"What Gets Lost When Federal Arts Funding Gets Gutted"

The abrupt cancellation of federal arts grants at the National Endowment for the Arts under the current presidential administration of Donald Trump not only depletes funds--it undermines infrastructural efforts to redefine "equity" as an institutional practice, not a grant-seeking buzzword. The proposed institutional dissolution of the NEA has also demolished unprecedented partnerships and investments in artists across the entire executive branch. If we can agree that, now more than ever, the world needs artists, then arts advocates must work to let bygone systems of partial, time-stamped and project-based grants fail and embrace systemic change toward building stronger economic and social safety nets for all creative workers.

Duke Scholars

Author Sarah Wilbur Dance Program