The Creative Center at University Settlement is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $40,000. This grant will support the Training Institute, a four-day program offering intensive training, seminars, and networking opportunities to advance the integration of arts in healthcare and promote well-being.

This grant enables the upcoming launch of The Creative Center at University Settlement’s annual Training Institute for Artists and Administrators in Arts-in-Healthcare and Creative Aging, which will span four days and feature an intensive schedule of trainings, seminars, and networking opportunities held at Speyer Hall. Additionally, participants will visit museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, The New Museum, and the Asia Society, as well as studios of older adult artists.

In total, the NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

“Projects like The Creative Center’s Training Institute exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”

“Although we know that arts-in-healthcare and creative aging programs make a positive impact in patients’ lives and prognoses, most existing programs remain private and expensive,” said Melissa Aase, CEO, University Settlement. “The Creative Center will continue to connect the arts and diverse communities marginalized by systemic healthcare disparities.”