Miami Music Project to Receive $50,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Miami Music Project is pleased to announce that it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $50,000. Every year, Miami Music Project has the opportunity to train hundreds of young musicians, who receive nearly 400 hours each of immersive and transformative music education through its free Signature Programs. This grant will support Miami Music Project's programming, ensuring all students flourish musically and academically. This grant is part of an NEA initiative to award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants. In the words of President Anna Klimala:
“Upon celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Week, we continue to find reasons to acknowledge and appreciate our Teaching Artists, who serve as critical educators and mentors to the children of Miami Music Project. Our educators combine world-class musicianship with social responsibility and sensitivity, making them key allies and advocates of every child’s potential. The continued support of the National Endowment for the Arts reminds us that our social impact remains meaningful nationally”.
Miami Music Project has become one of the most successful El Sistema-Inspired programs in North America. Through a combination of Social Emotional Learning curriculum, academic tutoring, and mentoring, Miami Music Project has created opportunities for deep arts learning experiences for hundreds of young learners. In this task, 63 Teaching Artists work throughout the program sites five days a week.
Since 2013, the National Endowment for the Arts has been a crucial partner in advancing the Miami Music Project's mission of fostering social progress through music education. Grounded in the belief that nurturing our youth is foundational to cultivating a thriving society, the program steadfastly asserts that investing in children creates impactful steps toward building a sustainably prosperous society. Through music education, Miami Music Project champions enhancing children's social-emotional well-being, behavioral development, and academic motivation, instilling a sense of accomplishment that fosters pride within the communities it serves.
“Projects like Miami Music Project exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities, such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy, are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
Miami Music Project students receive music education and mentorship opportunities from their Teaching Artists. These world-class musicians often perform alongside our students on professional stages, such as the Wertheim Center for Performing Arts at Florida International University, the University of Miami, the Miami Springs Farmers Market, the North Miami Beach Bandshell, and other locations around Miami.
Photo: Franklin Pavon, 2022 Miami Music Project alumnus and current Site Manager for the Miami Beach Chapter.
About the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), established in Congress in 1965, is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable arts participation and practice opportunities, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment where the arts benefit everyone in the United States.
The NEA’s primary activities include grantmaking to nonprofit arts organizations, public arts agencies and organizations, colleges and universities, federally recognized tribal communities or tribes, and individual writers and translators. Grant applications are reviewed by panels of arts experts and individuals from across the country.
While the NEA’s primary activity includes grantmaking, it is also a national leader and a convener on issues important to the arts community and people working at the intersections of the arts and other fields, such as health, community development, and education. The NEA is an important resource for research on the value and importance of the arts and shares that information with stakeholders and the public.
The NEA's new Strategic Plan and Equity Action Plan for fiscal years 2022 - 2026 provide a blueprint for the agency to position itself as the lead agency within the federal government for social and economic change through the arts and to build on current processes already in place and implement new strategies to ensure the advancement of fairness and equity. Together, the Arts Endowment's activities support bringing meaningful arts experiences to all Americans, helping to ensure that everyone in the country has the opportunity to live artful lives.
For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.