For Immediate Release:
Thursday, July 1, 2010

NEA Contact: HUD No. 10-140
Victoria Hutter (NEA) HUD Contact: Andrea Mead
hutterv@arts.gov / (202) 682-5570 202-708-0685

NEA CHAIRMAN LANDESMAN AND HUD SECRETARY DONOVAN INVITE THE ARTS COMMUNITY AND CREATIVE SECTOR TO PARTICIPATE IN FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES DESIGNED TO CREATE MORE LIVABLE, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Arts-Oriented Development Encouraged through New Sustainable Communities Grant Programs

Washington, DC - National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today issued an invitation to the arts and creative sector to participate in a joint webinar on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. EDT to learn about two new, innovative community development funding opportunities.

Last week, HUD and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released two Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs): $100 million in grants available through HUD's Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program, and up to $75 million in grants available through a joint HUD and DOT Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant Program. Under both programs, arts organizations are eligible to partner with state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transit agencies, philanthropic and non-profit organizations and other eligible applicants to develop consortia grant proposals.

"The arts are a natural component to furthering this Administration's commitment to creating more livable, walkable, environmentally sustainable communities," said HUD Secretary Donovan. "They can play a key role as a partner that is able to enhance the unique characteristics of communities and increase our economic competitiveness through supporting creativity and innovation."

"The arts are creative placemakers," said NEA Chairman Landesman. "We are able to work alongside federal agencies like HUD to help create places where people want to live work and play, both today and in the future."

Both programs build on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an innovative interagency collaboration, launched by President Obama in June 2009, between the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide more sustainable housing and transportation choices for families and lay the foundation for a 21st century economy. Guided by six Livability Principles, the Partnership is designed to remove the traditional silos that exist between federal departments and strategically target the agencies' transportation, land use, environmental, housing and community development resources to provide communities the resources they need to build more livable, sustainable communities.

This is the first time that HUD and the NEA have co-convened the arts and creative sector on a national level around funding opportunities, and it demonstrates the Obama Administration's commitment to changing the way the federal government operates by working more collaboratively across federal agencies and making smarter investments. The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program is the first HUD Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) that explicitly contains language encouraging the arts community to participate in the consortia submitting applications.

Anyone interested in participating in the webinar should log on to HUD's website at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010.

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About the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

About the National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts - both new and established - bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.