The National Endowment for the Arts has approved more than $25 million in grant funding, including $40,000 for Breckenridge Creative Arts, as part of the national group’s first major funding announcement for 2018.

The Art Works grant will help support a BCA project called “Catalyst: Art, Community, Exchange,” designed to build up the community through interactive, participatory public art at two major festivals — WAVE in June and the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts in August — along with a summertime public art exhibition, according to a news release.

The Art Works category is the NEA’s largest funding category, and the amount awarded to the BCA stands as the most given to any group, agency or organization in Colorado for the latest round of NEA funding.

“We are thrilled the National Endowment for the Arts recognized the value in our proposed Catalyst project,” said Robb Woulfe, president and CEO of Breckenridge Creative Arts, in a prepared statement. “The funding will allow us to grow the quantity and quality of admission-free, public art installations and performances during our signature festivals.”

Upcoming Catalyst projects at the WAVE festival, which will run May 31 to June 3, include pairs of ornate illuminated angel wings, complete with halos, from the Jerusalem-based OGE Group that guests can “try on.” The other project will be a series of interactive see-saws from a group of Canadian artists.

“It is energizing to see the impact that the arts are making throughout the United States,” NEA chairman Jane Chu said in the release. “These NEA-supported projects, such as this one to Breckenridge Creative Arts, are good examples of how the arts build stronger and more vibrant communities, improve well-being, prepare our children to succeed, and increase the quality of our lives.”

Altogether, the NEA has announced 19 different grants worth more than $350,000 in Colorado alone. Behind the BCA, the Denver Museum of Art received the second-highest grant award at $35,000. For more on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to Arts.gov/news.