City of Dubuque Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs to Receive $500,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as Part of the American Rescue Plan

The City of Dubuque will receive $500,000 to distribute in the form of grants to eligible Dubuque recipients to save 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 $20,200,000 to 66 local arts agencies nationwide for subgranting.  

“The NEA’s significant investment in local arts agencies, including the City of Dubuque’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, is a key element in helping the arts and culture sector recover and reopen, while ensuring that that American Rescue Plan funding is distributed equitably,” said Ann Eilers, NEA’s acting chair. “These grants recognize the vital role of local arts agencies and will allow them to help rebuild local economies and contribute to the well-being of our communities.” 

"The City of Dubuque is grateful for this significant federal support as our local arts and culture organizations and individual creative workers continue their recovery,” said Dubuque Mayor Roy D. Buol.  “This assistance, along with ongoing community support and the return to attendance of local events and venues will make a real difference for this critical component of our economy and quality of life.”

The City of Dubuque will subgrant $435,000 of its award to support the general operations of eligible local arts and culture nonprofit organizations. The award will also provide for the creation of a new grant program to support individual creatives in arts-based projects that further their careers and deepen their engagement in the ongoing implementation of Dubuque’s Arts & Culture Master Plan. Funding guidelines associated with these subgranting programs are expected for release in Spring 2022 to fund organizational operations and individual projects commencing after July 1, 2022 and concluding by June 30, 2023. 

This is the second of three installments of the NEA’s American Rescue Plan funding. Last April, the NEA announced that 40 percent of its $135 million in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The third installment of APR funding to arts organizations to support their own operations will be announced in early 2022.  

For more information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan grants, including the full list of local arts agencies funded in this announcement, visit www.arts.gov/COVID-19/the-american-rescue-plan? 

For more information on City of Dubuque arts and culture initiatives, visit www.cityofdubuqe.org/artsandculture or contact City of Dubuque Arts & Cultural Affairs Coordinator Jenni Petersen-Brant at jbrant@cityofdubuque.org or 563.513.5636.