City Theatre to Receive $100,000 National Endowment for the Arts Grant

City Theatre has announced approval for an American Rescue Plan award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a grant program which was funded to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. City Theatre is recommended to receive $100,000 and may use this funding to preserve jobs and to fund operations and facilities, 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, including only six organizations from Pittsburgh region: The Andy Warhol Museum, City Theatre, Dreams of Hope, Hill Dance Academy Theatre, Quantum Theatre, and Squonk Opera.

In total, there were 7,500 total applications to the program, representing 15 distinct arts disciplines, requesting nearly $700 million. The successful awardees represent 7.5% of those that applied. A total of 23 grants were made to organizations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"We are deeply indebted to the NEA for this investment at this critical time. The totality of eligible applications from the arts and culture sector for this Covid relief funding program, combined with the relatively few grantees, speaks to the scope and scale of the challenge facing our industry," stated City Theatre Managing Director James McNeel. "This award will help shore up immediate needs at City Theatre, but it is of paramount importance to keep in mind how deeply the pandemic continues to disrupt arts organizations and the lives of artists. We are only at the beginning of our recovery from Covid-19, a process that is likely to take years."

Prior to the pandemic, studies by the NEA demonstrated the significant impact the arts have on the over national economy, estimated at 4.2% of GDP ($763.6 billion). In Pennsylvania, there were 23,420 arts-related businesses that employed 156,712 people - the sector contributed over $25 billion to the state's economy (source). And locally, according to the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, more individuals attend cultural events than live sports, helping provide $2.38 billion in economic impact in Allegheny County.

The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021 when the NEA was provided $135 million for the arts sector. The 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 sub-granting to local artists and art organizations.

"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 rebuild and reopen," said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, the newly-appointed 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."

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.

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