Arts of Life to Receive $25,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Arts of Life has been approved for a $25,000 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 1,127 organizations receiving a total of nearly $31.8 million in funding.

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists
that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,”
said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects
taking place, including Arts of Life.”

“The Artist Enterprise Program is central to our mission,” said Executive Director Denise Fisher. “With the renewed investment of the National Endowment for the Arts, our artists’ opportunities to engage with the broader art community will continue to grow in 2025.”

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. In tandem with these opportunities, local, national, and international public exhibitions and partnerships showcase artists’ work and facilitate licensing and sales.. Notable upcoming exhibitions include our return to The Outsider Art Fair in New York City, EXPO Chicago, and The Design Museum of Chicago.

“Our studio artists are starting to get the visibility they deserve,” said Vincent Uribe, Director of Exhibitions and External Relations. “Our exhibition opportunities push both the disability sector and the international art community toward a more inclusive future.”

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