PHILADELPHIA (January 11, 2023) – PA Humanities today announced it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Research Grants in the Arts award of $20,000. This grant will support the PA Humanities Discovery Project conducted in collaboration with Drexel University.
The NEA awarded 20 Research Grants in the Arts for a total of $1.075 million in funding to support a broad range of arts-related studies, many of which strive to understand how factors related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility can improve the efficacy of arts management and cultural policies.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from PA Humanities, part of the NEA’s investment in studies that explore the value and impact of the arts,” said Director of Research & Analysis Sunil Iyengar. “Research studies such as this one are key to our agency’s goal of understanding the factors, conditions, and characteristics of our country’s arts ecosystem and the many ways the arts can impact other areas of American life.”
“We plan to tell the first-ever story of the humanities across Pennsylvania,” said Laurie Zierer, executive director of PA Humanities. “There is so much to learn and share, especially about their critical role during the pandemic in keeping people connected and inspired, while encouraging resilience and recovery.”
“Our Westphal research team and PA Humanities share a passion for collective expression and engaged communities. We are very excited about the doors this project will open for all Pennsylvanians to understand the multitudes contained in our state’s culture,” said Jason Schupbach, Dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University.
The PA Humanities Discovery Project seeks to map, network, and celebrate Pennsylvania’s humanities landscape. The project officially kicked off with the launch of a statewide survey of the broader cultural sector in 2022 which garnered over 500 participants. Results will be released in 2023.
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news. Visit arts.gov/impact/research to explore more of the NEA’s work in research and analysis, including the agency’s five-year research agenda; in-depth reports and analyses of research topics in the arts; collections of statistics, graphics, and summary results from data-mining about the arts; and more.
Funding for the PA Humanities Discovery Project comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. To learn more visit PAHumanities.org/Discovery.
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