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3w ago

Trump Administration Moves to Eliminate NEA, Cancels Hundreds of Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts begins rescinding pre-approved funding and enforcing new cultural priorities, leaving arts organizations nationwide in financial disarray.

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Jessie Amoroso, costume director at the American Conservatory Theater. left, and Costume and Scenic Designer David Zinn, right, adjusts a costume on cast member El Beh during a fitting ahead of the musical “The Wizard of Oz”, at the theater’s costume shop in San Francisco, May 16, 2023. Bay Area arts organizations are reeling after the National Endowment for the Arts rescinded crucial funding as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping cultural overhaul.
Cast members of the upcoming American Conservatory Theater production “A Whynot Christmas Carol” are seen during a rehearsal in San Francisco, Oct. 30, 2024. Bay Area arts organizations are reeling after the National Endowment for the Arts rescinded crucial funding as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping cultural overhaul.
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Overview

  • President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal calls for the complete elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of a broader effort to reduce the federal deficit.
  • The NEA has rescinded hundreds of already-approved grants, impacting diverse projects across literature, theater, music, and visual arts, and leaving organizations scrambling to fill funding gaps.
  • The agency’s grant priorities have been redirected to align with the Administration’s agenda, emphasizing projects tied to the 250th anniversary of American independence, AI competency, and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), among others.
  • NEA staff, including senior officials, have been asked to resign or retire, further destabilizing the agency’s operations and its ability to support the arts sector.
  • Arts organizations across the country, from small nonprofits to major institutions, are appealing the cuts and mobilizing legal challenges, with many warning of long-term consequences for cultural programming and community access to the arts.