Hudson Valley Shakespeare among those who lose funds
Dozens of cultural organizations across the country reported online that they had received notification over the weekend that their grants have been rejected or rescinded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
In Philipstown, Hudson Valley Shakespeare announced on Tuesday (May 6) in a fundraising appeal that it received an email notification that a grant approved for fiscal year 2024-25 had been canceled. The $10,000 award was intended for Tent Pole Commissions, in which HVS arranges for the creation of new works. It was expected to arrive this summer, HVS said.
HVS and other arts organizations nationwide said they had received an email that read:
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. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities. The NEA will now prioritize projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] 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. Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda.
The federal government has not released a list of canceled grants, but another local organization awarded a grant at the same time as HVS was Space on Ryder Farm in Brewster, which was to receive $20,000 to support residencies for theater artists and organizations but closed in June 2024. In Peekskill, Paramount Hudson Valley said it was notified it would not receive $10,000 it had been awarded to support performances celebrating the arts of Africa.
A 2024-25 grant recipient from Beacon — Darina “Dasha” Sikmashvili, awarded $25,000 for a creative writing fellowship — said she earlier received her funds.
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, calls for the elimination of the NEA, which distributes tens of millions of dollars each year. The agency is the latest target of a sweeping overhaul of federal cultural agencies as he seeks to eliminate what the president calls “woke” influences. He has fired top officials, cut funding and demanded new guidelines at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Michael Orlove, the NEA director of state, regional and local partnerships, posted on an endowment-affiliated newsletter that he had accepted the “deferred resignation program” and would be stepping down at the end of May. “Given the current situation, it was the best option for me and my family,” he wrote.
The NEA and NEH were established in the mid-1960s, part of a wave of domestic initiatives during Lyndon Johnson administration and have become an essential part of the country’s cultural infrastructure. During his first term, Trump also called for the NEA to be defunded, but the money was restored by Congress.
As a co-founder of Tompkins Corners Cultural Center in Putnam Valley (which has not received NEA funding), I am dismayed about what these NEA cuts will mean for institutions all over the country, especially those who bring daring new work to their communities.
For one man — who as far as I can tell has no appreciation of the arts — to determine what arts projects receive funding is chilling. If there are artists and/or arts organizations in your life, now is a good time to support them.
The arts are essential to a civil, democratic society because, among other benefits, they provide us all with a broader perspective. When President Trump reserves for himself the decision as to what art is funded by tax dollars, the nation’s artistic heritage and creativity is constricted.
That’s the point of concentrating government power in one man’s hands: to restrict the sharing of information, ideas, values and opinions — the antithesis of democracy. Let this news be another call to raise our voices and do whatever we can to stop this madness.