By Giulia Heyward

Some New York City artists say they’re steering away from work that centers race, immigration or gender identity, as fears grow over federal arts funding decisions being used to target or penalize politically sensitive themes.

Those concerns are mounting in the wake of changes by the Trump administration to the National Endowment for the Arts, the country’s largest public arts funder. And even though a court blocked the administration’s directive against funding work seen as promoting “gender ideology,” the White House ultimately pulled funding from the agency, affecting arts organizations across the country.

In the last fiscal year alone, the NEA awarded $8.5 million to 326 groups in New York City.

But artists and advocates say the chilling effect is already underway.

“There are concerns about telling stories or identifying yourself or putting yourself out there — we’ve had people who don’t feel comfortable saying that they are immigrants,” said Lisa Gold, executive director of the Asian American Arts Alliance.

Recent actions by the Trump administration have added to those fears.

Earlier this year, the National Park Service removed transgender pride flags from its Pride Month display at the Stonewall National Monument and erased references to trans and queer people from the site’s official webpage.

The National Endowment for the Arts did not respond to Gothamist’s request for comment.

Self-censorship as a survival strategy

Gold said artists have asked her organization to remove their bios from its website, fearing doxxing or harassment. Others are nervous about being publicly listed as grant recipients.

And while Gold’s group has secured private funding to keep operating after losing NEA support, she said it hasn’t eased the anxiety many artists feel.

“It’s not just at an individual level,” she said. “It feels like it’s being condoned by the very highest levels of our government. It’s extremely disheartening.”

To read the entire article: https://gothamist.com/news/some-nyc-artists-are-avoiding-work-about-race-and-gender-amid-federal-arts-funding-cuts

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