Louisiana Project Grants: Region 1

The Louisiana Project Grants program, administered by the Louisiana Division of the Arts and regional arts councils, provides funding for diverse arts projects across the state. With $1 million allocated from the Louisiana Office of Tourism, artists, schools, and nonprofits can develop initiatives that address local community needs. The program supports various artistic disciplines, including dance, music, visual arts, and literature, fostering innovation and cultural impact in each region.

Introduction and Intent
Louisiana Project Grants are administered jointly by the Louisiana Division of the Arts (LDOA) and nine regional arts councils across the state. This program provides a system for funding arts projects in all regions of the state by giving artists, nonprofit arts organizations, nonprofit organizations, public and private schools, school boards, colleges and universities, and local government agencies in each region the opportunity to develop arts projects that meet their local needs. The purpose of the program is to cultivate innovative arts projects that have a lasting impact within each region of our state.
Louisiana Project Grants are funded by the LDOA. Due to a substantial decrease in state general funds for the LDOA, Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser transfers $1 Million from the Louisiana Office of Tourism to fund this program. Funds are provided to each region on a per capita basis utilizing the most recent U.S. Census figures. The Louisiana Division of the Arts oversees the Louisiana Project Grants program and disburses the funds to nine Regional Arts Councils (RAC), which in turn re-grant those dollars within their regions.
Recognized Artistic Disciplines
Louisiana Project Grants provide funds for a wide variety of arts projects that can impact their region and/or meet specific community needs. Arts projects funded must focus on one or more of the recognized arts disciplines listed below.
Dance
Dance projects can focus on ballet, modern, jazz or ethnic dance. Dance project grants assist artists and organizations to make innovative dance programs that meet a need in their community and are accessible to all.
Design
Design Arts projects can involve the design fields of architecture; landscape architecture; urban design; historic preservation and planning; interior design; industrial design; graphic design; and fashion design. This project area provides an opportunity for visual arts and design professionals to collaborate on projects involving design practice, media, theory, research, and education about design. Projects may include publications, audiovisual presentations, or conferences. Design arts do not include purchase of plantings, seeds, gardening equipment, construction equipment, or building supplies.
Folklife
Folklife refers to traditions currently practiced within a community that have been passed down informally over time and not learned through workshops, classes, or magazines. Folklife includes Performing Traditions (music, dance, storytelling) and Traditional Arts & Crafts (occupational, festive and food ways traditions). See definition of folk artist in Glossary of Terms. Folk traditions are created within specific cultural contexts that need to be understood to be appreciated. Most folklife projects are greatly enhanced with the services of a professional folklorist or other trained cultural  specialists such as those with academic training in folklore, cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology or other related fields. Cultural specialists should be involved in planning and implementation phases of a project. Folklife does not include historical re-enacting or living history.
Folklife projects are evaluated for the cultural significance of the art form and the involvement of trained cultural specialists (folklorists, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists).
Literature
Literature project grants are intended to support innovative projects that utilize the literary arts such as works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction to meet a community need and promote diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition, the category supports not-for-profit small presses and magazines that publish fiction, poetry, creative prose, or literary criticism for production and distribution projects. Such magazines must have been published at least once.
Media
Media project grants provide financial assistance to organizations and artists involved in film, video, radio, or related media. Projects should focus on the development of film, video, and radio as art forms where experimentation, technique and, creative processes are included in the project design.
Music
Music project grants assist artists or organizations sponsoring musical programming or the presentation and development of musicians, composers, and/or music ensembles and orchestras in all genres, including band, chamber, choral, ethnic, jazz, new, opera, orchestral, popular, solo/recital.
Theater
Theater project grants are intended to use dramatic and musical theater to engage the public, promote diversity, equity and inclusion and help meet a community need or support the development of nonprofit professional and community theater, puppetry, mime, and storytelling.
Visual Arts and Crafts
Visual Arts and Crafts project grants are intended to support projects or services of museums, art galleries, art centers, and other community organizations concerned with visual arts. This includes drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, glass, ceramics, fiber, wood, metal, mixed media, and art in public places.