May 9, 2018—National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018.  Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $15,000 to the American Literary Translators Association to support the annual ALTA conference. The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

“The variety and quality of these projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Through the work of organizations such as the American Literary Translators Association, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.”

“We are delighted to be among the organizations awarded funding this year, and incredibly grateful for the NEA’s support,” said ALTA Executive Director Elisabeth Jaquette. The $15,000 award will support ALTA’s 41st annual conference, “Performance, Props, and Platforms,” held this year in Bloomington, Indiana from October 31-November 3.

ALTA’s conference is the only one in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to literary translation. It brings together nearly 500 professional literary translators, editors, educators, students, publishers, and literary arts professionals to discuss the art, practice, theory, funding, publication, and promotion of works of literary translation into English. The conference includes panels, workshops, roundtables, readings, and events on literary translation with local community and arts organizations. It also inaugurates a new season of ALTA’s Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, which facilitates a close working relationship between an experienced translator and an emerging translator on a project selected by the latter.

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.