The Sitka Fine Arts Camp will be able to run this year's summer camps with its budget reserves, but the cancellation of its $60,000 NEA grant announced on Friday raises questions about the future, camp director Roger Schmidt said Wednesday.
In an interview with the Sentinel, Schmidt described how SFAC was informed of the cancellation.
"There was a statement that came out that said funding 'is being allocated in a new direction, in furtherance of the administration's agenda.'" Schmidt said. The notice concluded: “Your project is not aligned with these priorities."
"Incidentally, despite that statement it sounds like every NEA grant in America doesn't meet the priorities because they were all either terminated or rescinded," Schmidt said. "I think almost 300 grant recipients at first count lost their funding that day as well.”
Sheldon Jackson Museum, just across the lawn from SFAC, also learned on Friday that its $25,000 NEA grant, which funds an Alaska Native artist residency program, was canceled. A story in Wednesday's Sentinel said a private foundation will allow the museum to continue the program this year.
President Trump’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year eliminates all funding for the NEA, presently $207 million a year.
The termination email Schmidt received is nearly identical to the one sent to the SJ Museum.
“The NEA is updating its grant-making policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,” the email reads. “Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities. 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, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities.”
SFAC will have more than 700 kids enrolled in camp activities this summer, and an adult staff of 100, including 60 arts instructors, Schmidt said. The camp’s budget this year comes to about $3.5 million, of which $500,000 is allocated to capital improvements on the historic SJ Campus. SFAC is reaching into its reserves to fill the $60,000 gap left by the NEA cut for this year's programs.
“Where we'll see the impact is going forward into our next fiscal year, as we look at how do we overcome that deficit?" Schmidt said. "We use a lot of our operating budget to cover financial aid for families with needs. This year, we're providing over $150,000 in financial aid. One of the important things with the Sitka Fine Arts Camp is making sure that any kid, any family can afford to participate. We see that our reach, our stretch, our ability to deliver our mission, which is to provide high quality arts to Alaskan kids, we see that as being curtailed. We're also concerned because the NEA also awards money to state arts organizations.”
He emphasized the importance of the arts in kids’ education and mental health, and the role of NEA grants in meeting that need.
“It has helped us provide access to Alaskan kids so that they have the opportunity to have the magic of art in their lives in a way that helps them feel better about themselves, feel more connected with other people and ultimately, as they grow into adults, make a stronger, more giving, more caring community, a community that's about service,” he said.
He said it’s critical to ensure that support for the humanities is not limited to patronage projects of wealthy individuals, but rather that the arts are supported by the people as a whole through congressionally allocated funding.
“The arts don't exist without patronage," Schmidt said. "You can't have a concert without support of some sort, ticket sales, museums, artwork of all sorts, theater projects, it all takes a form of support… The president is saying he's taking this money back for his projects, which include his parade and a statue garden. And what's amazing about the National Endowment for the Arts is that it was set up with a mission that the people of America support the arts in America. It's not a king.”
