When the Arts Are Under Fire – Navigating Today’s Unfriendly Cultural Climate

Bill Cleveland: 00:00:18

So what happens when your art or what you say about your art or even your arts organization's mission makes you a political target?

From the center for the Study of Art and Community this is Art is Change, a chronicle of art and social change where activists, artists and cultural organizers share the skills and strategies they need to thrive as creative community leaders.

Now, if you're an artist, a cultural organizer, a non profit leader working at the intersection of arts and social change, the challenges are mounting fast.

From revoked NEA grants to threats against public media, values driven organizations face an escalating storm of legal, financial and political attacks. Understanding these threats and how to respond has never been more urgent for those determined to keep their work alive.

Now in this episode, we're going to learn how new federal policies and funding shifts are undermining equity centered arts initiatives and what that means for your organization. We'll also learn about the Ironman versus The Atomic Blonde, survival strategies for nonprofits navigating politically hostile environments.

And we're also going to introduce some actionable tools for crisis communication, what's called narrative layering and coalition building to protect your mission and community. So if you're an artist, arts leader or funder working in the realm of art and social change, today's episode is definitely for you.

Whether or not you see yourself as an artist, activist or cultural organizer, if your creative practice is in any way connected to the non profit community serving artistic, social development, public policy, education, public health universe, you probably need to listen up too, because as they say, you are now in the game.

So in this Art has Change activist Arts Weather report, we're going to be digging into a complex and increasingly urgent reality, namely the rising wave of political and legal attacks on nonprofits, especially those of us doing work around equity, inclusion and cultural transformation.

We'll begin with a roundup of recent arts related news that is both troubling and because change does not emerge from not knowing, needs to be shared. Then we'll share some practical information that artists and nonprofit arts organizations can use to plan for the potentially bumpy road ahead.

During the month of June, the climate around the arts, and especially for folks doing cultural organizing and change work, got way more intense. First, let's start with the National Endowment for the Arts. This is somewhat old news, but needs to be reiterated.

As you're probably aware, in early May, hundreds of arts organizations suddenly had their federal grants pulled completely without warning. We're talking about places like the Oakland Theatre Project, San Francisco Jazz, and even Central Park's Summer Stage.

The reason the new administration claims their work does not fit what they're calling American Heritage values, which, if we're honest, just seems like code for anything that centers race, gender, equity. This has left projects midstream with no funding, artists unpaid, and a lot of confusion about how future grants will even be evaluated.

Next, here's something that's flying under the radar but affecting nearly everyone. A quiet budget freeze that's been holding up thousands of federal grants since late January.

An Office of Management and Budget directive has basically jammed up the pipeline, delaying approvals and funding disbursements. If you've noticed your application's gone dark or you're hearing radio silence from a grant officer, you're not alone.

Next, as you're all probably aware, PBS and NPR funding has been seriously threatened. Now this one's loud and clear. The Trump administration is trying again to cut off federal funding to public media.

An executive order from May says the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has to stop supporting PBS and npr. The courts have temporarily blocked it, but the battle is far from over.

And for those of us who rely on public media to amplify marginalized stories, this is a serious red flag. Now back to D.C. and the Kennedy Center. First, some big ticket donor events have become the new centerpiece for the Kennedy center.

We're talking $25,000 a plate, receptions, VIP only programming and and exclusive access galas. And second, some serious fund redirection is underway. Money once earmarked for multicultural programming, D.C.

public school partnerships and social justice residencies is now being funneled into a new initiative called the Great American Culture Fund. Its focus patriotic musicals, founding era performances and military bands.

Internal memos show a clear move away from anything labeled woke, with staff describing it as a strategic purge of inclusive programming. Now taxes, nonprofit tax exemption is in the crosshairs. There is now a serious movement around how the IRS handles nonprofits.

Internal documents and some pretty pointed remarks from Trump suggest that politically active nonprofits, especially ones involved in education or advocacy, could see their tax exempt status challenged. This could affect everything from 501 foundations to artist run organizations doing civic work.

his strategy came with the FY: 2026

It calls for cutting funding to the Institute of American Indian Arts and reducing support for tribal college programs. That includes a drop in support for indigenous led arts and cultural preservation, many of which are already underfunded.

Public media and film festivals are also feeling the pressure as film and storytelling events ramp up for the summer. Organizers are watching their backs The DCDOCS Documentary festival recently hinted at how vulnerable independent film funding has become.

Public broadcasting partnerships are under scrutiny, and organizers are already talking about how to protect against future censorship or funding freezes, especially for work tied to social justice or race. Now, looking at this whole landscape, what we're seeing is a bigger picture that we could title cultural erosion.

All of what I've just described adds up to something bigger, a coordinated retreat from public culture.

From libraries and museums to national parks and performance spaces, the infrastructure that supports inclusive storytelling and public imagination is under threat. This isn't just a budget fight, it's a battle over whose story gets told and who gets to tell them. So what do we do with all this?

First, very practically, if your grant has been revoked or delayed, check your appeal window. Some of them close very fast. Next, get in touch with the people who are supposed to be representing you in Congress.

Arts advocates like Americans for the Arts are pushing back on the proposed cuts, especially to the nea, neh, imls, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and they need your voice.

Also, stay connected locally, state and city arts funding might not fill every gap, but it can be a lifeline while the federal picture remains unstable. And finally, don't underestimate the power of community organizing inside and outside the arts world.

Whether it's a festival, a residency, a classroom or a gallery, there's strength in collective storytelling and that's what they're trying to take away from us.

On the advocacy front, the other important step that you should be taking is to begin establishing communication and partnerships with the anti authoritarian pro democracy movement that is likely rising up in your community and across the country. Needless to say, if there ever was a time for artists and arts organizations to break out of the arts bubble, this is it.

Not just because this movement needs all the allies it can get, but also because without the input and participation of our creative communities, I think changing the insidious story being foisted upon the American people will be very difficult. In future episodes, we'll be sharing strategies for working across community sectors and some potential allies in this effort.

Now what can you do if you have not yet been delayed, canceled or targeted? How do you anticipate and prepare for what might be coming on down the road?

As we indicated at the top of the show, Grantmakers in the Arts held a webinar that featured advice from, done or defend our nonprofits everywhere to help nonprofits, especially values driven ones, weather controversy and stand strong in the face of organized pushback. Please know that this information and links to Relevant source material are shared in our show notes and in the episode transcript.

Now, as many have observed, this wave of unprecedented abuse and power and intimidation seems more like a surreality show than the US Government doing its job. Given this, we thought we would respond in kind. Act one the water's warming fast. Let's begin with a metaphor that landed hard during the webinar.

You know this one, the frog in the pot. The idea is simple. If the water heats slowly enough, the frog just doesn't know it's boiling until it's too late.

And folks, for many of us in the arts world, the temperature is rising. Artists, arts institutions and their funders are increasingly being dragged into political battles.

DEI work is being labeled discriminatory and defined as illegal. Federal agencies are demanding nonprofits sign vague declarations about not engaging in illegal DEI without defining what that even means.

Here's how real it is, one that you all know Harvard University lost federal funding for refusing to sign one of those declarations.

Meanwhile, lisc, the local Initiative Support Corporation, a national nonprofit for focusing on community development that also includes arts in their work, was able to retain funding after revising its language, swapping specific references to race and gender for broader terms like social and economic disadvantage. This is not theoretical. This is the landscape we're in.

Act 2 Iron man vs the Atomic Blonde now the Dunn team introduced two models that really stood out, models that characterize how organizations are responding to this moment. So let's start with the Ironman. Ironman organizations lead with their values, loud and proud. Think Harvard. They take public stands.

They don't compromise. Their language, their branding, messaging and leadership all reflect a unified, unapologetic commitment to an unedited version of their mission.

A mission that often centers on equity and inclusion. But here's the trade off. Visibility attracts fire.

The Iron man strategy often requires strong legal backing, sophisticated comms teams, and a thick skin. And in Harvard's situation, a big case of Trumpian overreach that sabotaged an evolving negotiated settlement.

This approach can work, but it's high risk and high resource. Then there's the Atomic Blonde. This strategy is just as values driven, but incorporates way more stealth.

Atomic Blonde organizations are strategic about when and how they speak. They might swap overt language like racial justice for broader terms like community well being and public materials.

Not because they've abandoned their mission, but because they want to protect their work and most importantly, the people they serve. It's a posture of survival, not surrender.

And for smaller organizations or those embedded in hostile environments, Atomic Blonde may be the only viable path whichever way you lean. What matters is internal alignment. Don't say one thing on stage and another in staff meetings. Confusion weakens resilience.

Act three when the Press Comes Calling PR expert Matt Davis, one of the done speakers, made the point that most journalists come with a 24 to 48 hour deadline. Half the webinar attendees admitted they were not ready to respond. So what can we do? Here are a few critical steps.

First, assign a communication point person. Next, get training in crisis communication and response for key personnel.

Then create a crisis response team and then draft strategies and statements for now, not later. Then make sure your board and staff are all on the same page.

And maybe most importantly, coordinate with your community partners to avoid mixed messages. And don't underestimate the risk of well meaning publicity.

Media attention especially feel good profiles can unintentionally make you a target for political attacks, and some funders love that kind of media attention. They need to be your partners in this regard.

Act 4 narrative layering an Artist's Tool One of the most powerful ideas from the webinar was narrative layering, a tactic borrowed from activist movements fighting authoritarian regimes. Now here's how it works. You keep your core values intact, but adjust in small ways how you express them in different contexts.

Your public facing story might emphasize community building or belonging to your funder. Reports and internal documents retain sharper language about structural racism and trans inclusion.

But there needs to be clear but there needs to be clear agreement and understanding from all parties when you do this. This layered communication strategy for many of us in the arts is actually quite familiar.

Artists have always known how to say more than one thing at once. Act 5 this is not work we do alone. If you remember one thing from this episode, let it be isolation is dangerous.

The Dunn team emphasized that coalition work is key.

They counseled that funders should not only provide financial support, but but also help grantees with strategic messaging, crisis communication, and narrative safety and solidarity. Arts organizations can create shared media libraries, common talking points, and rapid response networks.

We can lift each other up and shield each other when it counts. As one participant put it, we're not just managing risk, we're protecting possibility.

So whether you're an Ironman, an atomic blonde, or somewhere in between, remember, staying rooted in your mission while adapting to the moment is not weakness, it's strategy. And most importantly, isolation is dangerous.

And collective advocacy is critical to safeguarding not just individual organizations, but the broader ecosystem of cultural and civic possibility. So that's it for this week's Art is Change.

Thanks again for listening and stay tuned next week when we talk about how community theater and festivals help build community connection at a time when it's most needed. Change the Story Change the World is a production of the center for the Study of Art and Community.

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So until next time, stay well, do good and spread the good word. Once again, please know this episode has been 100% human.