For 14 years, Ashiya Carter has always looked forward to seeing her students in her dance class. The Kaua‘i-based performing artist mainly works at Title I schools, where students have limited resources and access to creative arts.
“Part of my driving force is to provide opportunities for kids I wish I had growing up,” she said. “If I could have had a dance class in school, I might have been able to go further in my own dance career. I want to be able to open doors for students.”
She is part of the "Artists in the Schools" program provided by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, which is federally funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
But earlier this month, President Donald Trump called to eliminate the federal agency entirely, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
It’s unclear whether Carter will teach a class next school year.
“Every time I finish an arts residency with my students, they say ‘Ms. Ashiya, are we going to see you next year?’ And I have to tell them I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know if we will have funding from one year to the next.”
Her feelings of uncertainty paint a stark future for organizations in the state. Several nonprofits received emails on May 2 stating that the NEA has canceled their grants.
The cancellations affect a wide range of local culture and arts organizations, including the Hawai‘i International Film Festival, Bishop Museum, Asia Pacific Dance Festival and Hawai‘i Contemporary.
‘Back to the drawing board’
The NEA’s Grants for the Arts, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, are issued twice a year to support nonprofits focused on the arts across the U.S. and its territories.
The NEA has funded 38 projects in Hawai‘i between 2023 and 2025, totaling more than $3 million.
The nonprofit Hawai‘i International Film Festival has received the cancellation letter for its grant.
Executive Director Beckie Stocchetti said the news was disappointing because receiving a federal grant was a competitive process.
“It takes a lot of work to receive funding from the NEA in the first place,” she said. “It’s a stamp of impact."
The premiere cinematic event will be in its 45th year and is held annually across Hawai‘i. It features local and out-of-state talent from across the Asia-Pacific region.
The loss of federal funds reduces HIFF's budget to about 20%, according to Stocchetti, who added that the nonprofit's annual operating budget is around $1 million.
The money supports staff, educational programs, industry development and the festival.
Despite the loss, Stocchetti said the event will continue its upcoming festivities, which are scheduled for Oct. 16-26. HIFF is still accepting film entries until June 20.
However, what will happen to future festivals is unclear, as President Donald Trump has also announced that he wants to tariff foreign films at 100%.
“We have to wait and see how that all plays out as well to be able to show these types of movies that aren’t accessible in other places, and to share culture and community in that way,” Stocchetti said. “We’re going to go back to the drawing board.”
The Asia Pacific Dance Festival was already planned for May 19 to June 1 to celebrate various dances in Asia and Hawai‘i. But two weeks ago, organizers received an email from the NEA stating that their $25,000 grant had been canceled.
That's not a small amount, according to the festival’s associate director, SheenRu Yong.
The grant was meant to support artists.
“We are definitely prioritizing paying our artists,” Yong said.” They have to get paid. We’ve already signed contracts with them, so if anything, we’ll eat the cost and go into the red ourselves, or have to pull from different income streams in order to cover the losses that we’re going to have with the festival.”
The federal grants comprise about a quarter of the festival's budget of more than $100,000.
Yong said organizers will need to get creative, adding that community members have already contacted them to help.
“The show must go on,” she said. “We are carrying on and pulling through, but it’s a struggle for us. I’m not sure how this is going to work in the future if the NEA is completely dismantled. We rely on grants and awards to keep this programming going.”
Uncertainty
The NEA and the NEH were created in the 1960s to provide federal support for the arts and humanities. They were part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” initiatives, which aimed to create a national theater, support opera and ballet, create an American Film Institute, bring more artists to schools and universities, and more.
The NEA's funding has been targeted in the past.
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan proposed axing out more than $30 million, but Congress opposed the idea, leading to a compromised agreement, according to The Washington Post.
During his first term, Trump also proposed defunding the NEA. But a bipartisan agreement in Congress saved the federal agency.
But his second term underscores the uncertainty of the federal agency's future. The grant cuts and the proposed elimination of the agency have drawn wide criticism from local culture and arts organizations.
Federal funds make up 4.7% of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ budget, which funds various programs that support Hawai'i artists.
By law, state arts agencies receive 40% of the federal grant money Congress provides to the NEA, which awarded the SFCA more than $900,000.
SFCA Executive Director Karen Ewald said she will not know if they will get funding for the next fiscal year until July.
“There’s going to be a need for funding,” Ewald said. “How do we collectively as a state and as a community ensure that these folks who are getting their grants terminated or rescinded, how do we keep them afloat?”
Ewald said the proposed elimination of the NEA could severely impact the state agency. The federal funds support the foundation’s various programs, including artists in the schools, folk and traditional arts, poetry out loud, and more.
Gaye Humphrey, executive director of the Hawai‘i Arts Alliance, said the loss of federal funds could put more strain on the state and other funding sources.
“It impacts our jobs, performances, festivals and educational programs,” she said. “All of that contributes to our local economy. There will be greater competition for fewer resources, and sadly, that can have a detrimental effect on Hawai‘i’s creative ecosystem. It is a very concerning time we’re in right now.”
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