Arkansas: Veterans Arts Grant

Author Janis Kearney leads a memoir writing workshop for veterans during a pilot program that brought more arts to veterans in 2018.

The Arkansas Arts Council recently launched a new grant initiative to increase access to the arts for Arkansas’s military veterans. Among more than 21 million veterans who live in the United States, about 237,000 live in Arkansas, and the majority of them have served in Vietnam and Gulf wars, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

The projects, funded through the Arkansas Arts Council, aim to improve the quality of life, health, and social well-being or community connections of Arkansas residents who served in the military. This program is based on a 2018 pilot program that was well received by constituents. Through this grant, nonprofit groups can access funds (up to $1,000 per project with no requirement for matching funds) to support programming, projects and workshops that are specifically for active-duty military members and veterans. Applications for these grants are accepted through the Arts for Lifelong Learning grants program and are reviewed and funded like other minigrants offered by the Arkansas Arts Council.

The council’s dialogues on veteran services also sparked the idea for a new exhibition with a specific focus on the experiences and contributions of African American veterans. The exhibition by photographer Ed Drew, who served in Afghanistan, will be unveiled at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center—a sister division of the Arkansas Arts Council—in Little Rock in 2020.

To learn more about the veterans’ arts grant, contact Arkansas Arts Council Arts in Education Manager Drekkia Morning, 501-324-9348.