The National Endowment of the Arts Invites Creative Placemaking Proposals

Our Town is the National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) annual program to support creative placemaking projects that “contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform them into lively, beautiful and sustainable places with the arts at their core.” Grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 are available for projects in arts engagement, cultural planning, design and - a new category this year - projects that build knowledge about creative placemaking.

To be eligible for arts engagement, cultural planning and design grants, Our Town proposals must come from a partnership with two lead organizations—a nonprofit organization and local government entity. One of the primary partners must be an arts or design organization. Additional partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors are encouraged. Only one project per local jurisdiction can be submitted, and the application must include an endorsement level from the highest ranking official of local government. To watch a pre-recorded grant guidelines webinar on Arts Engagement, Cultural Planning, and Design Projects, click here. To learn more about past grant recipients, click here.

The new project category - building knowledge about creative placemaking - is being piloted to "expand the capacity of artists and arts organizations to work more effectively with economic and community development practitioners, and vice versa, to improve the livability of the communities and create opportunities for all." To be eligible, applicants in this category must include a partnership between an art-based membership organization and a place-based knowledge consultant/organization. To watch a pre-recorded grant guidelines webinar on Projects that Build Knowledge About Creative Placemaking, click here.

For more information about the two-part application process, click here. Basic information about your organization and project are due by December 15, 2014 through Grants.gov. Between January 8 and January 15, 2015, the second part of your application must be submitted through the NEA online grants system. For more information on all aspects of the Our Town program, click here.