Community rallies around arts groups after federal grants are cancelled

SAN FRANCISCO - Bay Area artists are feeling the burn, and using that as fuel for their comeback.

The National Endowment for the Arts rescinded their awards for 2025, leaving organizations uncertain of the future.

Now, arts organizations are doubling down with community support. 

What they're saying:

Tom Parrish, the Managing Director for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, told KTVU the Bay Area is home to swathes of creative people who have proven to be more than happy to offer their backing.

"This is a very arts and culture-rich region, and there are a lot of wonderful supporters who support that work," Parrish said.

Still, the NEA's news comes as another blow in a string of difficult years for most of these organizations. A lot of these arts groups are still trying to build an audience back from the pandemic. 

"These are very challenging and troubling times for arts organizations everywhere," Parrish said. "By the federal government moving away from funding the arts, they’re basically saying the country does not value the arts."

Parrish said Berkeley Rep is already working on their appeal, which is due by the end of the week.

The backstory:

In the email sent Friday, the NEA said it’s updating its grantmaking policy and focusing on projects "that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President."

The email listed those priorities as, "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."

Parrish said the Berkeley Repertory Theatre's work does not conflict with the NEA's updated policy.

"We think that our work is still aligned with the priorities which is why we are appealing the decision," Parrish said.

Local perspective:

For more than 55 years, Berkeley Rep has been developing artists and creatives. With the loss of a grant for their incubator program, The Ground Floor, artists developing new work will take a hit. 

"We’ve had hundreds of projects that we’ve incubated here, a number of them have gone on to Broadway," Parrihs said. "We had two shows on Broadway this fall that resulted from the work of The Ground Floor."

This follows grant cancellations by the National Endowment for the Humanities last month. 

At the Oakland Theater Project, Managing Director Colin Mandlin said the organization lost $55,000 between the NEA and NEH, threatening an educational program and a 2026 stage adaptation of the novel Moby Dick.

"Our ability to perform year-round and produce this many shows definitely hinders on both individual giving as well as government grants and foundation grants," Mandlin said. "There seems to be a lot of confusion, a lot of uncertainty, some moving parts."

In San Francisco, The Lab is a 40-year-old experimental arts organization in the Mission District providing space and resources for creatives, who criticize the Trump administration for silencing their expression.

"The idea of the arts as a place where people can give voice to a lot of the communities and a lot of the ideas that are generally excluded from the dominant society is the core part of the granting programs, and I think we’re seeing that start to come apart with the current administration," said Andrew Smith, the executive director of The Lab. "This is one more way of stifling descent, of crushing opinions are outside of the mainstream."

Smith said it’s dealing with a $20,000 budget gap for projects already underway. He credits the community for helping him raise half of the money.

"When something like this happens, we see people turn out in mass," he said.

Similarly, Mandlin said the community has helped him raise $30,000, but they’re still short $25,000 in funding.

While many organizations may take this challenge as motivation to close, Mandlin perceives it differently. 

"This feels like a moment to lean in and be bold and put forth an inspiring message and something for the community to rally behind," he said.

The message across the board is the same: regardless of what’s happening in Washington, there is something arts supporters can do.

"People can show up, donate, buy tickets," Parrish said.

The organizations have until the end of the week to submit an appeal against the grant cancelations.

KTVU reached out to the NEA for more information about their guidelines for grants, and did not hear back.

With President Trump threatening to eliminate the organization, critics say it would be a blow to American culture.

Arts and Culture