Houston Cinema Arts Society To Receive $15,000 Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts (Nea)

HOUSTON, TX, (MAY 9TH, 2018) – National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018.  Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $15,000 to Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) for a publicly accessible video archive, including four succinct videos highlighting the organization’s past 9 years. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

“The variety and quality of these projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Through the work of organizations such as Houston Cinema Arts Society in Houston, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.”

“We are so grateful to have the support of the National Endowment for the Arts in our endeavors to go through our material histories and create an interactive and readily available library,” says Patrick Kwiatkowski, HCAS’s Executive Director. “Our hope with this project is to further our mission of celebrating the artistic process and enriching Houston’s culture by allowing anyone access to the history of incredible artists who have come to Houston.”

HCAS’s venture will produce 4 succinct and comprehensive videos that highlight the immense history not only of HCAS’s annual film festival itself, but the cultural impact of the organization on the greater Houston area. This material will be published digitally, with accessibility features for the general public to access new media infrastructures of organizational and regional history. HCAS has previously celebrated the works of Tilda Swinton, Shirley MacLaine, and Robert Redford. HCAS is approaching their 10th year of the Houston Cinema Arts Festival.