Lyric Theatre Receives Grant from National Endowment for the Arts
OKLAHOMA CITY — January 28, 2022 — Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma has been approved to receive an American Rescue Plan grant totaling $150,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic.
Lyric may use this funding to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation. In total, the NEA will award grants totaling more than $57 million to 567 arts organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C.
“Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations, such as Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, rebuild and reopen,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. “The arts are crucial in helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire, as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.”
Funding from the NEA provides the foundation for Lyric to begin building back to full capacity, rehiring Oklahoma-based artists, carpenters, and technicians, and drawing Oklahomans to downtown Oklahoma City and to The Plaza District, where local businesses rely on the patronage of Lyric’s audiences from the region and around the state.
“I am both thankful and inspired by the financial commitment the National Endowment for the Arts has made to Lyric Theatre and the people of Oklahoma,” said Lyric Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron. “It is humbling and an honor for all Oklahomans to have Lyric recognized as a valuable American arts institution. We will use this grant to continue helping our nation come together safely and inspire hope.”
The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021 when the NEA was provided $135 million for the arts sector. The funding for organizations is the third installment providing more than $57.7 million for arts organizations. In April 2021, the NEA announced $52 million (40 percent) in ARP funding would be allocated to 62 state, jurisdictional, and regional arts organizations for regranting through their respective programs. The second installment in November 2021 allocated $20.2 million to 66 local arts agencies for subgranting to local artists and art organizations.
Lyric Theatre is among five Oklahoma organizations receiving funding from the NEA during this installment. Other recipients include the Delaware Nation of Anadarko, Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma from Miami, the Oklahoma Philharmonic Society of Oklahoma City, and the Greenwood Community Development Corporation of Tulsa.
About Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma
Founded in 1963, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma is the state’s leading professional theatre company. Lyric produces classic and contemporary musicals, new works, and plays featuring artists from Oklahoma and around the nation. Lyric’s Thelma Gaylord Academy is the premiere professional theatre training ground, offering classes in all aspects of the performing arts. Lyric is a nonprofit member theatre of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Allied Arts. For more information, visit www.LyricTheatreOKC.org.
