The Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture (CCAC), which supports arts projects across Micronesia, has been told it cannot receive National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) grants until 2018. Three of the Micronesian islands – Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island – are US protectorates.
Insufficient reporting from the islands, and issues with grant management, have led to the NEA blocking funding to CCAC for the next two years.
‘We’ve just addressed the first step in the process of correcting this matter and bringing the [CCAC] back into good standing with the NEA, which was the production and submission of a final report on the most recent grants,’ said Community and Cultural Affairs secretary Robert Hunter. ‘The NEA grants are extremely important to our resident artists and the community.’
NEA grants support arts and education programmes in all disciplines, from painting to the performing arts. They are also crucial for sustaining traditional art practices on the islands. It is the second time that CCAC has lost NEA funding after failing to meet required reporting standards.
