In 1973, Congress passed the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to provide job training and public service jobs to underemployed and unemployed people. Now, the Delaware Art Museum is beginning a research project to understand the impact of the act on artists.
The project is being undertaken in collaboration with City Lore, Inc. and Artists Alliance, Inc. Together, the museum and its partners are planning a traveling exhibit that will explore the legacy of CETA in the arts. The project is also supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant.
Delaware Art Museum curator of contemporary art Margaret Winslow told Delaware Public Media how the NEH grant will impact the research. “What that means is – we have the opportunity to pilot some programs and exhibitions. And then develop and nurture all of that research for a longer look at this important history. What that means practically, is that this fall City Lore and Artists Alliance, Inc. in New York will present a pilot exhibition,” Winslow said.
Under CETA, federal funds were distributed to states in the form of grants. The states then distributed the funds to projects on the local level, which included many public art projects. In Delaware, CETA funding went to more than fifty artists and supported murals and events to commemorate the 1976 Bicentennial.