The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government by an act of the U.S. Congress, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 29, 1965. It is a sub-agency of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is housed at 400 7th St SW, Washington, D.C. From 1979 to 2014, NEH was at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. in the Nancy Hanks Center at the Old Post Office.
Johnnetta Betsch Cole is an American anthropologist, educator, museum director, and college president. Cole was the first female African-American president of Spelman College, a historically black college, serving from 1987 to 1997. She was president of Bennett College from 2002 to 2007. During 2009–2017 she was Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art.
David C. Driskell was an American artist, scholar and curator; recognized for his work in establishing African-American Art as a distinct field of study. In his lifetime, Driskell was cited as one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of African-American Art. Driskell held the title of Distinguished University Professor of Art, Emeritus, at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Miya Hisaka Silva is the founder and director of El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador. Miya is the producer and director, teacher, dancer, choreographer, international presenter and city-planner. She has worked in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, England, Jordan, Thailand, China, Canada and throughout the United States.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for libraries and museums within the United States, having the mission to "create strong libraries and museums that connect people with information and ideas." In fiscal year 2015, IMLS had a budget of $228 million. It is a sub-agency of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, along with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Nellie May Quander was an incorporator and the first international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. As president for several years, she helped expand the sorority and further its support of African-American women at colleges and in communities. The sorority established a scholarship endowment in her name. The legacy of the sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 112 years.
Kim Roberts is an American poet, editor, and literary historian who lives in Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Woody is an American Navajo/Warm Springs/Wasco/Yakama artist, author, and educator. In March 2016, she was the first Native American to be named poet laureate of Oregon by Governor Kate Brown.
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett is a scholar of Performance and Jewish Studies and a museum professional. Professor Emerita of Performance Studies at New York University, she is best known for her interdisciplinary contributions to Jewish studies and to the theory and history of museums, tourism, and heritage. She is currently Chief Curator of the Core Exhibition and Advisor to the Director at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
Martha Jackson Jarvis is an American artist known for her mixed-media installations that explore aspects of African, African American, and Native American spirituality, ecological concerns, and the role of women in preserving indigenous cultures. Her installations are composed using a variety of natural materials including terracotta, sand, copper, recycled stone, glass, wood and coal. Her sculptures and installations are often site-specific, designed to interact with their surroundings and create a sense of place. Her works often focus on the history and culture of African Americans in the southern United States. In her exhibition at the Corcoran, Jarvis featured over 100 big collard green leaves, numerous carp and a live Potomac catfish.
Bettye Collier-Thomas is a scholar of African-American women's history.
Nejla Y. Yatkin is a German-American choreographer.
HumanitiesDC, formerly known as the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, is an American non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities based in Washington, D.C. Humanities DC was founded in 1980 to fund and produce public humanities programming in the District of Columbia. It is one of 56 state humanities councils founded in the wake of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965.
Princess Ariana Austin Makonnen of Ethiopia is an American writer, arts manager and philanthropist. She is the founder of the evening arts festival Art All Night and of the creative agency French Thomas. In 2018, she and her husband launched Old World/New World Productions, a media company that produces content focusing on the African diaspora.
Prince Joel David Makonnen Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is an attorney, businessman, philanthropist, writer, and member of the Ethiopian Imperial House of Solomon. He is the great-grandson of Haile Selassie I, the last Emperor of Ethiopia. Makonnen was born in exile in Rome and grew up in Switzerland and France, attending both the Collège du Léman in Geneva and Sainte Croix des Neiges in Haute Savoie. In 1999, he returned to Ethiopia with his mother, living in Addis Ababa. He moved to the United States and, in 2009, worked as the director of grants for Humanities DC, a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was a legal intern at the United Nations in 2011 and worked as a law clerk in international trade and equal opportunity employment in 2013. Since 2017, makonnen has served as a legal aid and corporate counsel for Otsuka Pharmaceutical. He is the co-founder and director of Alchemy World Projects USA, an educational and entrepreneurship organization that serves impoverished youth in Ethiopia, and is the co-founder of the media company Old World/New World Productions, which he launched with his wife, Ariana Austin Makonnen. In 2021, he co-authored a children's novel with Kwame Mbalia titled Last Gate of the Emperor.
Maurie D. McInnis is an American author and cultural historian. She currently serves as the 6th president of Stony Brook University.
The Smithsonian Latino Center (SLC) is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution to preserve Latino history and culture, engaging Latino communities, and advancing Latino representation in the United States. It was founded as the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives in 1997, and in 2006 became the Smithsonian's Latino Center.
Viola Canady was an African American quiltmaker. She was the co-founder of the Daughters of Dorcas and Sons Quilting Guild of Washington, D.C..
John Meredith Ford (1923–1995) was a Guyanese businessman and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Georgetown, Guyana from 1970 to 1972. During his time in office, Guyana went from being a monarchy under the rule of Elizabeth II to the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana, an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations. He hosted independence celebrations in the nation's capital and renamed streets to celebrate the country's freedom from British rule. After immigrating to the United States in 1982, Ford worked as a furniture salesman and real estate investor in the Washington, D.C. area.
