Sweeping cuts hit NEA after Trump administration calls to eliminate the agency

Editor's note: NPR receives two grants totaling $65,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Trump Administration has started canceling National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants.

Hundreds of arts groups of various sizes across the U.S. received emails notifying them of the withdrawal and termination of their grants late on Friday. The updates, which came from a generic "arts.gov" email address, appeared in grantees' inboxes just hours after President Trump proposed eliminating the agency entirely from the federal budget.

Among those affected are the Berkeley Repertory Theater, Central Park Summer Stage in New York City, and the Chicago-area arts education nonprofit Open Studio Project.

"The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President," the email, several copies of which have been shared with NPR, stated in part. "Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities." The email includes a line saying the recipient can appeal the decision within seven days.

The email states President Trump's priorities as being: "Projects that elevate the Nation's HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities."

The NEA did not respond to requests for comment. But arts groups have been vocal about the cuts on social media, in online newsletters and in emails to NPR.

"The work will go on, but right now I'm pretty discouraged," wrote Rob Lentz, executive director at Open Studio Project, on LinkedIn. Lentz said his organization's two-year grant supporting art for elementary school students has been canceled. "The nonprofit sector is under siege by our own government, and arts organizations are especially vulnerable. When chaos and cruelty are the order of the day, all I can ask for is solidarity and resistance."

Studio Two Three, a community arts space in Richmond, Va., shared information about a canceled $30,000 grant. "Absolutely furious," wrote Kate Fowler, the organization's director of community partnerships and development, on Instagram: "A grant we spent hours (days?) writing, submitted on time, were selected and approved for by a group of our national peers and received our acceptance letter for, was randomly revoked today. It is WILD that this administration is retroactively pulling funding."

Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Cornerstone Theater Company's grant offer worth $40,000 has been withdrawn. In an email to NPR, Megan Wanlass and Sunder Ganglani, the company's managing and artistic directors, said, "The grant was intended to support our ongoing investigation into the relationship between theater and the history and practice of American democracy — a project that we believe is a rigorous inquiry into American Independence — one of the NEA's changed funding priorities."

The NEA apparently disagrees. Its email, shared by Cornerstone with NPR, states that the grant was withdrawn for not aligning with the agency's priority, "to support the development and production of community-engaged, devised work."

Beyond the wave of cuts, the National Endowment for the Arts is among a group of "small agency eliminations" proposed by the Trump administration's 2026 Discretionary Budget Request, alongside the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. "The Budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of Federal funding for, the following small agencies — consistent with the President's efforts to decrease the size of the Federal Government to enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities. Past Trump administration budgets have also supported these eliminations. Remaining funds account for costs of orderly shutdowns," the budget request states.

Since its founding by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded $5.5 billion in grants. It is the largest arts funder in the U.S. — yet one of the smallest federal agencies. It is currently funded at $207 million, which represents a tiny fraction of the overall budget. According to an NEA fact sheet from 2022, the agency's funding amounts to 0.003% of the total federal budget.

Republican administrations have called for its reduction and closure in the past, including during the first Trump presidency. However, the agency has historically received wide bi-partisan support because, as its website states, it "supports arts organizations and artists in every congressional district in the country."

The grant cuts and proposed agency elimination have drawn wide criticism across the cultural spectrum.

Eliminating the endowment itself would take a majority in Congress.

"Any attempt to dismantle the National Endowment for the Arts — by eliminating funding, reducing staff, or canceling grants — is deeply concerning, shortsighted, and detrimental to our nation," said Erin Harkey, CEO of the national arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts, in a statement shared with NPR. "The NEA plays a vital role in the lives of millions of Americans and the thousands of nonprofit and governmental arts and cultural organizations that bring America's story to life."

Al Vincent, Jr., executive director of Actors' Equity Association, said: "Federal arts funding survived the last Trump Administration with bipartisan support because Congress understands that the live arts are a huge economic job creator across the country."

"We will fight to protect this critical funding that generates a huge return on investment in local communities," he added.

Bob Suttmann, president of AFM Local 802, the musicians union in New York, said, "This is a dark day for the independence of the arts and musicians across the country — and it is an attack on American excellence and creativity."
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