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NEA Our Town Seeking Ideas from New Orleans Residents

12:00 June 17, 2022
By: Gracie Wise

The Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy needs your help! They are currently seeking ideas from community members and organizations in the Greater New Orleans area on what they can do for the National Endowment for the Arts's Our Town grant.

What is Our Town?

In a nutshell, Our Town is a creative placemaking grants program that supports projects that integrate arts, culture, and design. These projects are signed to boost the local economic, physical, and social health of communities. Examples of projects include art festivals, dance performances, creative business development, and public space design.


In the past, Our Town has approved grants for cultural organizations dedicated to arts and humanities. Recipients included A Studio in the Woods's Searching for the Ghosts of the Gulf project, City of Gretna's East Meets West initiative, art installation in Oretha Castle Haley Cultural Corridor, and murals in New Orleans East. Each organization received grants between $25,000 and $150,000.

How can I participate?

The office is requesting information to aid in moving forward with selecting projects and will accept two projects to look at. First, the projects must also be done in partnership with a local government entity and a nonprofit cultural organization. Then, they should also engage in economic development, environment and energy, education and youth, and other sectors. Finally, projects should work to strengthen the community through connecting members, raising awareness about cultural issues, bringing ideas to the table, and dreaming of a better tomorrow.

When do I submit my application?

Here are the following deadlines:

August 4: Submit to grants.gov

August 9-16 by 11:59 p.m., ET: Submit to Applicant Portal

April 2023: Earliest Announcement of Grant Reward or Rejection

July 1, 2023: Earliest Start Date for Proposed Project

People and organizations who are interested can visit arts.gov/grants/our-town for more info.


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