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- Four arts organizations, including Rhode Island Latino Arts, are requesting clarification from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on grant funding guidelines related to “gender ideology.”
- The organizations filed an amended complaint seeking assurance that grant awards will not be influenced by applicants’ viewpoints.
PROVIDENCE – Four arts organizations are seeking clarity on exactly how the National Endowment for the Arts is awarding funding based on President Donald Trump’s directive that federal agencies cease spending on programs that promote “gender ideology.”
The organizations, including the Rhode Island Latino Arts, filed an amended complaint asking the NEA to explain to grant applicants whether “communicating anything about gender would make them ineligible for awards.” New guidelines from the agency fail to clearly guarantee that grant awards will not be restricted based on the viewpoint of the applicants, the ACLU said.
“The NEA cannot require artists to act as mouthpieces for the government’s preferred views,” Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s speech, privacy, and technology project, said in a statement. “The First Amendment prohibits the federal government from discriminating based on viewpoint, and the NEA has an obligation to clearly explain that future grant awards will be based solely on artistic excellence and merit, as Congress intended. If the NEA instead continues its unlawful policy of disfavoring certain views, we will seek permanent relief from the court.”
Judge denies injunction
The request for clarity came weeks after U.S. District Court Senior Judge William E. Smith declined to issue an order barring the Trump administration from requiring that grant applicants agree not to promote “gender ideology” in their work. In ruling, the judge warned that the government’s directive likely violated the First Amendment.
The ruling, however, denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by LGBTQ+ arts organizations – including Rhode Island Latino Arts, National Queer Theater, The Theater Offensive, and the Theatre Communications Group – that apply for National Endowment for the Arts funding, but were likely to become ineligible in light of restrictions on the promotion of “gender ideology.”
After the ruling, the NEA issued its final notice regarding how it would implement the executive order, the ACLU said.
“The NEA’s notice does very little to assuage any fears that artists or arts organizations may have, that their project applications will be judged on arbitrary and vague ideological metrics, rather than artistic merit,” said Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU of Rhode Island. “As a result, we will continue to seek judicial relief to protect the free speech rights of arts organizations to obtain funding without having to pass an ideological test.”
New rules raise questions
Not long after President Donald Trump took office, the NEA canceled a grant program that targeted underserved communities and indicated that it would prioritize funding for projects that honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
It also issued new rules for all arts organizations seeking grants, requiring them to pledge that they will not use federal funds to promote “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “gender ideology.”
The federal government is challenging directives that it disclose evidence about its decision making in the case.