Scottsdale Arts To Receive $45,000 Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts

Scottsdale Arts has announced that it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $45,000. This grant will support Canal Convergence | Water + Art + Light. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. "Projects such as this one with Scottsdale Arts strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy."

"Scottsdale Arts is very excited about both the recognition and support the NEA is giving our signature Canal Convergence public art event," said Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts. "With hundreds of thousands of visitors to this free event, and an ever-increasing level of ethnic and demographic diversity among our patrons, Canal Convergence is writing a new chapter of cultural engagement in Arizona with spectacular public art as the attraction and deeper engagement around equity and sustainability at its core."

Canal Convergence is a free, annual, 10-night event featuring large-scale, light-based artworks from around the world. The artworks are temporarily installed on or around the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront in Old Town every November. The event also features live music, dance performances, creative workshops, educational tours and other activities. Learn more at CanalConvergence.com.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA's grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Through its partnership with the city of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts. Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an exceptional variety of programs through four acclaimed branches - Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation - serving more than 600,000 participants annually. In conjunction with the city of Scottsdale, we also host more than 200,000 people annually on our campus through a robust rentals program.