Just as Donald Trump was (thankfully) denied his repeatedly expressed wish to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, will President Biden be thwarted in his own plans for the NEA—a proposed record allocation of $201 million for that agency?
Budget numbers are in play as our fractious Congress operates under its short-term spending bill, which provides funding through early December, averting a government shutdown that would otherwise have begun today—the start of the federal government’s 2022 fiscal year.
Hailed by the NEA as “a significant and historic increase” to its budget, the fate of its proposed record allocation is still uncertain today, at the start of National Arts and Humanities Month. Here’s a heartening excerpt, striking all the right notes, from the President’s proclamation announcing this celebration of “the power of the arts and humanities to provide solace, understanding, and healing”:
We recognize the ability of the arts and humanities to amplify important and diverse voices and messages. We reflect on the fact that, as we have struggled with isolation, anxiety, and the loss of loved ones, we have turned to music and dance, literature and poetry, and philosophy and history to bring us together and help us persevere through, and grapple with, our current moment.
Image from C-SPAN’s video of the Jan. 20 Inauguration festivities
From our Nation’s earliest days, we have recognized the arts as a foundation of our Republic. As George Washington wrote in 1781, “The arts and sciences [are] essential to the prosperity of the State and to the ornament and happiness of human life.” Today, any American — regardless of their background — can create art and turn to it for hope, acceptance, and inspiration. The arts and humanities have united us as a Nation — from the television programs we watch to the books and exhibits that inspire us — providing a sense of community when we need it most….
Let us turn to the arts and humanities as a way to help America heal and grow. Let us build back better by ensuring that our cultural workers and creators are back at work and thriving. Let us ensure that everyone in America — regardless of race, geography, ability, and socioeconomic status — has equal and unrestricted access to the arts and humanities, and the opportunities they afford.
The President’s $201-million proposal is a big bump from last year’s $167.5-million appropriation. As you can see from this history of appropriations, NEA’s previous financial high-water mark was $175.95 million in 1992, under President George H.W. Bush (the father of an avid painter who is better known for his own stint as U.S. Commander-in-Chief, 2001-2009). For the NEH, the President’s proposed budget is $177.55 million—a more modest $10.05-million increase over last year’s appropriation. Last year, NEH had received the same appropriation as NEA—$167.5-million. Why these figures diverged this year is something I’ve yet to find out. (If I learn more, I’ll update this post.)
In addition to the appropriation increases, the agencies will benefit from grants under Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), which was announced in March as one-time (pandemic-related) emergency funding. It provides an additional $135 million each for NEA and NEH, as well as $200 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Here is the Mar. 12 NEA press release, with details on how it intends to deploy this windfall. The deadline for submitting applications to the NEA for its ARP grants was in early August, with recipients to be announced in January.
The more nimble NEH plans to announce the recipients of its ARP funding this Monday. Here’s NEH’s Mar. 11 announcement on how it planned to deploy those funds. I’ll update this post with a link to information on the recipients, after it hits my inbox.
And in other federal arts-support news: The leadership of NEA and NEH is currently in flux, with Ann Eilers serving as acting NEA chair and Adam Wolfson as acting NEH chair. (The chairpersons are presidential appointees, confirmed by the Senate.) Crosby Kemper is director of the IMLS.
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