Independent Shakespeare Co. Receives $15,000 NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects and partnerships in the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $15,000 to Independent Shakespeare Co. to support the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival 2016. The Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.

"The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Supporting projects like the one from Independent Shakespeare Co. offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day."

Eduardo A. Braniff, Chair of the Board of Directors says, "This recognition by the National Endowment of the Arts is an essential part of delivering our vision of making theater a vital part of what it is to be a citizen of Los Angeles. Our work shares with the NEA the belief that the performing arts are a catalyst for creating community and deepening public engagement with great art. Together with the other organizations recognized by the NEA we are collectively ensuring that in this country the arts remain a right, and not a privilege."

Presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, ISC's free summer festival of outdoor performances invites all Angelenos to experience exceptional performances in a beautiful setting. Each summer the Festival creates a

center for Los Angeles through community and theater. The Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival 2016 will present Richard III and The Tempest.

Independent Shakespeare Co. creates theater that is dynamic, inclusive and accessible; enriching and strengthening our community and reaching new theater audiences. With our commitment to providing free theater, we redress the inequity of access to the performing arts. The festival audience is a vibrant cross-section of the City of Los Angeles. In counterpoint to national performing arts trends, 60% of the festival audience earns less than $50,000/year, 70% are under 35, and 45% identify as people of color. The festival offers a relaxed, communal experience: audience members bring picnics, blankets, chairs and even sleeping bags! Under the summer stars, a uniquely Los Angeles audience gathers to share the wonderful stories that have thrilled theater-goers for centuries and a center for the community to connect with one another and to a live arts event.

To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring16. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov.