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: In 1985, the Arts Endowment won an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its work with the American Film Institute in the identification, acquisition, restoration and preservation of historic films. Additionally, in 2016 and again in 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts received Emmy nominations from the Television Academy in the Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series category. Contents
1 Background
2 Grants
3 Governance
4 Grantmaking
4.1 Relative scope of funding
5 Lifetime honors
6 Controversy
6.1 1981 attempts to abolish
6.2 1989 objections
6.3 1990 performance artists vetoed
6.4 1995–1997 congressional attacks
6.5 Proposed defunding
7 Chairpersons
7.1 Nancy Hanks (1969–77)
8 See also
9 References
9.1 Citations
9.2 Sources
10 Further reading
10.1 Primary sources
11 External links
Background
The National Endowment for the Arts was created during the term of President Lyndon B. Johnson under the general auspices of the Great Society. According to historian Karen Patricia Heath, "Johnson personally was not much interested in the acquisition of knowledge, cultural or otherwise, for its own sake, nor did he have time for art appreciation or meeting with artists." The NEA is "dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; 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 ".