The National Endowment for the Arts, known for its grants to arts organizations and its prizes to individual artists, also has a robust research department.

Now it is bringing that aspect of its work forward, investigating how the arts affect different aspects of American life. The NEA announced Wednesday it will lead a new task force of federal departments to examine and encourage research on the impact of the arts at all stages of life. (FULL ARTICLE: Jacqueline Trescott, The Washington Post)