From the CEO: A Message About Federal Arts Cuts

Like thousands of organizations across the U.S. that provide access to the arts and offer opportunities to advance free creative expression, ArtsWestchester recently received notice that several of its federal grants have been terminated. Since March, ArtsWestchester has lost four grant awards: one from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and three from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), totaling $285K in committed contracts for programs and services. We’re not alone. Over these past few weeks, some $2 million in federal grants to the Westchester County’s arts and cultural community have been terminated. When we include the match requirements of these grants and outstanding project proposals to these agencies, the total impact of these cuts is of the magnitude of $8 million.

These grant terminations are devastating and disruptive.

The defunded projects include initiatives that aim to document, preserve, and increase access to America’s cultural heritage and history. Other defunded projects focus on curriculum development, teacher training, and cultural workforce programs. Federal dollars support our cultural institutions, but they also go directly into the hands of independent artists and small businesses. Westchester’s non-profit arts sector contributes nearly $183 million into our local economy annually and supports 2,250 cultural jobs. A cut to the arts is a blow to our local economic landscape.

ArtsWestchester remains fiercely committed to fulfilling its mission of ensuring that the arts are integral to and integrated into every facet of local life. This means we will continue to work to ensure that the arts remain accessible, that artists are recognized as entrepreneurs, that our own space and our fellow institutions remain inclusive, and that our programming and services reflect and respond to the many communities that define our region.

We are especially concerned that the current federal FY2026 spending proposal calls for the elimination of the NEA, IMLS, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. These agencies represent 13% of all public monies allocated to Westchester arts and cultural organizations. The proposed elimination of these agencies would leave a gap in funding for programs that spark innovation, expand educational resources, and support creative freedom.

ArtsWestchester and the NEA were founded in the same year. This shared history is something I have thought about a lot since I was appointed CEO of ArtsWestchester last July — and it gains deeper significance as we imagine a future America without the NEA. Since 2014, the NEA has been a leading partner to ArtsWestchester, contributing over $525K in matching grants for exhibitions and public programs.

Public funding of the arts is essential because the arts are how we express our culture, our hopes and aspirations, and our identity as individuals and as communities. The arts fundamentally help us advance towards the goal of achieving a “more perfect union.”

To silence artists is to silence us all.

As news of these cuts has traveled, many of you have asked me how you can help keep the arts alive in your communities. At this critical moment, ArtsWestchester invites you to take action in several ways: tell your elected officials that the arts matter and you support saving the NEA; buy a ticket to an arts event and take part in the arts; and join us in a new crowdfunding campaign to help fill the gap left by federal grant cuts. Your gift will go to work that supports local artists and helps ArtsWestchester continue providing essential resources to our friends in the field.

I invite you to join me as we protect ArtsWestchester’s mission and continue to advance together through this challenging time.