Out Of Hand Theater To Receive $50,000 From the National Endowment for the Arts

Out of Hand Theater has announced that they have been approved to receive an American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. Out of Hand Theater will receive $50,000 and will use this funding to save jobs and to fund operations, health and safety supplies and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation.

In total, the NEA will award grants totaling $57,750,000 to 567 arts organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC. "Our nation's arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts' American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations, such as Out of Hand Theater, rebuild and reopen," said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. "The arts are crucial in helping America's communities heal, unite, and inspire, as well as essential to our nation's economic recovery."

"We are thrilled by this recognition from the NEA of the work we've done during the pandemic!" said Ariel Fristoe, Out of Hand's Artistic Director. "We've already served over 5000 people through Equitable Dinners online, connecting people across the country for an evening of art and facilitated conversations around racial justice."

Out of Hand works at the intersection of art, social justice, and civic engagement. The theater company sparks conversations to build a better world by using the tools of theater to support and enhance the work of community partners.

"These funds will support our staff in producing our upcoming Equitable Dinners: Atlanta, 500 potluck dinners for 5000 guests this fall, and Calf, our current production for "Shows in Homes" with Georgia Justice Project, Creative Kids, the Institute for Equity Activism," said Fristoe. "The funds will also support our ongoing work on vaccine confidence with CDC Foundation, and on child sex trafficking prevention with Georgia Council for the Arts, Georgia Department of Education, the Attorney General's office, Street Grace, and Wellspring Living. Out of Hand is honored to be able to expand the arts in connection with all of these important issues during the pandemic."

The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021 and the NEA was provided $135 million for the arts sector. This funding for organizations is the third installment providing more than $57.7 million for arts organizations. In April 2021, the NEA announced $52 million (40 percent) in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The second installment in November 2021 allocated $20.2 million to 66 local arts agencies for subgranting to local artists and art organizations.

For more information on the NEA's American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of arts organizations funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the- american-rescue-plan.

Out of Hand Theater has four areas of programming; Equitable Dinners, Shows in Homes, Education, and Community Collaborations. To learn more about our programs, please visit our website.

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