LAF to Receive $25,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has approved the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) for a $25,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership. The LAF Fellowship was established to foster transformational leadership capacity and support innovation to amplify the role of landscape architects and bring about impactful change in the world. It is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding through the Grants for Arts Projects program.

Grants for Arts Projects is the NEA’s principal grants program for US-based organizations. It supports projects that focus on public engagement with and access to various forms of excellent art across the nation, the creation of excellent art, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life. Over the years, LAF has received several Grants for Arts Projects to support its Case Study Investigation (CSI) program and the fellowship.

"We sincerely appreciate NEA's continued investment in the LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership," said LAF CEO Barbara Deutsch, FASLA. "Each cohort of fellows has advanced visionary ideas, collaborating with diverse communities and leveraging the power of design to address a range of pressing issues. We can’t wait to see what the newest cohort will do!"

Landscape architects selected for the LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership engage in a yearlong journey to develop their leadership capacity and work on ideas that have the potential to create positive and profound change in the profession, the environment, and humanity. Each Fellow receives a $25,000 award and dedicates 12 weeks of time over the course of the coming year to pursuing their proposed project. The fellowship consists of this project work, supported by facilitated discussions, critiques, mentorship, and explorations of transformational leadership that occur during three 3-day residencies.

Visit the NEA website for the full list of projects recommended for Grants for Arts Projects funding in this round.