(A project of NALIP)

Award is among 1,023 Made Nationally. Program will be launched at NALIP Media Summit 2015.

May 15, 2015 —[Los Angeles, CA]— Through its grant-making to thousands of nonprofits each year, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) promotes opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity. In the second major grant announcement of fiscal year 2015, the NEA will make a grant award to the National Association of Latino Independent Producers to fund its new and innovative incubation and media production program Latino Lens. The NEA will make 1,023 awards totaling $74.3 million nationwide in this funding round. Latino Lens will produce a series of short films, digital projects and general content for diverse audiences - while promoting the work from and for Latino creators.

NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity, and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States. Funding these new projects like the one from NALIP represents an investment in both local communities and our nation’s creative vitality.”

"It is an honor to count with the support of of the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts, Latino Lens is an innovative production incubator that will result in short narrative films created by Latino artists. It is a vote of confidence in knowing that the organization is growing in the right direction by advancing, promoting and empowering Latino content creators," added Axel Caballero, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).

The grant adds to matching funds provided by Time Warner Foundation - and launches a new direct production and incubation era at NALIP. The program details, process, invitations - will be launched and announced at NALIP Media Summit 2015.

To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring2015 #2morrow2gether or #wemoveyouforward. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov and for NALIP go to http://nalip.org