GAINESVILLE, FLA.- In its first 50 years, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded more than $5 billion in grants to recipients in every state and U.S. jurisdiction, the only arts funder in the nation to do so. Recently, the NEA announced awards totaling more than $27.6 million in its first funding round of fiscal year 2016, including an Art Works award of $55,000 to the Harn Museum of Art to support its upcoming exhibition Aftermath: The Fallout of WarAmerica & the Middle East which will open August 16, 2016

The Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields. NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The arts are part of our everyday livesno matter who you are or where you livethey have the power to transform individuals, spark economic vibrancy in communities, and transcend the boundaries across diverse sectors of society. Supporting projects like the one from the Harn Museum of Art offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”

The exhibition will examine present conflicts and past histories through artwork about refugees, loss, veterans from the U.S. and Middle East and environmental dangers. It includes images from Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, the Arab Uprisings and Syria’s Civil War. It will feature approximately 95 photographs and 3 videos. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue, a symposium with scholars and photographers, workshops for educators, and tours intended to serve students from middle school through college.

“It is an honor for this project to be supported by the NEA,” said Carol McCusker, Harn Curator of Photography. “This funding will enable the museum to reach a wider audience and enhance our programming which will lead to valuable discussions on a topic that is timely and of international importance.”