylum was one of the recipients, receiving $75,000 for their ‘Our Town’ initiative. 

“The Arts Asylum is thrilled to have been named an Our Town grant recipient for ‘Love Where You Live: Creative Connections in the Paseo Gateway,’” said Evie Craig, executive director of The Arts Asylum. “We accept this honor on behalf of Kansas City and the neighborhoods in the Historic Northeast and through it will engage artists and residents to develop a community with inclusion and equity in access to arts.” 

The Metropolitan Arts Council of Greater Kansas City (ArtsKC) was another recipient, receiving $50,000 to help local arts agencies under their ‘Art Moves Us’ initiative. 

“ArtsKC is grateful for our long-standing partnership with the City of Kansas City,” said Dana Knapp, president and CEO of ArtsKC. “We work together with our regional public leaders to provide the best possible support, so that our artists and arts and culture organizations continue to thrive.” 

Other local organizations receiving NEA grant funding include: 

• Art as Mentorship, Inc., Media Arts, $20,000   
• Charlotte Street Foundation, Media Arts, $20,000 
• Coterie, Inc., Theater, $30,000 
• Mid-America Arts Alliance (MAAA), state and regional partnerships, $1,575,500   
• Spire Chamber Ensemble, Music, $20,000 
• Caregivers on the Homefront, Art on the Homefront, painting workshops supporting military and veteran caregivers and children.  

“The arts have numerous benefits to both our City’s economy and our quality of life,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “We’re proud of the work of these eight organizations, the impact they’ve made in the past, and the work they have yet to do, which will be made possible through these grants.” 

The City has had a long-standing commitment to the arts community through its One Percent for Art Program and the Neighborhood and Tourism Development Fund (NTDF). This spring, the City Council appropriated more than $1.2 million in NTDF funds to 131 nonprofit organizations to promote neighborhood, cultural, arts and entertainment events throughout Kansas City. The City’s NTDF board selected the recipients through the fiscal year 2022-23 application cycle.

“The City is very happy for these deserving organizations,” City Manager Brian Platt said. “Kansas City has long supported the arts and thanks to these grants, our arts future looks very bright.”