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In Oregon, Portland Playhouse received an e -mail from the foundation, a celebrated work that is part of the dramatist in the course of the 20th century just 24 hours before the opening of August Wilson's production by August Wilson's “Joe Turner's Come and Gone”. The NEA had recommended a grant of $ 25,000 for the show, which would have paid for a fifth of the personnel costs of production.

“The times are hard for theater – we are already being pressed, and at this moment when every dollar is important, this was a critical piece of our budget,” said Brian Weaver, the artistic director of the theater. “It's ridiculous.”

The e -mails were sent to the Arts administrators from an address at the foundation that did not accept any answers. “The NEA updates its priorities of scholarship policy to concentrate on projects that reflect the rich artistic heritage and the creativity of the country, as prioritized by the president,” says the e -mails. “As a result, we end awards that are outside of these new priorities.”

In the e -mails it continues that the foundation would now prioritize projects that “increase” the historically black universities and universities and universities that serve Hispanic students. In the e -mails it also means that the foundation would concentrate on projects that “celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, promote AI competence, enable houses to serve communities, to help with the recovery of disasters, to promote qualified trading jobs, to help again, to support the military and veterans, support the support of the tribal communities.

Some of those affected expressed skepticism to the allusion of the E -Mail to support diversity initiatives, and found that many of the withdrawn grants were to support work artists from color artists.

“It is strange that the Trump government trumpet its priorities to serve diverse America and at the same time cancel grants for our game in August Wilson,” said Weaver. For the other examples of canceled support for a variety of work: Yale Repertory Theater in Connecticut received an e -mail in which the project to develop and create a stage adaptation of the short story of Zora Neal Hurston “Spunk” lost a scholarship of $ 30,000.

The termination of the art grants came after the Trump administration had canceled grants at the National Foundation for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

There were at least two versions of the E -Mail from the Arts Foundation. Some said that “the preliminary financing recommendation for the following application” had been withdrawn. These e -mails went to groups that had already received offers and were recommended for grants, but had not yet received their official awards. Others were sent to groups whose grants had been approved and said: “This should tell them that the above reference to the National Endowment for the Arts Award was terminated with effect from May 31, 2025.” The NEA did not respond to inquiries about comments.

The future of the arts has been doubt since the start of the Trump administration. First, the agency suspended a subsidy program. Subsequently, it tried to oblige applicants for other grant programs, not to promise, “diversity, justice and inclusion” or “gender -specific ideology” in a way that corresponds to Mr. Trump's executive commands in these questions only to complain and then change, since they were legal challenges. On Friday, Mr. Trump proposed in the next financial year on Friday to eliminate the agency together with the National Foundation for the Humanities and others.

Democrats and art representatives promised to try to fight to save the agency. Mr. Trump had also tried to remove the arts during his first term, but she was saved with the support of the Republicans of the Congress and the Democrats. It is not yet clear whether the agency in the current political climate still has non -partisan support if only a few Republicans have shown the willingness to cross Mr. Trump.

Many organizations all over the country stated that they received the cancellation -E emails. Among them: the new Harmony project, a non -profit organization of Indianapolis, which supported the authors of stadiums and screen scripts and recommended for a grant of 40,000 US dollars to finance an authors -residency program.

“These masses -e email on Friday evening, which lowers the financing for so many art organizations across the country, is a clear attack on the arts,” said Jenni Werner, artistic director of the new Harmony project. “This administration wanted to kill the NEA and the artistic freedom that it supported, and today's e -mail may have done exactly that.”

The Great Plain's Theater Commons in Omaha, along with the artistic director of the organization, Kevin Lawler, described the cuts as “devastating”, but promised “to continue to support and share storytellers because this is the work we love and it is our way that we are from service”.

And TheaterWorks Silicon Valley in California received a message in which a recommendation for a grant of 10,000 US dollars was withdrawn to support a group of authors. Giovanna Sardelli, the artistic director, called the move “discouraging and annoying”.

Among the other affected people: the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and the civilians, a theater company based in New York, which received both emails with the subject line “Note of the termination”. The New York group was recommended for a scholarship to support a new musical by Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby.

The Eugene Symphony in Oregon received two notice of termination, one for a grant to support a concert and a residence by the jazz pianist Darrell Grant, and one that supports the work of the pianist Dan Teptfer.

“In a moment when many are already on the post-pandemical fiscal clip, these sudden dismissals meet after the temporary thrust of auxiliary funds that are preserved, hard on art organizations in which the Sinfony, the Sinfony Sinfony Synx Corporation Director was held.” But this conversion is completely artificial, and in contrast to the pandemic Just when we recover from a challenge, we will immediately come into another. “