Arts organizations, municipalities and educational institutions in Kentucky have been awarded $204,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the federal agency’s first round of grant funding for fiscal year 2014.

The NEA awarded 12 grants in the Commonwealth through its various funding opportunities, including the Challenge America Fast-Track and Art Works grants. The agency awarded more than 1,000 grants across the country totaling $25.8 million in support of arts and cultural projects.

The NEA grant recipients are:

• City of Berea, $10,000, to support the Berea Public Art Tour.
• Western Kentucky University Research Foundation, Bowling Green, $10,000 to support a traveling exhibit, “Weaving Community: The White Oak Basket Makers of Central Kentucky.”
• Downtown Frankfort, $10,000, in support of the Frankfort Public Art Tour.
• Hazard Community and Technical College, $10,000, to support the Osborne Brothers Hometown Festival, a bluegrass and folk music festival intended to serve residents of the Kentucky River Area District.
• Lexington Philharmonic Society Inc., $16,500, to support a commission and composer residency.
• Actors Theatre Of Louisville, $40,000, to support the Humana Festival of New American Plays.
• Asia Institute, Louisville, $10,000, to support an exhibition, “Emerging Communities Growing Art,” and related activities, featuring ceramic artists of Asian heritage from throughout the United States.
• Kentucky Dance Council, Louisville, $15,000, to support creation and presentation of a new work by choreographer Val Caniparoli as part of the Repertoire Enhancement Project.
• Kentucky Opera Association, Louisville, $12,500, to support a composer workshop featuring Daron Hagen’s “A Woman in Morocco.”
• Sarabande Books, Louisville, $20,000, to support the publication and promotion of books of short fiction, poetry and essays.
• Morehead State University, $30,000, to support a traveling exhibition and catalog, “Chester Cornett: Beyond the Narrow Sky.”
• Appalshop, $20,000, to support Traditional Arts in a Coalfield Community at WMMT-FM. Students and adults in Letcher County will receive low- or no-cost instruction in traditional Appalachian music, as well as performance opportunities.

For more information about each project, visit the NEA’s website.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.