The National Endowment for the Arts abruptly withdrew grants for cultural institutions nationwide on Friday evening, including funding for at least six North Texas groups.
"Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration's agenda," the agency wrote in an email to art groups reviewed by The Dallas Morning News and KERA news. "The NEA will now prioritize 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," the email continued.
The emails came a few hours after President Trump proposed eliminating the entire agency from the federal budget. Over the past few months, the Trump administration has made many changes to NEA funding. In early February, the NEA canceled the 2026 Challenge America grant program – funds typically granted for projects focused on underserved communities. New guidelines were also placed on NEA funding.
At the time, leaders for Ballet North Texas and Flamenco Fever, recipients of the Challenge America grant, voiced confusion about the status of their funding, Arts Access reported. Other groups were uncertain about whether they met the new guidelines for grant approval.
With the latest news of grants being terminated, here is a list of the local organizations affected.
Bishop Arts Theatre Center
The Bishop Arts Theatre Center was awarded a $15,000 grant for playwright Franky D. Gonzalez's Dallas Hedda, showing now through May 11. News of the funds being halted came minutes into their second night of previews, Gonzalez says. The money, which they never received, had been budgeted for artist payment, costumes and general production needs, he said. The theater plans to appeal the decision, an option offered by the NEA. For now, they're also formulating strategies on how to close the funding gap and ensure their artists are compensated. "The show will go on," Gonzalez says. "Art doesn't stop just because money stops," he said.
"The tragedy of all of this is … they're doing more to harm the potential for the United States to create the next great thing," he says.
Ballet North Texas
Ballet North Texas was selected as a 2025 Challenge America grantee and expected to receive $10,000 this year to help put on their sensory-friendly performances and fund their sensory access programs. In February, executive and artistic director Nicolina Lawson told Arts Access the organization hasn't received their money. She said their grant was supposed to start in March, so they proceeded with performances, spending money they expected to gain back. On Friday, BNT was notified that their grant was being terminated.
"We're having to reach out through other avenues, spending more money and more time to fundraise, then compensate for the money that we were promised," she said.
Ballet North Texas plans to appeal the decision for ethical reasons, said Lawson. For now, Lawson said BNT will try to figure out how to restructure their performances to save money. This could mean hiring fewer dancers, cutting down rehearsal times, and finding ways to reduce theater costs.
"That's not fun for the dancers, it's not fun for the theater staff, it's not fun for anybody," Lawson said.
Deep Vellum
Deep Vellum was awarded a $20,000 grant to support publishing four international authors' debut books. On Friday, founder Will Evans received an email from the NEA informing him the open grant had been terminated. The email stated the NEA's priorities do not align with Deep Vellum's, because the purpose of the project Deep Vellum proposed is: "to support artist fees and printing costs of the publication of books of poetry and prose, including work in translation."
Evans said he made multiple attempts to reach the NEA, but said they are not returning his calls.
"What this kind of means for us right now is confusion and chaos," Evans said in a phone interview.
Deep Vellum does not plan to appeal the decision. They still plan to publish the projects they are currently working on while seeking additional support streams.
Flamenco Fever
Flamenco Fever was a recipient of a $10,000 Challenge America grant. Executive director Julia Alcántara says the funds never arrived. A planned spring residency, which would have featured 25 performances and over 60 flamenco classes over the course of two months, has been instead cut down to "a handful of activities," she says.
Her group is appealing the decision. Part of the new priorities for grants includes mention of elevating "hispanic-serving institutions," which could apply to Flamenco Fever, Alcántara says. "They're not making sense. They didn't look at us," she says.
Maroon 9 Community Enrichment Organization
Maroon 9 was awarded $10,000 by the NEA to support their sixth annual summer program, facility challenges and their production Harriet Tubman, Take My Hand and Follow Me. They received an email Friday saying their funding was being terminated.
"It's a scary time," founder Shavonne Davis said. "It's just another fire that I feel like I have to really put out and try not to worry my staff and worry our parents."
After an emergency staff meeting, Maroon 9 decided to submit an appeal and move forward with the summer program while being fully transparent with the community about financial strains.
"I have to appeal," she said. "We absolutely were counting on this funding. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money to a small organization like ours."
Dallas Theater Center
Dallas Theater Center was awarded $25,000 for their production of Shane. The theater spent $25,000 to produce the play in February, expecting the grant to reimburse them. They received an email Friday terminating their funding.
"We have a $25,000 hole in our budget," Executive Director Kevin Moriarty said.
Moriarty said DTC plans to appeal the termination as a matter of principle, but he said he does not suspect it will have a meaningful impact.The DTC does not plan to apply for NEA funding next year with the new policy changes.
"We don't have the power in this situation. We're limited," he said.
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