New Bedford hit by the dismantling of national arts agencies

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In 1965, Congress passed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act.  In its “Declaration of Findings and Purposes,” it listed a series of 12 tenets, the first of which explicitly stated that the art and humanities belong to all the people.  

It went on to note that “an advanced civilization must not limit its efforts to science and technology alone, but must give full value and support to the other great branches of scholarly and cultural activity in order to achieve a better understanding of the past, a better analysis of the present, and a better view of the future.”

Another tenet declared, in part, that “It is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to complement, assist, and add to programs for the advancement of the humanities and the arts by local, State, regional and private agencies and their organizations.”

The passage of the act led to the establishment of sister organizations: the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to promote and support the arts (dance, music, theater, film, painting, sculpture, local art agencies, museums, and the like) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support research, education, preservation and public programming in the humanities (history, philosophy, literature, political science, ethics, sociology and related fields) throughout the nation.

Federal funding for both agencies commenced in 1967.

Across all 50 states, the allocation of funds has served to support the arts and humanities in what might have been considered arid cultural deserts. By almost any metric, the endowing entities have been wildly successful and appreciated.

During his first term, President Donald Trump sought to shutter the NEA and the NEH but he was thwarted by bipartisan congressional support.

During his second term, after an election in which more eligible voters didn’t vote than voted for him (or Kamala Harris), and yet he considers it a mandate, Trump’s team is rapidly dismantling the NEA and the NEH, one grant at a time. 

And New Bedford has not been spared.

Dr. Timothy Walker is a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. In 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2022, under the aegis of UMD, he has applied for and received NEH grants for his educational series “Sailing to Freedom: New Bedford and the Underground Railroad.” Lee Blake, the president of the New Bedford Historical Society, has been an invaluable ally and partner in that endeavor.

In 2024, Walker applied for another grant to continue the program, this time through the New Bedford Port Society (a 501c3 community organization) and it was awarded $185,000, in collaboration with numerous local partners, including the New Bedford Historical Society, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Rotch-Jones-Duff House Museum, the New Bedford Free Public Library and UMD.

The goal of Walker’s NEH project was, in his words, “to teach K-12 teachers about New Bedford’s prominent role in the Underground Railroad, and to provide pedagogical content regarding African Americans who used seaborne transport to escape enslavement during the 18th and 19th centuries … The story is central to the Abolitionist history of our seafaring community, long known for embracing and harboring a broad spectrum of peoples from different places.”

Roughly 50% of the awarded $185,000 (the implicit agreement between the NEH and the Port Society) would pay stipends to 72 visiting teachers from all over the country, divided into two groups of 36 over two two-week periods, with the remainder of the funds going to staff salaries, operating costs, partner organizations, regional day trips, lodging, meals, snacks and other miscellaneous expenses.

But on April 2, Kimberly Aubut, the director of operations at the New Bedford Port Society, received a letter that read:

“This letter provides notice that the National Endowment for the Humanities is terminating your federal grant effective April 2, 2025, in accordance with the termination clause in your Grant Agreement.

“Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination due to several reasonable causes … NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda … Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities. The termination of your grant represents an urgent priority for the administration, and due to exceptional circumstances, adherence to the traditional notification process is not possible. Therefore, the NEH hereby terminates your grant in its entirety effective April 2, 2025.”

Beyond the cancellation of the previously approved fifth installment of Walker’s successful series focusing on New Bedford and the Underground Railroad, it is a blow to the local economy. Seventy-two visiting educators will not be staying in local hotels or eating at the Black Whale or at New Beige or having coffee and a muffin at the Green Bean or finishing their evening with a cocktail at Cork or a pint of a good draft beer at the Pour Farm Tavern.

The late Roger Mandle and his wife Gayle Wells Mandle established the Massachusetts Design Art and Technology Institute (DATMA) in 2016. Almost since its inception and in part because of a chance encounter on a train, artist Lindsay Mis was brought aboard as executive director.  

It was an exciting moment for the City of New Bedford and the surrounding South Coast communities when DATMA, the “museum without walls,” made its presence known with “Silver Current,” an ambitious and mesmerizing installation constructed of strips of silver foil suspended from cable over Custom House Square Park. It was created by the renowned Los Angeles-based artist Patrick Shearn and his team Poetic Kinetics. 

“Silver Current” was an appropriate choice for DATMA’s first communal theme — “Summer Wind” — as it danced with every breeze, zephyr and gust. Ensuing years brought works based on other themes including “Water,” “Shelter,” and “Transform,”  the last of which includes Portuguese artist Bordalo ll’s much praised and loved giant “Plastic Rooster” on the Union Street side of the YMCA.

As an arts organization needs to be firmly established before they can apply for NEA grant consideration, it was not until last year that Mis sent in the necessary credentials and documentation. DATMA was awarded $10,000 to fund two major projects.

And then it was rescinded. 

Mis said “I’m still in disbelief about the language of the termination letter — ‘The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.’ 

“It’s hard to explain what losing our NEA award means. Receiving NEA recognition is prestigious. We had hoped that the award would prove we were a valuable contributor to our community, in turn attracting supporters who would help DATMA be more sustainable.

“Unfortunately, the losses directly to DATMA and NEA ancillary funding pledged to us by regional funders will create the opposite effect. It’s going to hurt, but DATMA’s awards were modest compared to the huge losses I’ve learned about in all the emergency meetings and even locally,” Mis said.

DATMA had two major projects planned for the summer and with difficulty, they will continue without NEA resources.

One is “Mood-Vironment” by artist Mona Ghandi. It is described as a sculptural installation that provides a dynamic and immersive atmosphere through an interactive color-changing effect to be located at the intersection of Route 18 and Union Street from June 20 to Oct. 15. Made with wood, fabric and interactive lighting, it relies upon viewer participation to be fully realized.

The other project is “Being Seen: Celebrating SouthCoast Pride,” a community created tapestry honoring the LGBTQ+ community that was planned to be suspended in front of New Bedford City Hall, although the termination of the NEA grant may necessitate some changes. 

DATMA’s projects are done in conjunction with partners such as the SouthCoast LGBTQ+ Network, UMD, SRTA, the City of New Bedford, local public schools and the Southeastern Regional Planning & Econ Dev District (SRPEDD).

Mis has said that “the partnership’s trust is the hardest to achieve in anything we do, though I can’t even begin to explain how difficult it is to put these federal grant applications together, let alone get an award.”

Mis proves herself to be bonafide and unrelenting art warrior with the following statement:

“Removing our path to federal funding leaves us financially vulnerable. But even in our vulnerable position, DATMA is never going to start designing projects based on the priorities of the president. The president is stifling freedom of expression. DATMA has never designed projects in response to a funder’s values and we won’t be starting now. We’ll find new paths forward. It might take longer but projects have proven to make a difference here. With or without the award, our projects impacted contemporary art and the public sphere and we are going to continue with even more determination.”

And what were some of the president’s priorities for the NEA? 

How about making the District of Columbia safe and beautiful? Umm … it already is.

Empowering houses of worship to serve communities? But probably not mosques.

Assisting with disaster recovery? Maybe send in FEMA?

Make America healthy again? Hire a new Secretary of Health and Human Services?

Elevate the “Nation’s HBCUs?” Does he know what an HBCU is?

The NEA’s budget for 2024 was $207 million, or .004% of the federal budget. That is 62 cents per capita. For 2024, the NEH’s per capita cost was 60 cents.

Mis is a warrior for the arts. Walker is a fighter for the humanities. There are myriad allies.

And a final note: as of late Sunday morning, Margo Saulnier, the director of creative strategies and art-based initiatives for the New Bedford Economic Development Council (NBDEC), who is still anticipating a NEA grant, did not have firm confirmation one way or the other. A NEA program director left a voicemail that the grant status is “still pending” and “under review.” That kind of vague communication is somewhat akin to being in limbo for an arts administrator.

Should the grant be terminated, it would impact the majority of the 31 artists and organizations that were honored in a morning celebration at the New Bedford Free Public Library several weeks ago.

Don Wilkinson has been writing art reviews, artist profiles and cultural commentary on the South Coast for over a decade. He has been published in local newspapers and regional art magazines. He is a graduate of the Swain School of Design and the CVPA at UMass Dartmouth. Email him at dwilkinson@newbedfordlight.org

---

More Chasing the Muse

---