NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCES GRANT TO
THE ART STUDENTS LEAGUE OF NEW YORK’S

VYTLACIL CAMPUS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

$10,000 support will aid resident artists

November 23, 2010—New York City and Sparkill, NY—Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), today announced that the Art Students League of New York has been approved for a grant of $10,000 to support the League’s Vytlacil Campus Artist-in-Residence Program.  The Art Students League is one of 1,057 not-for-profit organizations recommended for a grant as part of the federal agency’s first round of fiscal year 2011 grants. In total, the Arts Endowment will distribute $26.68 million to support projects nationwide.

An independent agency of the federal government, the National Endowment for the Arts advances artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said, "I continue to be impressed with the creative, innovative, and excellent projects brought forward by arts organizations across the country. Our grantees are not only furthering their art forms but also enhancing their neighborhoods by making them more vibrant, livable, and fun."

"It's gratifying to have the support and recognition of the National Endowment for the Arts for the League's Vytlacil Residency Program," says Art Students League Executive Director Ira Goldberg. "We are also pleased that this grant acknowledges the positive effect of our programming expansion emphasizing professional development, regarded as a key component to the League's mission."

Under Director Gary Lawrence Sussman, The Vytlacil Campus Artist-in-Residence Program (Vyt AIR) in Sparkill, N.Y. (Rockland County) provides an environment that frees artists from the routine of daily life and allows them to focus on their art for an extended period of time.  Hosting artists from throughout the U.S. and around the world, it offers living and studio space, equipment, access to workshops, and one-on-one mentoring in a wooded setting just 30 minutes from the cultural center of New York City. The Campus occupies the grounds and home of the late modernist painter and League instructor Vaclav Vytlacil, whose family donated the property in 1995. Vyt AIR’s newest studio/living building (at left) was opened in November 2011.

About the Art Students League of New York

Founded in 1875 by artists, for artists, the Art Students League of New York provides affordable studio-based art education of the highest quality to anyone with an interest in making art. Great artists have trained, taught, and exhibited at the League and enriched the League and the wider community. Apprenticeships, classes, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and residencies uphold the League’s mission to support "artists and students who intend to make art a profession"  and to cultivate "a spirit of fraternity among art students."

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government that has awarded more than $4 billion on projects of artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.  To join the discussion on how art works, visit the National Endowment for the Arts at arts.gov.