As Trump targets NEA, funds for WA arts organizations vanish

Showtime was two hours away when Seattle nonprofit On the Boards got the news: On Friday afternoon, the federal government withdrew a National Endowment for the Arts grant that should have funded that evening’s performance, a dance production by acclaimed choreographer Miguel Gutierrez.

On the Boards isn’t alone: Scores of other arts organizations across the state and country have seen grants and grant offers withdrawn or terminated in recent days as President Donald Trump’s administration cuts and redirects subsidies for the arts, education and humanities. These cuts are part of a sweeping overhaul of the federal government.

In emails sent to cultural organizations late Friday afternoon, the NEA stated that “funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the administration’s agenda.” The independent federal agency left the door open for some organizations to appeal the decision or recoup a portion of the funds.

The NEA sends roughly $4 million dollars to Washington state every year. While it’s not yet clear how much funding has evaporated, nearly 30 Washington organizations told The Seattle Times that NEA grants ranging from $10,000 to $55,000 were affected.

Cut funding for these organizations — including Town Hall, Northwest Folklife Festival, the Burke Museum and Seattle Theatre Group — tallies up to at least $570,000, but the full sum is likely higher. (In the fall, 41 Washington organizations were awarded $1,045,000 in total from the NEA.)

NEA grants are modest in the grand scheme of nonprofit budgets. But they’re a big deal, especially for smaller organizations, many of which have shoestring budgets. And while the NEA has a considerable impact on the nation’s cultural sector, its annual budget ($207 million in the fiscal year 2024) is a fraction of total federal government spending ($6.75 trillion in that same period).

The NEA and the White House did not respond to a request for comment on this story on Monday.

“Existential fear”

Friday’s emails from the NEA came just hours after the president proposed a 2026 budget that eliminated the NEA; its sister agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Last month, nonprofits across the country saw millions in NEH and IMLS grants terminated.

Some local organizations have been hit by a double whammy: On Friday, Seattle’s Burke Museum lost a $50,000 NEA grant, intended for an upcoming exhibition on Coast Salish weaving, not long after a $150,000 NEH grant was rescinded. The museum hopes to make up for the loss through other funding sources, a spokesperson said Sunday, adding that the show will open as planned in September.

At least $10 million in NEH, NEA and IMLS funding is at risk in Washington, according to estimates from Inspire Washington, a statewide cultural advocacy organization.

Many Washington arts groups lost NEA funding for projects that recently wrapped up or are underway, forcing them to make up for the loss with last-minute fundraising or to cancel performances and halt projects.

The NEA withdrew a $25,000 grant for Seattle’s Northwest Folklife Festival, which takes place Memorial Day weekend. With the festival just a few weeks away, “this will absolutely cause hardship,” said Reese Tanimura, Folklife’s managing director.

Multiple local projects are potentially in jeopardy after the grant cuts, including a book-themed mural and fiber arts installation at a library in Tacoma’s historically underserved South End, a new commission for the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and a multimedia theater show about the contributions of women to World War II aeronautics. Other affected organizations include the Seattle Opera and Tacoma Arts Live.

“This shortsighted decision not only diminishes access to artistic experiences for countless residents but also weakens the very fabric of our society that thrives on creativity and cultural expression,” said Karen J. Hanan, executive director of the Washington State Arts Commission, which funds local organizations and artists. (The state agency is financed in part by the NEA; its funding hasn’t been canceled.)

These cuts come at a tough time for the cash-strapped cultural sector, which is struggling due to pandemic-induced audience losses, inflation and a difficult fundraising landscape.

“Arts funding is always challenging, and even more so since the pandemic,” said local arts consultant Lily Raabe, who works with multiple nonprofits that saw their grants rescinded. “Business as usual doesn’t exist when the times continue to be unprecedented.”

For community organizations representing long-marginalized communities, the struggle for funding is nothing new, said Ebony Arunga, executive director of LANGSTON, a cultural center in Seattle’s Central District. Late Friday, Arunga heard that the NEA had withdrawn a $20,000 grant for the Seattle Black Film Festival.

“What’s being dismantled in this instance,” Arunga said, “is decades of racial equity work that made it possible for our film festival to be funded in the first place.”

Early in Trump’s second term, his administration has sought to overhaul the NEA. (The agency is technically independent but is subject to executive orders.) Earlier this year, the agency canceled a grant program for underserved communities and tried to bar grantees from promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “gender ideology.”

According to the emails sent Friday, the NEA will shift its priorities to “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.”

Several Washington state organizations that lost NEA funding called out inconsistencies with the administration’s stated goals.

“The reasoning for the rejection is demonstrably wrong,” said Andre Bouchard, executive creative producer of Indigenous Performance Productions. His defunded project: “The Aunties,” a storytelling project featuring Native American women, made by a Native director and Native film crew.

Given the stated focus on “skilled trade jobs,” Sawhorse Revolution, a local nonprofit that teaches teens carpentry and design, was surprised to see its $30,000 grant revoked. “We are very focused on providing youth with the skills to enter the trades,” said the organization’s finance and operations director, Alyssa Marsh.

There are a few glimmers of hope: NEA grants work on a reimbursement basis, and some organizations have already been repaid for incurred costs. And unlike recent NEH cancellations, the NEA is giving grantees until the end of May to get some expenses reimbursed. Still, that’s cold comfort for those with events and expenses planned for beyond this month.

Beyond immediate financial repercussions, leaders at Washington organizations are concerned about their fiscal futures: It’s likely that funding won’t come in 2026 or beyond, either, amid a broader paradigm shift.

Megan Kiskaddon, On the Board’s executive director, said it’s “hard to imagine a country where supporting an artist as amazing as Miguel (Gutierrez) is revoked,” referencing last Friday’s production. On the Boards will try to make up for the withdrawn $20,000 NEA grant with fundraising.

“I feel a sense of existential fear and a pit in my stomach about what it means to live in a country that may move into a paradigm where there is no national level support for the arts,” Kiskaddon said.