Arts of Life to Receive $20,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Arts of Life has been approved for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the Artist Enterprise Program. This project advances the professional development of artists with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Chicago-land. Arts of Life’s  project is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from Arts of Life that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “Arts of Life in Chicago is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”

“The Artist Enterprise Program is central to our mission,” said Executive Director Denise Fisher. “With the investment of the National Endowment for the Arts, our artists’ opportunities to engage with the broader art community both virtually and in person will continue to grow in the upcoming year.”

With the generous support of The Coleman Foundation, the Artist Enterprise Program (AEP) launched in 2017 as a comprehensive initiative to advance our artists’ professional development as career artists, curators, and educators. More recently the program has expanded to include in-studio workshops, local field trips, and virtual curator talks, studio visits, and more which help our artists connect with peers across the country. In tandem with these opportunities, AEP hosts consistent year-round programming in our in-studio galleries Circle Contemporary along with external exhibitions. Notable upcoming exhibitions include the Outsider Art Fair and EXPO Chicago.

“Our studio artists’ work stands on its own,” said Vincent Uribe, Director of Exhibitions and External Relations. “Through AEP, our artists are starting to get the visibility they deserve.”

For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

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Congrats to our fellow visual art recipients!

• 516 ARTS
• Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Inc. (aka Scholastic Art & Writing Awards)
• American Academy in Rome
• Aperture Foundation, Inc.
• Apex Art Curatorial Program, Inc.
• Archie Bray Foundation
• Arizona State University
• Art Creates Us Inc. (aka ProjectArt)
• Art Spaces – Wabash Valley Outdoor Sculpture Collection, Inc
• Artists Alliance, Inc.
• Artists in Residence, Inc.
• Artpace, Inc.
• Berkeley Art Center Association
• Brandywine Workshop and Archives
• Bronx Council on the Arts, Inc. (
• Bronx Documentary Center Inc
• Brown University
• California College of the Arts
• Center for Emerging Visual Artists
• Center for Photography at Woodstock, Inc.
• Center for Women & Their Work
• Central Park NC (aka STARworks Center)
• Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco (aka Chinese Culture Center)
• Common Field
• Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio, Inc.
• Creative Growth, Inc.
• Creativity Explored
• Dallas Contemporary
• Dashboard Co-op Inc
• Elsewhere Incorporated
• Enslaved Africans Rain Garden Inc
• Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Inc.
• FotoFest, Inc.
• Gadsden Arts, Inc.
• Gallaudet University
• GoggleWorks
• Honolulu Biennial Foundation
• Hyde Park Art Center
• Illinois High School Art Exhibition
• Indianapolis Art Center
• International Arts & Artists, Inc.
• International Sculpture Center, Inc.
• International Studio & Curatorial Program
• Jackson Hole Public Art
• Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Inc.
• Laundromat Project, Inc.
• Light Work Visual Studies, Inc.
• Locust Projects Inc
• Los Angeles Nomadic Division
• Maine Fiberarts
• Mark Arts
• Midway Contemporary Art
• Midwest Special Services, Inc
• New Art Publications, Inc. (aka BOMB Magazine)
• Open Source Gallery, Inc.
• Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation
• Pablove Foundation Inc.
• Palo Alto Art Center Foundation
• Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (on behalf of Brodsky Center)
• People Concern
• Pilchuck Glass School
• Primary Information Inc
• Project for Empty Space Inc
• Project X Foundation for Art and Criticism
• Public Art Fund Inc.
• Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
• Real Art Ways, Inc.
• Recess Activities, Inc.
• Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation
• Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, Inc.
• Root Division
• Sculpture Center, Inc.
• Skyart NFP
• Socrates Sculpture Park, Inc.
• Space One Eleven, Inc.
• SPACES
• Steven Myron Holl Foundation, Inc.
• Studio Two Three
• Swiss Institute
• The Art Council Inc. (aka Artadia)
• Tierra del Sol Foundation
• Towson University
• Trustees of Eliot School
• University of New Mexico Main Campus
• University of Texas at Austin (on behalf of Landmarks)
• University of Texas at San Antonio
• UrbanGlass New York Contemporary Glass Center Inc.
• US Biennial, Inc (aka Prospect New Orleans)
• Washington Project for the Arts

Congrats to our fellow Illinois recipients!

• 3Arts, Inc
• Africa International House USA, Inc.
• Art Institute of Chicago (on behalf of Gene Siskel Film Center)
• Artists’ Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions Project
• Arts & Business Council of Chicago
• Asian Improv aRts Midwest
• Association of Architecture Organizations, Inc.
• Black Ensemble Theater Corporation
• Blackadder, Neil
• Blair Thomas & Company
• Cedille Chicago, NFP
• Cerqua Rivera Art Experience
• Chicago Architecture Biennial Inc.
• Chicago Architecture Foundation
• Chicago Children’s Choir
• Chicago Composers Orchestra
• Chicago Dancemakers Forum
• Chicago Human Rhythm Project
• Chicago International Film Festival
• Chicago Latino Theater Alliance
• Chicago Opera Theater
• Chicago Sinfonietta, Inc.
• Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Chicago Symphony Orchestra (on behalf of Civic Orchestra of Chicago)
• Chicago Theatre Group, Inc. (aka Goodman Theatre)
• CircEsteem Inc.
• City of Evanston, Illinois
• Crossing Borders Music Collective
• Dennis, Chris
• East St. Louis Arts and Culture Coalition
• Experimental Sound Studio
• Facets Multimedia Incorporated
• Fifth House Ensemble (aka 5HE)
• Flat Out Inc
• Full Spectrum Features NFP
• Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance
• Haymarket Opera Company NFP
• Hyde Park Art Center
• Hyde Park Jazz Festival
• Illinois High School Art Exhibition
• Illinois State University (on behalf of Obsidian)
• Ingenuity Incorporated Chicago
• Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, Inc.
• International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago
• International Music Foundation
• Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
• Jazz Education Network
• Joffrey Ballet
• Knox College
• Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago
• Kushner, Aviya
• Kuumba Lynx
• Lira Ensemble
• Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing – Literary Arts
• Live the Spirit Residency
• Lucky Plush Productions
• Lyric Opera of Chicago (on behalf of Patrick G. and Shirley W.
• Marwen Foundation, Inc.
• Maywood Fine Arts Association
• Midnight Circus in the Parks
• Midwest Young Artists
• Miracle Center
• Music Institute of Chicago
• National Museum of Mexican Art
• National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
• Nova Singers
• Pegasus Theatre Chicago
• Piven Theatre Workshop
• Princeton Theater Group
• Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
• Ragdale Foundation
• Red Clay Dance Company
• Research Grants in the Arts
• Rockford Area Arts Council
• Ryan Opera Center
• Sarasien, Amanda
• Skyart NFP
• Snow City Arts Foundation
• Sones de Mexico Ensemble
• Steppenwolf Theatre Company
• Storycatchers Theatre
• Tardi, Mark
• Third Coast Percussion NFP
• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Victory Gardens Theater
• West Point Fellowship, Inc.
• Woodlawn Arts Academy
• Writers’ Theatre