Title: National Endowment for the Arts - Wikipedia
Headings: National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Contents
Background
Grants
Governance
Grantmaking
Relative scope of funding
Lifetime honors
Controversy
1981 attempts to abolish
1989 objections
1990 performance artists vetoed
1995–1997 congressional attacks
Proposed defunding
Chairpersons
Nancy Hanks (1969–77)
See also
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Primary sources
External links

Content: bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education". Grants
Between 1965 and 2008, the agency has made in excess of 128,000 grants, totaling more than $5 billion. From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Congress granted the NEA an annual funding of between $160 and $180 million. In 1996, Congress cut the NEA funding to $99.5 million as a result of pressure from conservative groups, including the American Family Association, who criticized the agency for using tax dollars to fund highly controversial artists such as Barbara DeGenevieve, Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, and the performance artists known as the " NEA Four ". Since 1996, the NEA has partially rebounded with a 2015 budget of $146.21 million. For FY 2010, the budget reached the level it was at during the mid-1990s at $167.5 million but fell again in FY 2011 with a budget of $154 million. Governance
The NEA is governed by a chairman nominated by the president to a four-year term and subject to congressional confirmaion. The NEA's advisory committee, the National Council on the Arts, advises the Chairman on policies and programs, as well as reviewing grant applications, fundraising guidelines, and leadership initiative. This body consists of 14 individuals appointed by the President for their expertise and knowledge in the arts, in addition to six ex officio members of Congress who serve in a non-voting capacity.