In part of a nationwide move to attack arts organizations, on May 2, President Donald Trump’s administration sent emails to multiple Bay Area arts nonprofits, and hundreds nationwide, essentially rescinding previously awarded grants. Recipients of the shocking emails include LGBTQ-focused performing arts nonprofits.
New Conservatory Theatre Center, which has commissioned and produced LGBTQ-themed plays and musical for decades, was among the nonprofits to be notified. NCTC’s Artistic Director Ed Decker shared the text of the email on Facebook on May 2.
“Pursuant to the Offer letter, the tentative funding recommendation for the following application is Withdrawn by the Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts will no longer offer award funding for the project,” the statement read.
NCTC’s “Tentative Funding Recommendation Amount” of $20,000 for January 1, 2025 to May 31, 2025 was pulled. Multiple arts groups received emails with the following text, oddly altered since the takeover by the Trump administration:
“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 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. Your project, as noted below, unfortunately does not align with these priorities.”
The emails were semi-anonymously signed, ‘Sincerely, The National Endowment for the Arts.’
Arts groups were instructed that they could appeal the determination within seven calendar days of the notice, “if you believe your project meets one of the agency’s new priorities.”
NCTC’s specific project for their grant, “Simple Mexican Pleasures,” is currently running through May 18.
https://nctcsf.org/
Chaos amid cuts
This is only one of hundreds of arts organizations that received emails last week. According to an NPR story, 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.
“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.”
NPR itself is under pressure as a target of the Trump administration, as is PBS and its local affiliates. However, since both media corporations are privately funded, despite his executive order, his administration can’t legally defund them.
This is just one part in an astounding barrage of actions by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies. Court decisions halting some actions are preliminary, with no definitive ruling. Actions include arresting and detaining migrants, foreign students with valid visas, and even US citizens and children, incarcerating them overseas.
Most recently, Trump made the absurd proposal to reopen San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island as a prison, despite the fact that it’s been a state park for decades and is completely ill-equipped to house prisoners.
Clapping back
Amid this chaos, some arts groups have responded to the funding cancellations. New Conservatory Theatre Center filed an appeal, and shared their reply:
“Dear NEA Administrator,
We are submitting this letter of appeal in response to the withdrawal of funding for the New Conservatory Theatre Center’s world premiere play “Simple Mexican Pleasures” by Eric Reyes Loo (Application #1934005-32). In your email notification you mention that the Endowment’s priorities have been updated to “focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.” Further on, the letter states “the NEA will now prioritize projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions…”
If this focus is in fact a priority, I urge you to read on as well as review the attached information about the play. I believe that it will help you to understand how the project aligns perfectly with elevating the Hispanic community. It achieves this through a beautifully rendered queer story highlighting a rich cultural heritage. This is something to be proud of and not ignored, ridiculed or denigrated.
We find it unacceptable that the President has cast himself as the sole arbiter of what comprises the nation’s artistic heritage and creativity. A healthy America is one that fully supports the robust freedom of broad artistic expression.
It has long been a core tenet of the NEA that the work they decide to fund will be judged solely on its artistic merits and not be influenced by any outside pressure. By placing the Endowment’s creative direction and the funds it controls in the hands of a single individual, and especially one as powerful as the President, who makes his biases well known, is especially disturbing. What this means for the NEA and for imaginative and intelligent works of art in general is not hard to see. There will be an ongoing dumbing down, draining of color, and censorship of the works available to the American people. As a result, their ability to learn the truth will be greatly diminished.
The chaotic and misguided directives from the White House continue to inflict incomparable damage on the soul of our nation. It is in the spirit of our shared humanity and artistic liberty that we resolutely appeal your recent decision to withdraw the New Conservatory Theatre Center’s grant. We respectfully request the reinstatement of our NEA grant as well as those of our colleagues across the nation.
Sincerely yours,
Ed Decker, Barbara Hodgen
Founder and Artistic Director, Executive Director
New Conservatory Theatre Center
Harvey tribute
Another performing nonprofit whose $25,000 grant was rescinded is Opera Parallèle, which is on the verge of producing a new version of composer Stewart Wallace and librettist Michael Korie’s opera about gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk. Performances are still set to begin May 31.
“Opera Parallèle is deeply disappointed by the recent NEA decision to withdraw financial support from the company’s upcoming presentation of ‘Harvey Milk Reimagined,’ said a company statement.
The organization questioned how “an opera honoring one of the nation’s foremost LGBTQ+ civil rights leaders, does not ‘reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity.’ This powerful work tells the story of a visionary who was tragically slain for striving to unify a divided community.”
“What is particularly disconcerting,” wrote Opera Parallèle’s Interim Managing Director Elizabeth Brodersen, “is that we received a congratulatory letter from the NEA six months ago confirming that their selection panel had recommended Opera Parallèle’s “Harvey Milk Reimagined” for funding. This reversal undermines the NEA’s standing as an arbiter of artistic excellence.”
“The company is profoundly grateful to our generous benefactors and donors at every level, whose support and passion sustain our mission,” said the opera reps. “The most meaningful way to stand with us, and to honor the legacy of Harvey Milk, is to attend one of the upcoming performances at YBCA.”
https://operaparallele.org/harveymilk/
Dancing through strife
Dance Mission Theater, now in its 25th year, and its resident company Dance Brigade (which has existed in various forms for half a century) also received notice on May 2 that its $75,000 grant was terminated.
“We received an Our Town grant to support art activations in and around the BART Plaza,” wrote Managing Director Stella Adelman in an email. “San Francisco Arts Council was the City agency that supported the project. Our award period was July 1, 1024 to December 31, 2025. We are frantically trying to figure out if we can adjust.”
The extensive notice to Dance Mission Theater stated that, “The period of performance is changed administratively to end May 31, 2025. NEA support for this project does not extend beyond this date.” In addition to having funds withheld, arts organizations are still required to report final expenses.
Adelman added, “Ironically, I would argue that our project falls within the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ priority, as the reason we are doing this project is because a lot of ‘unhealthy’ activity was/is happening on our corner [24th St at Mission] and we know that putting up a fence or policing the area is not the answer. As Rhodessa Jones always says, ‘Art saves lives.’ We were activating the area with culturally relevant art activities. But we are not going to waste time trying to challenge this.”
Adelman wrote that she is also worried about how this is also going to affect re-granting organizations like the California Arts Council, which receives NEA funding.
“It is yet another blow for art organizations at a time when so much other funding is being cut both from foundation and government sources.”
Adelman also noted how the original contract was inconsistent with the revised statement, claiming that the NEA can terminate their contract at any time.
“These are scary, fascist times,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, this is not a hyperbole. They have come for our trans siblings, our immigrant siblings, our HIV+ siblings, our youth, our education systems. And now they are coming for art. Because they know that art has the power to activate minds and hearts and effect change. But we will not lay down and toss up our hands in defeat, because we can't. We will continue because the future literally depends on it.”
https://dancemissiontheater.org/
Strike One
In Los Angeles, The One Institute, an esteemed archive of LGBTQ historical items, received its NEA grant termination notice on May 1. The institute frequently works with San Francisco’s GLBT Historical Society on exhibits.
“The project for which we had been recommended for funding (a grant or $15,000) was for the Circa: Queer Histories festival, a deeply intersectional festival which promotes the contributions of LGBTQ+ people through arts and humanities programming,” wrote Executive Director Tony Valenzuela in a Facebook post.
“While I applaud the NEA’s new funding priorities, I am doubtful of their sincerity considering Trump is again trying to eliminate the NEA in his just-released budget. All that said, … my guess is queer orgs won’t get funded. I look forward to being proven wrong.”
https://www.oneinstitute.org/
Scrapped
Other Bay Area nonprofits on the hit list include SCRAP, the San Francisco creative reuse center, the Oakland Theater Project, Circo Zero, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Zaccho Dance Theatre, and The Lab.
According to an article on KQED's website, the terminations are effective as of May 31, 2025. In a budget proposal released on May 1, Trump wants to eliminate the NEA entirely, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. Affected grantees have until June 30 to make a final payment request, they are able to complete their awarded projects by the end of May.
“The NEA’s Grants for the Arts, issued twice a year, historically range in value from $30,000 to $100,000 and support arts nonprofits in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.” stated the KQED article.
With $36.8 million given in more than 1,400 awards, the amount is small compared to other government entities that are not falling under the Trump DOGE axe. In fact, the government has spent more than that amount footing the bill for Trump’s 2025 trips to Florida to play golf.
SCRAP, the San Francisco creative reuse center, was proud to announce its very first NEA grant in January. But since then, the $25,000 in funds have been effectively frozen. Several comments online about the KQED article noted that SCRAP was an essential part of helping teachers provide art supplies to students.
https://www.scrap-sf.org/
Exit stage left?
The Oakland Theater Project, which received a $30,000 award in 2024 for the world premiere production of Erik Ehn’s “Moby Dick,” was also among the affected nonprofits.
Managing Director Colin Mandlin said they have received about half of the funds from the NEA, which were meant to cover a two-year granting period.
“‘Moby Dick’ was scheduled to premiere in 2026; it’s unlikely Oakland Theater Project will be able to receive their full grant amount by the June deadline. It’s more ambitious, world premieres, when we’re commissioning a piece from scratch,” Mandlin told KQED. “Commissioning a play costs a substantial amount of funds.”
San Francisco experimental arts space The Lab received two termination notices. Executive Director Andrew Smith told KQED that the space had already completed its funded projects. Expecting a grant termination to happen, Smith pushed NEA-funded programming from the fall to the spring in order to submit for reimbursement as quickly as possible.
https://oaklandtheaterproject.org/
Quilted
Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive also lost funding for an upcoming exhibit.
“Like many cultural institutions across the United States, we have been impacted by recent changes to the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and National Endowment for the Arts,” wrote Executive Director Julie Rodrigues Widholm in a newsletter.
Two grants that BAMPFA had secured from those organizations for the African American Quilt Collection were terminated. The multiyear grant under the IMLS’s Save America’s Treasures program was to support the necessary conservation of historic handmade quilts. A separate grant from the NEA to support BAMPFA’s upcoming exhibition “Routed West” was also cancelled. In total, the termination of these grants removes more than $260,000.
“The federal government may feel that this work ‘no longer serves the interest of the United States,” wrote Rodrigues Widholm. “However, we strongly believe that these quilts are an important piece of African American history and cultural heritage—and therefore of American history and cultural heritage. Our conservation efforts over the last three years and work behind the upcoming exhibition are founded upon this belief, allowing us to share the quilts' artistry and histories with the public.”
Rodrigues Widholm encouraged people to become members, donate, and visit the museum.
“Despite the challenges we face at this time, nothing will diminish BAMPFA’s pride and enthusiasm for our upcoming exhibition this summer.”
https://bampfa.org
Civic values
Berkeley Repertory Theatre also released a statement on May 5.
"The withdrawal and termination of grants by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), including one awarded to Berkeley Repertory Theatre, is a disheartening and deeply troubling development that threatens the cultural infrastructure of our nation. The NEA, created by bipartisan majorities in Congress, has long stood as a testament to the principle that the arts are a public good worthy of federal support and accessible to all Americans, in every state and in every congressional district. This move represents not merely a funding cut, but an attempt to undermine the very existence of the NEA and the shared civic value it embodies.
"At Berkeley Rep, NEA funding has been essential in supporting The Ground Floor, our nationally recognized incubator for new work for the American theatre. Through commissions, residencies, workshops, and full-scale premiere productions, The Ground Floor has helped develop hundreds of projects and brought bold, innovative stories to life on our stages and across the country. The loss of this support endangers not just Berkeley Rep’s pipeline of new work but the future of American theatre writ large.
"We must object to these cuts and advocate for the continued future of the NEA. To lose the NEA is to concede that the arts no longer matter in this country. We refuse that premise and remain steadfast in our commitment to creative ambition, cultural relevance, and broad access."
https://www.berkeleyrep.org/
So, what else can artists and arts patrons do?
NCTC’s Ed Decker wrote on May 5 on Facebook, “In the short term, buy tickets to performances at your favorite theatre. Fill every seat not just in solidarity but for nourishment of mind and soul. In the long term, make your voice heard - endlessly. Take to the streets for every call to action that you can manage. The power of the people can reframe the radical right’s tyrannical narrative of bigotry, fear and disenfranchisement. Let’s turn the lights back on.”
Fighting cultural erasure
Joanna Haigood, Executive Artistic Director of Zaccho Dance Theatre, shared her reaction to the company having a grant rescinded.
“The defunding of the NEA, along with many other agencies, will affect virtually every artist in the United States, through presenters, museums, galleries, residencies, and beyond. This single act will have far-reaching consequences for our national arts ecosystem.
“At its core, it threatens to erode arts and culture in this country. Artists play a vital role in helping us reflect on and understand the world we live in. Undermining our work impacts not just the arts, but our broader social and cultural development.
“The defunding of critical cultural organizations is not just a policy. It is also a racist, exclusionary agenda. It deliberately targets Black and Brown artists, LGBTQ+ artists, Indigenous and Asian artists, women artists, and those who challenge the narratives of the current administration – voices that are inconvenient to those in power. These communities represent a broad and rich artistic landscape, and the attempt to silence us is not just an attack on the arts, but an effort at cultural erasure.
“This affects many of us; millions, not just a few. And while that is devastating, it also means we have power in numbers. We know how to organize, collaborate, and support one another. And we will do so. We recognize that diversity is our strength. And we will use it. Our diverse voices are essential to a healthy, thriving democracy.
“While this moment is hard –and will continue to be– we are powerful. We are resourceful. We are creative. And we are prepared to mobilize for the future of the arts and culture in this country."
https://zaccho.org/
