Sunil Iyengar

In my capacity of overseeing research and analysis at the NEA, I strive to increase evidence and knowledge-sharing about the characteristics and conditions of the U.S. arts ecosystem, and about the arts' measurable contributions to health and human development, economic growth, and other domains.
To learn about the NEA's research publications, its Research Grants in the Arts and NEA Research Labs programs, its statistical data collections and other resources, go here: https://www.arts.gov/impact/research.
Interests
Relevant to the NeuroArts Blueprint (for which I served as an advisor), the NEA has supported--and continues to support--multiple research projects investigating the arts' benefits to health and well-being. In particular, the agency operates the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, which includes research and evaluation studies involving creative arts therapies. In previous years, the agency partnered with the National Institutes of Health on supporting Music and Health research grants, and the NEA created the Sound Health Network initiative.