The Environmental Protection Agency will pair artists with federal officials overseeing treasured bodies of water in the United States as part of a new initiative to use arts and culture to support water restoration and climate resiliency.

Louisiana folklorist Nick Spitzer and Mississippi blues musician R.

Birds of Chicago perform at U-M's Hill Auditorium at the 41st Ann Arbor Folk Festival on Jan. 27, 2018. (Credit: Andrew Rogers)ANN ARBOR – The National Endowment for the Arts has approved a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award for The Ark to support the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. The Ark, an intimate folk music venue in downtown Ann Arbor, has been presenting, preserving and encouraging folk, ethnic and roots music for 55 years. Each year, The Ark presents the Ann Arbor Folk Festival at the end of January in the University of Michigan’s historic Hill Auditorium. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from The Ark,” Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers said in a statement.