Nevada arts groups ‘fight’ for federal funding
By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal
As the National Endowment of the Arts faces rumors of being on the chopping block under the new White House administration, the organization’s director is conducting business as usual and made a trip to a surprising location last week: Reno.
Jane Chu, an Oklahoma native, former piano prodigy and daughter of Chinese immigrants, was appointed in 2014 to take charge of the federal organization tasked with appropriating $148 million in grants each year to arts organizations around the country. She is the first director to visit Northern Nevada in two decades; it’s the 47th state that she has visited so far under her leadership.
The biggest grants in recent years were a $60,000 grant to the Reno Chamber Orchestra for a composer residency and a $50,000 grant to the Nevada Museum of Art for the “Tahoe: A Visual History” exhibition.