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The Arts Council of Indianapolis is one of the organizations impacted by recent cuts.
FILE PHOTO / WFYIFederal funding that supports artists across Indiana has been terminated by the Trump Administration.
The National Endowment for the Arts has pulled funding from art organizations across the country, including in Indiana. The NEA awarded $265,000 to 13 art organizations in the state for the 2025 fiscal year.
Jenni Werner is executive artistic director of the New Harmony Project, an Indianapolis-based playwright organization that received funding cuts. She said getting the termination email was an “emotional gut punch.”
“It was heartbreaking to have the support taken away from us, and to have it be done in a way that felt insulting,” Werner said.
The New Harmony Project has received funding from the NEA for roughly two decades. Its $40,000 grant would have helped cover the cost for eight people to attend its writers’ residency, which is set to happen in two weeks.
In the email sent on May 2, the NEA cites grantmaking policy changes to “focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.”
Those priorities include elevating the nation's HBCUs and Hispanic serving institutions, fostering AI competency and supporting the military and veterans, among other things. In the recent federal funding package, the Trump Administration has also proposed eliminating NEA funding altogether.
Many like Joshua Simonds, the executive director of the Percussive Arts Society, have criticized the grant terminations. He said it will have a trickle-down effect on the creative economy.
“It might be a small grant, but each one of these things comes back so many times over again for the state and for the government,” Simonds said.
He recently visited Washington, D.C. and had the opportunity to speak with members of Congress about the impact the grant termination will have on art initiatives in Indiana.
“I am your constituent,” he said. “The people who benefit from this are your constituents, and this is hurting us.”
Simonds is hopeful that the Percussive Arts Society will still receive its grant because it was closer to the end of the distribution process, but a lot remains uncertain.
The Indianapolis Arts Council was originally awarded a $50,000 NEA grant that would have supported individual artists and nonprofit organizations in Marion County.
Now, local artists and arts organizations in Indianapolis “won’t benefit from the new project grant pool we were planning to launch with these funds,” an Indy Arts Council spokesperson said in a statement.
The council is still able to support local artists and art groups through other programs, like its annual grants program. Through a partnership with the city, Indy Arts Council was able to provide 101 art groups with a combined $1.9 million this year.
Dance Kaleidoscope, a professional contemporary dance company based in Indianapolis, was also notified that its $15,000 grant had been withdrawn.
“While the grant represents just 1% of our annual operating budget, every dollar matters,” Executive Director Kim Gutfreund said in a statement. “We view each contribution as a vital piece of the funding puzzle that supports our mission and work.”
Several organizations have submitted an appeal in hopes of securing the originally approved funding, but were only given a week to do so.
Werner with the New Harmony Project said art groups will continue to support local artists because it’s important.
“We need art more now than ever,” she said. “We need artists to help us understand the times that we're in. We're all just gonna keep doing the work and keep fighting for the right to art to exist in this country.”
Other organizations impacted by the funding cuts are the Indianapolis Art Center and Heartland Film.
Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.
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