Letters to the Editor: As NEA grants are targeted again, a reader recounts how one made an impact
To the editor: Upon receiving my bachelor of architecture degree in 1973, I was hired by the urban design unit of the city of Chicago's planning department. My job was to be the main writer of a community development guideline document for the redevelopment of the downtown banks of the Chicago River. This position was funded in its entirety by a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and the document was published in 1974 ('Art for art's sake, or the president's?' May 27).
After moving to San Diego in 1982, my wife and I returned to Chicago in 2019. Much to my genuine glee, as we crossed the Michigan Avenue bridge over the Chicago River, I saw that nearly every concept in that NEA-funded document had come to fruition. The desired public-private investment into what was then a severely underutilized urban "amenity" had produced a full-of-life area in place of a semi-forgotten element of the city's core (except for when it's being dyed green on St. Patrick's Day). Accessibility, climate considerations and the like were promoted in that 1974 document, and the proof of its value was in that corridor.
Would the city have paid for the document without the NEA? Perhaps, but with the NEA's help, I am sure it was created much sooner and now has proved its long-term value. Saving a relative few dollars on such a valuable resource (for all of the arts) makes little sense.
Dan Linn, La Jolla
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Juan Diego Gaucin, an oil painter, moved around his studio on Wednesday afternoon as he prepared for an exhibition at the Mexican Consulate in Kansas City. A few doors down, Erin Dodson showed off a jar of dye made from a walnut tree she's been using to draw. Gaucin and Dodson both hold two-year residencies at Charlotte Street Foundation, a Kansas City-based organization that supports contemporary artists across the metro. They're one of 30 artists with residences at any given time, a distinction that affords them studio space and a built-in community of fellow artists. President Donald Trump's administration in early May terminated grants to Charlotte Street and a host of other groups across the country awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA. Charlotte Street lost $25,000 in federal support that helps fund residencies like the ones enjoyed by Gaucin and Dodson and other aid for area artists. 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'Those three agencies really are at the heart of ensuring our arts, culture heritage is both preserved and celebrated,' Knapp said. 'And so the removal of those three agencies, either partially or wholly, moving forward, will be utterly devastating.' Charlotte Street and arts organizations across the country began receiving emails on May 2 from NEA informing them that their grants had been cancelled. The emails appeared to contain similar messages, with each saying the endowment was '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.' Trump's budget proposal calls for eliminating the NEA, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which has provided funding to the World War I Museum, the Kansas City Public Library and other local cultural institutions. He also supported eliminating the NEA and NEH during his first term. A White House document outlining the proposed agency eliminations calls the plans 'consistent with the President's efforts to decrease the size of the Federal Government to enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities.' NEA, created by Congress in 1965, receives about $180 million in funding each year and distributes about 80% of that amount in grants and awards to organizations and individuals. The agency represents a minuscule percentage of the federal budget, about 0.003%. But the grants play an outsize role in holding up arts communities in Kansas City and across the nation. The funding often serves as a key starting point for artists and arts organizations, allowing them to draw matching funds from private donors. An NEA grant can lend credibility to a project or group. 'One could say that if the NEA is defunded, let's just say next year, theoretically it could have a far greater impact on the ability for arts and culture organizations to fund their programming and their operations well beyond the actual dollar amount afforded by the federal government,' Knapp said. At Charlotte Street, located on Wyoming Street near Southwest Boulevard, the foundation's leaders weighed how to respond to the NEA cut. The organization appealed the decision, but it also decided to speak publicly. It posted a statement from interim executive director Lane Czaplinski calling the decision to rescind the grant a 'dangerous departure from long-standing public cultural policy.' 'It was the kind of action that trades principle for showmanship, and public service for political gain,' Czaplinski wrote. The withdrawn grant helped fund Charlotte Street's residency and studio programs, along with support for up-and-coming arts organizations by paying rent and utilities for those groups. Amanda Middaugh, co-executive director, said NEA's email came with few specifics and felt like a 'brush off' to organizations. While $25,000 may appear like a modest sum for an established organization like Charlotte Street, Middaugh said it's actually 'really huge.' The loss directly affects artists, but beyond the grant's monetary value, Charlotte Street's ability to demonstrate that it enjoys support at the federal level has been important, she said. 'The NEA supports so many organizations across the country that we know that this is just the start,' Middaugh said. 'Directly, we've received this cancellation, but we will all be feeling the effects for a long time.' Charlotte Street's connection to individual artists becomes clear moments after entering its headquarters. A gallery show, Geometrica Pop y Rucas, that explores 'the social parallels of midwestern and generational Latine identity' runs until June 14. A library that doubles as a shared working space houses a variety of books focused on the arts in Kansas City. Studios also accommodate a variety of artists and performers, including musicians and dancers. When The Star visited Wednesday afternoon, Charlotte Street residents Gaucin and Dodson had their doors open, giving a peek into their workspaces (while the residencies offer workspace, the residents don't live at Charlotte Street). Inside Gaucin's studio, at least 10 paintings hung or sat in the room. After immigrating to the United States early in life, Gaucin is drawn to work exploring the hardships of migrants in general and the Latino community in particular, according to a Charlotte Street bio. Gaucin said his work, which will be on display in early June at the Mexican Consulate, will be a 'little bit more pointed.' Current events over the last few months have influenced his work, he said, as Trump aims to carry out mass deportations. If the Charlotte Street residency hadn't been available, Gaucin said he likely wouldn't have secured the consulate show or been able to have his work displayed at the Nelson Museum of Art. He said he would probably still be teaching. 'My goal here was to get some shows, push out a lot of work and kind of help establish myself in the Kansas City area and I feel like I've accomplished those goals,' Gaucin said. In a nearby studio, Dodson worked on a painting – bright yellow on a white canvas – that rested on top of a table. She spoke about the dye she had made from a walnut tree next to Charlotte Street. 'All winter I made drawings just from this,' Dodson said. She's now moved on to mixing it with other colors. The walnut dye offers a way to try to make something related to the location, while using garden and nature-related imagery. Dodson expressed gratitude for the residency. 'I almost think this is the biggest financial opportunity, just because of how much it costs to rent your own studio in the city,' she said. Charlotte Street hopes to attract more individual donors and location foundations to help fill funding gaps – both for it and others, Middaugh said. But she emphasized that funding diversity is important for every nonprofit. 'When we're losing this source of federal funding, it really does impact the whole ecology of our funding,' Middaugh said. Knapp, the ArtsKC president and CEO, said private and local funding cannot simply fill the gap of federal cuts. While the Kansas City arts community enjoys strong private individual and foundation funding, the burden can't wholly fall to private donors, she said. Echoing Middaugh, Knapp stressed the importance of balanced financial support – from private foundations, businesses and corporations, local governments and others. A diverse mix helps ensure funding and intent 'is democratized across our community,' she said. Additionally, other areas like health care, immigration and food access that receive private funding have also been hit or could be hit by federal cuts. That, in turn, forces private funders to potentially make difficult decisions about where to allocate limited dollars. Knapp, who has worked in the arts since the late 1980s, said she's never witnessed anything quite like the current moment. 'This is, frankly, the most kind of systematic degradation of the support of arts, culture and heritage across the U.S. that I've really seen,' Knapp said.
