UND Writers Conference to Receive $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $84 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowment’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2020. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $10,000 to the University of North Dakota in support of its annual Writers Conference. This is one of 1015 grants nationwide that the agency has approved in this category.
“These awards demonstrate the resilience of the arts in America, showcasing not only the creativity of their arts projects but the organizations’ agility in the face of a national health crisis,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). “We celebrate organizations like the UND Writers Conference for providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times.”
The round of NEA funding awarded to UND marks the sixth time since 2010 that the UND Writers Conference has been supported by the independent federal agency.
Art Works grants support artistically excellent projects that celebrate creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values and enrich humanity, according to the NEA’s June 10 announcement.
Next conference
Crystal Alberts, UND associate professor of English and director of the UND Writers Conference, said that the $10,000 awarded through the FY 2020 Art Works grant will help fund the appearances of influential authors on UND’s campus. Past NEA awards have also helped UND’s digital preservation efforts for conference panels and engagements typical of the annual event.
The 52nd UND Writers Conference, titled “Roots to the Earth,” is scheduled for March 24-26, 2021. Funding from the NEA will enable conference organizers to feature authors and artists whose work considers the role of place, the environment and sustainability in light of global climatic shifts. Through the arts, said Alberts, a conversation can take place about the impact individuals and communities have on climate change and the planet.
Since 1970, for more than 50 years, the UND Writers Conference has been committed to providing open access to the literary arts to the Grand Cities, the Red River Valley, North Dakota, and the region.
“The arts are an essential part of a vibrant, thriving, engaged community,” Alberts said. “They increase the quality of life and are part of a healthy economy. As open access is also one of the National Endowment for the Arts’ main goals, we continue to be honored that, since 2010, the NEA has repeatedly recognized the efforts of the UND Writers Conference.”
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in 2017 showed that arts provided a $1.5 billion value to North Dakota’s economy, and that the more than 14,000 North Dakotans employed in the arts were compensated an estimated $900 million.
“We are grateful for the financial support that enables our organization not only to continue its annual tradition of bringing influential authors to campus, but also to preserve its unique archive of video from past events, which is now freely available online for educational, scholarly and historical use as part of our digital collection,” Alberts said.
Liberal arts mission
Bradley Rundquist, dean of the UND College of Arts & Sciences, lauded the Writers Conference as an important contribution to the University’s liberal arts mission, as well as an important community forum for diverse perspectives.
“Continued, generous support provided by the NEA to the UND Writers Conferences creates lasting impact,” Rundquist said. “The Art Works award highlights the value of the Writers Conference and the authors and artists who bring a unique learning and engagement opportunity to the University, our students and the larger community while addressing a global dialogue.”
The UND Writers Conference digital archive, comprised of more than 150 hours of video recordings, can be found in the UND Scholarly Commons.
For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
