NORFOLK , Va. (WAVY) — Another local arts organization faces a significant loss of funding due to federal cuts, as Norfolk’s Virginia Stage Company works to navigate forward short of needed grants.
The Virginia Stage Company, which has been in existence since 1978, is one of many arts groups nationwide affected by the withdrawal of National Endowment for the Arts funding. Its producing artistic director fears things may only get worse.
“This is the first time where grants have been rescinded because of a political agenda,” said Tom Quaintance, Virginia Stage Company’s producing artistic director. “And, that’s scary.”
Those emotions echo among arts groups who received the same email early this month about previously awarded grants by the National Endowment for the Arts — now terminated. Quaintance said they were blindsided by the email. but this was certainly not the first indication of this funding being under attack.
The NEA’s correspondence stated that VSC’s programs do not meet funding standards that “reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.”
“We got notification that an NEA grant that we had already been approved for, for $15,000 to support ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ a play that we tour around all of Virginia, that is a piece that deals with mental health and suicide prevention,” Quaintance said.
The loss of the NEA funding entirely would also dissolve funding for the Virginia Commission for the Arts and city of Norfolk, who receive financial backing from the NEA to support organizations like the VSC.
“The fact [is] that the NEA has been instrumental in some of the most interesting and important work we’ve done here at Virginia Stage Company,” he said. “And the idea that art should fit a certain agenda and then that it is not important enough to include in the federal budget, those ideas are important.”
Approximately half of the Virginia Stage Company’s budget comes from donations, whether state, federal or individual.
“Our mission is to serve our broadly diverse community to to be a place for people to come together and grow as a community,” Quaintance said. “And that takes funding. It takes funding from individuals. It takes funding from corporations. It takes funding from the government. And if that funding disappears, you’re going to see, theaters, operas, symphonies, museums, you’re going to start seeing folks closing.”
President Trump has proposed eliminating the NEA entirely from the 2026 federal budget, which would be the end of the largest annual supporter of the arts in the U.S.
The Virginia Stage Company has appealed the rescinded offer and is waiting to hear back. If you would like to donate to VSC, click here.
Source: https://www.wavy.com/living-local/virginia-stage-company-loses-15000-to-nea-funding-cuts/