A Studio in the Woods is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $13,000. This grant will support our 2024-2025 Self as Universe: Mending Our Collective Ecosystem Residency program. The NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants. 

“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 A Studio in the Woods’ Self as Universe: Mending Our Collective Ecosystem Residency program.”

“We are always honored to receive NEA funding which is so vital to our country. And we are especially excited to support these visionary artists in addressing the issue of our time through their unique creative projects.” said A Studio in the Woods Managing Director Ama Rogan.

This year’s Self as Universe Residencies at A Studio in the Woods invite artists Hali Dardar, Rochelle Jamila, Aurora Levins Morales, Issy Manley, Lue Palmer, Sunni Patterson, Niamh Rita & Justice Singleton, and Asante Salaam to explore the connections within our collective ecosystems and use the power of imagination to heal the wounds in the relationship between ourselves and our environment. Southeast Louisiana’s land and inhabitants are continually scarred by the effects of environmental degradation. These injuries – the historical to the present – affect our bodies, families, communities, and cultures, as well as the land and its other creatures.  We encourage artists to guide our collective response as the caretakers and caregivers to our universe while bringing wisdom, integrity, optimism, and even humor to intentional and timely projects seeking transformation for our species and planet. This new call reflects a desire to repair the disconnection and alienation between humankind and the planet that is hindering the climate movement.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.