JBFC To Receive $20,000 Grant From the National Endowment for the Arts

Pleasantville, NY—May 12, 2021— The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced that the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC), a nonprofit cultural arts center, was chosen to receive a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support their Creative Culture fellowship program in 2021-22.

Jacob Burns Film Center developed Creative Culture to champion diverse voices and foster a thriving artistic community throughout the region, across the country, and around the world. Creative Culture provides 10-month-long fellowship experiences for emerging filmmakers looking to produce two short film projects in a collaborative community. Fellows receive access to production equipment and space, mentorship, and the JBFC’s industry network.

“As the country and the arts sector begin to imagine returning to a post-pandemic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is proud to announce funding that will help arts organizations such as Jacob Burns Film Center reengage fully with partners and audiences,” said NEA Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Although the arts have sustained many during the pandemic, the chance to gather with one another and share arts experiences is its own necessity and pleasure.”

“We are grateful to the NEA for their generous and continued support of Creative Culture, which seeks out stories that are underrepresented or not yet told,” said Sean Weiner, Director of Programs, Media Arts Lab. “Our goal is to expand the breadth of stories celebrated in film by infusing into the industry narratives that are more representative of the people in this country. By supporting these film projects, we inevitably champion an inclusive group of filmmakers hailing from across the country.”

JBFC’s Creative Culture is among 1,100 projects selected across America, totaling nearly $27 million during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding. For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit arts and education hub located on a three-building campus in the New York Metro area. The JBFC brings the transformative power of film to the surrounding community through unique programming and discussion, shared experiences, and educational initiatives. Since opening in 2001, over 3,000,000 people have enjoyed the best of current American and foreign cinema, unique film series, and special events at the five-screen theater complex. A pioneer in visual literacy, the JBFC offers educational experiences for students of all ages at our state-of-the-art Media Arts Lab, including curricula for public schools and a fellowship and residency program for professional filmmakers.