Arts organizations in North Texas face a financial setback of approximately $280,000 due to the withdrawal of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Rewritten Article:
The dollars shown in this yarn reflect funding loss as of May 8, 2025 and are likely to fluctuate.
The vision of converting a one-time KKK auditorium into a community center. Quiet evenings filled with sensory-friendly dance performances. A play highlighting Harriet Tubman. These are just a few of the local projects that lost their shine from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the past week.
Arts flock in North Texas are facing a budget deficit of more than $280,000 after the NEA abruptly dropped support nationwide last Friday.
Approximately 45% of the 24 North Texas arts entities that anticipated receiving NEA money in the previous year have suffered this setback.
"Money is being funneled in a fresh direction in alignment with the Administration's agenda," the agency wrote in an email to arts groups, a copy of which was reviewed by Arts Access. "The NEA will now champion projects that honor Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, spur AI competency, empower houses of worship to better serve their congregations," the email elaborated.
The biggest blow has been dealt to The Welman Project in Fort Worth, with a loss of $74,900, which was earmarked for a project aimed at expanding arts access in underserved neighborhoods of Fort Worth through a maker space and tool library. Other organizations feeling the crunch include the Dallas Contemporary, Deep Vellum, and Kitchen Dog Theater.
"This sort of means a whirlwind of confusion and pandemonium for us at the moment," Will Evans, founder of Deep Vellum, shared in a phone interview.
The news lands at a rough time for the arts, with the ominous specter of a recession looming. Combine this with the struggle many organizations continue to face in returning to pre-pandemic ticket sales and audience numbers, and you've got quite a mess. The Dallas Center for Photography, Dallas Video Festival, and Cry Havoc Theater Company are just a few North Texas groups that have called it quits in recent years.
Other Texas cities have taken more of a hit. Austin has suffered the greatest losses with about $495,000 in funding cuts, while Houston has lost $308,000.
In addition to these cuts, President Donald Trump's administration has called for abolishing the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) entirely from the federal budget. Recently, senior officials within the NEA have begun to resign, while Trump nominated a new head of the agency on Thursday evening.
At least 600 arts groups across the country have lost over $17 million in support that would have funded arts education, exhibitions, workshops, and artist residency programs, according to a data set of affected organizations compiled by Rob Deemer, a music professor at the State University of New York, Fredonia.
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University of Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef, and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access' journalism.
- The local community center project, initially planned for a former KKK auditorium, is now under budget deficit due to the abrupt withdrawal of support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
- NEA's decision to reallocate funds, in alignment with the Administration's agenda, has affected over 45% of the 24 North Texas arts entities, causing a financial deficit of more than $280,000.
- The NEA's new focus includes supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrating American independence, spurring AI competency, and empowering houses of worship.
- Deep Vellum, one of the affected organizations, faces a significant challenge due to the NEA's decision, with a loss of funds earmarked for arts education and workshops, exacerbating their struggle to regain pre-pandemic audience numbers.
- Across the country, at least 600 arts groups have lost over $17 million in support that would have funded various projects, including arts education, exhibitions, and artist residency programs.