Though it’s by no means the worst of our worries at this moment, the evil empire has made its first moves on the culture.
As Laura Grimes of Oregon ArtsWatch reported last Thursday, the Trump administration canceled a National Endowment of the Arts grant dedicated to serving “projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities.”
This program, previously known as the Challenge America grant, “primarily served small arts organizations, [and] first-time applicants.” Funds were distributed to a wide array of applicants as $10,000 matched grants.
Challenge money helped support public arts projects, public school extracurriculars, and community-based educational programming. Previous grant recipients include the Phil Pindzola Biennial Sculpture Exhibition in Johnson City, Tennessee and the Cincinnati Public Schools International Jazz Festival. And though these groups will be eligible for alternate forms of NEA funding, they’ll need to make a much more specific case to be competitive this year.
For in the same gasp of a press release, the NEA issued revised general guidelines. And they’re a nationalist’s doozy. This year, funding priority will be given to projects “that celebrate and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” So if you happen to be working on something about “the semiquincentennial of the United States of America (America250),” I guess you’re in luck.
Though if the sesquicentennial pageant put on by the citizens of Blaine, Missouri (see above) is any kind of template, I think we can expect some didactic patriotism. You know, at best.
The soft power arts funding coup continued over the weekend when Trump announced a plan to replace the board of the federally funded Kennedy Center with DEI-critical cronies. And who shall be their leader? Apparently, the president himself.
Though NPR notes that this is a small potatoes pronouncement in light of other planned annexations, it’s pretty ominous that Kennedy Chairman David Rubenstein was reportedly fired for not sharing the president’s “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
The administration specifically dinged the cultural center for hosting drag shows, and “subsidizing Chinese Communist Party propaganda.” By which Trump seemed to mean, hosting the National Ballet of China.
Of course, we can’t be shocked. This administration’s propaganda plot has been long in the works. But if you’re an artist or arts worker hoping to woo residents of the nation’s capital—or just balance your annual budget—you may have to get unpleasantly creative this year. We’re open to raunchy, queer, communist semiquincentennial content here at Lit Hub.
And hey, first-idea-worst-idea, but consider this yet another summoning of MacKenzie Scott. Perhaps in the short term, ethical phhilanthropists can step in to fill the Challenge Grant’s vacant shoes.
For the real resistors? A webinar covering the updated NEA guidelines will take place on Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. It’s free to attend, but registration is required.
