In Sunday’s (5/4) Washington Post, Sophia Nguyen and Herb Scribner write, “The literary magazine n+1 was just one of the numerous cultural institutions sent scrambling … after receiving an abrupt notice from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) that terminated or withdrew funds that had been offered for the 2025 fiscal year. Many have spent the already awarded amounts expecting to receive payment from the government, and now wonder whether they’ll be on the hook for those expenses…. The agency previously announced that in the first cycle of funding for 2025, it was awarding 1,474 grants, for a total of $36,790,500…. The agency did not respond to requests for comment…. The grant rescission notices arrived as a budget from President Donald Trump proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts altogether…. A number of performing arts groups also had their grants slashed. Heather Noonan, vice president for advocacy at the League of American Orchestras, said that while member organizations are still learning the extent of the cuts, those impacted so far span the country, and include both youth and professional orchestras.”
In Monday’s (5/5) Violin Channel, an unsigned article states, “A wide range of arts organizations have had major grant funding withdrawn, following President Trump’s proposal that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) be eliminated in his next budget. Groups that have had funding withdrawn include the Chicago Symphony, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Central Park Summer Stage in New York City … among many others.” The article reports that in a letter to members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association administration, CSOA President Jeff Alexander wrote, “We typically receive $80,000 total per fiscal year in grants from the NEA … It is not crystal clear we will lose 100% of these funds as one of our projects for the current fiscal year has already been completed, and one of our projects for next fiscal year actually does fall into the fascinating new criteria published last night by the NEA. There is a chance, though, the entire amount of funding will be lost. I write today so you are aware of the situation in the event you are asked … if the CSOA has been affected. The answer is yes, but to what degree is still to be determined. Whatever transpires, we will persevere!”
