globalFEST Receives First NEA Grant to Support its Annual Flagship Festival

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa recently announced thatglobalFEST (globalfest.org) is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide recommended to receivean NEA Art Works grant. This is the first NEA grant to globalFEST and will support 11th edition of the organization's annual flagship festival in New York City in January, 2014.

Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts."

globalFEST, as a growing arts organization dedicated to promoting and expanding the presence of world music, is a springboard for artists from around the globe seeking to appear in new communities throughout the United States. The festival is not only a catalytic showcase for arts professionals, but also a revelatory highlight of the year for music fans from throughout the New York metropolitan area. Thousands more audiences nationwide have been able to enjoy the performances through globalFEST's partnership with National Public Radio.

In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.

"globalFEST's role in developing audiences for a wide variety of international music styles and encouraging artistic risk taking in the performing arts field has resulted in significant strides for artists, audiences, and presenters alike," explains globalFEST co-founder Isabel Soffer, who produces the event in collaboration with Bill Bragin and Shanta Thake. "We are so pleased that our mission to encourage cross-cultural exchange, support diverse programming, and develop meaningful cultural diplomacy relationships has the support of the NEA."

globalFEST has attracted significant praise in the national press. The Daily News has called it "America's best-curated nexus of sounds from around the planet", while the The New York Times has explained, "Over the last decade globalFEST has presented 21st-century world music as an accelerating fusion, a recombinant free-for-all of local traditions meeting ideas and technologies from afar. It's a realistic view of how musicians work; very few are purists. And some hybrids have grown durable enough to feel like traditions of their own." Previous editions of globalFEST have presented such artists as Angelique Kidjo, Antibalas, Red Baraat, Lila Downs, and Balkan Beat Box. Additional information about globalFEST can be found at www.globalFEST.org.