JUNEAU — National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA’s first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $95,400 to Juneau Arts & Humanities Council for Ping Chong Company in Alaska: ‘The Juneau Histories Theater Project’ and Training Series. The Art Works category focuses on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts.

In two Juneau residencies Chong, Conarro, and Katasse will create and premiere a new work, “Undesirable Elements: Juneau Histories,” portraying history and personal stories, performed by Juneauites. UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS (UE) is an ongoing series of community specific, Interview based theater works examining the real lives of individuals. UE engages the power and beauty of performance, personal testimony, and documentary research to amplify often unheard voices, fostering awareness and understanding in diverse communities like Juneau. “UE: Juneau Histories” will focus on stories from past and present residents of one significant area of urban Juneau: the old “Indian Village,” Juneau’s indigenous settlement, made over many times since by outside interests, beginning with the Alaska Gold Rush. Though many original families still inhabit this area, much of their lived experience is largely forgotten or unknown. This area, the Willoughby District is the prime subject of attention in Juneau’s 2012 “Urban Revitalization Plan.”

The Juneau Arts & Culture Center, JAHC’s performance venue, sits at one end of the District corridor. Through the creation of “UE: Juneau Histories,” and community conversations, the JAHC intends to activate dialogue about the future of this area as it prepares for the New Juneau Arts and Culture Center.

Work on this project will include development of teaching modules related to the stories, the techniques for interviewing and the history for teachers to integrate into classrooms, and adding to the impact of the project over the long-term.

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.