Fighting Back Against President Trump’s Drastic NEA Cuts

In February, President Trump released his FY19 budget recommendations that would eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). For over 50 years, the NEA and NEH have provided significant funding across the country and Massachusetts to keep arts and culture accessible and vibrant.

A recent Boston Globe editorial pointed out that “without public support, arts funding tends to gravitate toward wealthier, established institutions. Smaller initiatives, which help support artists and the communities in which they live, often go hungry and underserved communities thereby get cut off from the arts.” The editorial also underlined both Massachusetts and Boston’s historically low investment in arts and culture compared to comparable states and cities.  After three years of flat funding to the Mass Cultural Council, it called on Governor Baker and the legislature to increase the state’s investments in the arts and creativity.

MASSCreative is leading the charge locally and nationally to fight the Trump cuts and increase funding for arts and culture. Next week, MASSCreative Program Advocate Emily Ruddock will join 1,000 other arts leaders in Washington DC at the Americans for the Arts Arts Advocacy Day. She will meet with members of Massachusetts’ Congressional delegation and deliver more than 2,000 signatures from Massachusetts residents in support of the NEA, urging the delegation to stand up to Trump’s shut down plan.  

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