Arts leaders who gathered in Washington on Monday for the annual conference of the American Alliance for Museums said they worry that the current political climate may be ripe for the kind of deep federal spending cuts they often worried about in the past but that never materialized.
The Trump administration reportedly is considering steep reductions in, or outright elimination of, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In previous political eras, Republican leaders have threatened to slash funds for arts programs, but they have typically backed off, largely because of divisions in their own ranks.
Stephen Kidd, head of the National Humanities Alliance, cautioned museum officials that members of Congress who wouldn’t normally back steep reductions might do so this year if they sense it would be impolitic not to “fall behind the push for elimination,” said Mr. Kidd.
“We anticipate the administration will call for steep cuts if not elimination in March when it issues its budget blueprint,” he said. “But Congress is really the one with primary control over budgets. Nevertheless, we take the administration’s threats seriously.”
The White House on Monday promised massive cuts to domestic programs to fund a $54 billion hike in defense spending.
That money will have to come from somewhere, said speakers at the museum event, and the two endowments are popular targets among Mr. Trump’s supporters, so museum leaders should brace themselves for tough times ahead.
Mr. Kidd offered some hope, saying that such deep cuts don’t enjoy wide support among federal lawmakers. He also said that while the administration has said it is considering such cuts, it’s not clear that Mr. Trump truly favors killing the two endowments.
It is up to the museum leaders, Mr. Kidd said, to make sure lawmakers understand an institution’s value, and he urged audience members to contact their lawmakers immediately.
“Ensuring your members in Congress understand the impact of the funding for these agencies that are in their districts is extremely important,” he said. “So go in and tell an optimistic story about your work and the role your organization plays in your community.”
Radical Idea
The threats to federal funding created a grim and tense atmosphere at the conference that was pervasive at several sessions.
Margaret Ferguson, a trustee at the Walters Art Museum, said trustees should get as involved as museum leaders are in conversations with lawmakers.
“Think about cultivating government relations and support in the same way you think about cultivating support for your annual fund,” she said.
Elizabeth Merritt, founding director of the alliance’s Center for the Future of Museums, told the crowd that one of the best ways to get lawmakers’ attention is to point out how cutting the NEA and NEH, or deeply slashing their budgets, would hurt local economies.
She also left the audience with a radical idea: If grants from the two endowments went away for four years or more, or for good, museum leaders would have to rely more on private donations.
“There are people out there who love and support the arts and history, so let’s build a huge, robust, private fund that’s not beholden to the federal government,” suggested Ms. Merritt. “It could have other ripple effects; some positive some negative, but it’s something to think about.”
