Songbook Foundation receives NEA grant
5/19/2021 12AM
Recent installations at the Songbook Exhibit Gallery have included "Of Thee I Sing," a look at political themes in American musical theater.
Roaring ’20s gallery exhibit will include items from vast archives
CARMEL, Ind. – The National Endowment for the Arts has approved a $10,000 grant to support the Great American Songbook Foundation’s next installation at the Songbook Exhibit Gallery at the Palladium.
Opening this fall, The Roaring ’20s: Then and Now will incorporate recordings, sheet music, photos, lyrics, arrangements and instruments from the Foundation’s vast Songbook Library & Archives. The interactive, multimedia exhibit will compare and contrast the 1920s, when postwar prosperity sparked a Golden Age in American popular music, and the 2020s, a decade so far shaded by a pandemic and social divisiveness.
“A guiding principle of our preservation work is that the past can tell us a lot about the present, which makes this exhibit the perfect choice to welcome the public back into our gallery after a long hiatus,” Executive Director Christopher Lewis said. “We’re proud and grateful to have the NEA recognize the importance of the Foundation’s mission.”
Vintage sheet music from the Songbook Library & Archives
The Songbook Foundation project is among more than 1,100 across the nation selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding.
“As the country and the arts sector begin to imagine returning to a post-pandemic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is proud to announce funding that will help arts organizations such as the Great American Songbook Foundation to re-engage fully with partners and audiences,” said NEA Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Although the arts have sustained many during the pandemic, the chance to gather with one another and share arts experiences is its own necessity and pleasure.”
About the Great American Songbook Foundation
The mission of the Great American Songbook Foundation, founded in 2007 by five-time Grammy® Award nominee Michael Feinstein, is to inspire and educate by celebrating the timeless standards of pop, jazz, Broadway and Hollywood. Headquartered at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, the Foundation advances this rich musical legacy by curating a vast archive of items representing its creators, performers and publishers; operating a multimedia exhibit gallery; overseeing the Songbook Hall of Fame; offering programs for the public and research opportunities for scholars and artists; and providing educational opportunities for student musicians, including the annual Songbook Academy® summer intensive. The Foundation is a Cultural Affiliate of the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum®. More information is available at TheSongbook.org.
