The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, an annual south side music festival, is one of 20 arts organizations in Illinois that received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). 

Since 2007, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival has cultivated space for jazz enthusiasts and music lovers, young and old, through the annual festival, which celebrates the legacy of jazz on the south side. It is a free annual festival featuring over 35 performances by 150 musicians.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) announced the news on Feb. 9. Funding for the grant was made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also known as the COVID-19 stimulus package. The economic stimulus bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2021. 

Grants were awarded in increments of $50,000, $100,000, or $150,000. The NEA received and reviewed more than 7,500 applications for the grant program. 

The NEA grant will provide more than 50 million dollars to 567 arts organizations nationwide to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations that were awarded funds can use the monies to “save jobs, fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation,” according to a written release from Rush’s office. 

“The Hyde Park Jazz festival is an outstanding cultural event for our city,” said Rush in a written statement. “It’s free, it’s world-class, it’s renowned, and I’m so proud that it is held in the 1st District. I love jazz, and I’m thrilled that the Hyde Park Jazz Festival will receive $50,000 from the American Rescue Plan. This monumental legislation, which I was proud to help pass, is truly a gift that keeps on giving.”

Other Chicago grant awardees include the Muntu Dance Theatre in South Shore, which received $100,000, and Free Spirit Media, a west side-based nonprofit that provides teens and adults with tools and skills in media and storytelling, which received $150,000. Here is a complete listing of awardees in Illinois. 

is a multimedia reporter for The TRiiBE.