Our Town invests in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with their arts and design organizations and artists, are looking to increase their livability.

The Mayors' Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative (MICD25) supports creative placemaking projects that contribute toward the livability of communities and help transform sites into lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts
at their core.

Blue Star Museums is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 1500 museums in all 50 states to offer free admission to military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 31, 2010, through Labor Day, September 6, 2010.

Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, this program encourages high school students to memorize and perform great poems.

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens.

The NEA Jazz Initiative grew out of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships program and offers educational and performance-based programs revolving around these legendary musicians.

The Knight/NEA Community Arts Journalism Challenge seeks to rethink how traditional media systems function, harnessing the latest tools and technology to make the transition to the new information environment.

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience is a program for U.S. military personnel and their families. This unique literary program is aimed at preserving the stories and reflections of American troops who have served our nation on the frontlines –– as in Afghanistan and Iraq –– and stateside defending the homeland.

Shakespeare in American Communities is the largest theatrical tour of Shakespeare in our nation's history. The tour will bring professional productions of Shakespeare to more than 100 small and mid-sized communities in all 50 states and 16 military bases.

From October 2005 through August 2006, Great American Voices will feature 24 professional opera companies performing at 39 military bases across the country.