The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced that the agency will award 863 grants to organizations and individual writers across the country. The Chinese Fine Arts Society (CFAS) is one of the grantees and will receive $15,000 to fund their 2012 Migratory Journeys Music Concert Series. The 863 grant awards total $22.543 million, encompass 15 artistic disciplines and fields, and support projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

This funding helps support the production of a World Premiere Concert and additional related concerts, all of which will feature the winning works from CFAS’s Third International Music Composition Competition where composers were invited to participate by creating original music inspired by the wandering, resettling, and emigration of Chinese diaspora population through the world. Winners were recently selected by a panel of esteemed judges comprised of composers Chen Yi and Huang Ruo as well as Fulcrum Point New Music Project Director Stephen Burns. The concerts will be performed by acclaimed Chicago professional musicians at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Fullerton Hall (March 16, 2012) and at other high profile venues including the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall as well as a live broadcast from WFMT radio studios.

“Art Works is the guiding principle at the NEA,” said agency Chairman Rocco Landesman. “And I’m pleased to see that principle represented through the 823 Art Works-funded projects included in this announcement. These projects demonstrate the imaginative and innovative capacities of artists and arts organizations to enhance the quality of life in their communities.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to be honored in this way by our nation’s premiere arts funder.” Says Julie Tiao Ma, Board President of the Chinese Fine Arts Society. “Drawing upon the submission of original work by emerging as well as seasoned composers, our International Music Composition Competition seeks to inspire creativity and innovation in the global music community. We are pleased that this project has been deemed to be of national significance.”

In March 2011, the NEA received 1,686 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $84 million in funding. The resulting funding rate of 49 percent of eligible applications reflects both the significant demand for support and the ongoing vitality of the not-for-profit arts community despite current financial challenges. Art Works grants are awarded based on the applications received by the NEA and how those applications are assessed by the review panels.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA web site at arts.gov.

About the Chinese Fine Arts Society: For 27 years, this professional, small, fully- independent arts organization has brought together people from diverse backgrounds over a common goal: to celebrate the beauty and majesty of traditional and contemporary Chinese music and art. CFAS is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of Chinese culture, enhancing cultural exchange and pursuing excellence in Chinese music, dance and visual arts.

Funding for this concert is provided, in part, by the Illinois Arts Council, City Arts Grants, and the Arts Work Fund, an initiative of the Chicago Community Trust and Affiliates.

For further information about the Chinese Fine Arts Society or the Migratory Journeys Concerts, contact 312-369-3197 or [email protected]. Visit ChineseFineArts.org.