Statement from the AFS Executive Board on the Cuts at NEA

The AFS Executive Board has issued the following statement in response to cuts at the NEA following recent cuts to NEH, IMLS and other agencies. We urge members to take action by writing or calling state representatives and members of Congress.

Over the past few days, news has reached us of grant terminations, withdrawals, and staff departures from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the proposed elimination of this small federal agency that has nurtured the arts in our country since its founding in 1965. These cuts will have a significant impact on the extensive and free expression of cultural practices across communities large and small in our nation. The Executive Board of the American Folklore Society deplores these actions and stands with partner organizations in opposition to the continued elimination of funding for our federal cultural and social institutions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This is nothing less than a decimation of the non-profit infrastructure that defines our nation as a model of free, networked associations, voluntary charitable commitments, people-to-people localized solutions, and the safeguarding of expressions rooted in autonomous American perceptions of beauty, care, wellness, prosperity, and possibilities.

Since 1975, the NEA has fostered and supported folk arts programming in every state and territory in the nation, each of which leverages future support regionally and locally. In addition to arts and culture contributing $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy and supporting 5.4 million American jobs, in all 50 states and every Congressional district, the humanities and arts form the soul and the imagination of this country. They help all Americans understand what makes our story as Americans unique. Many of our members do work that defines and shapes national perceptions about cultural heritage and artistic excellence to ensure a fuller spectrum of histories and community aesthetics may flourish. These programs support valued artistic traditions, enrich K-12 education, ensure access for all to high-quality arts programs, enhance local tourism economies, and foster creativity and problem-solving. A nation without the arts is a nation without a soul. 

Cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have already devastated the budgets of our state humanities councils, in some cases by as much as 85%. Many of these institutions house folklife programs that celebrate local histories, preserve our cultural heritage, and foster community conversations about who we are as a nation and as a people. Without federal funding, many humanities councils are facing closure. 

For over 50 years, with remarkable bipartisan support, the NEH and the NEA have provided crucial support for folklife programming in a range of cultural organizations, with a positive impact on every congressional district. In particular, they have supported the growth of public-facing work in folklore studies. That support has expanded programs that foreground local cultures, honor the breadth and quality of artistic traditions, and produced hundreds of educational exhibitions, recordings, publications, study guides, festivals, and podcasts featuring the cultural traditions and artistic practices of everyday citizens. These programs illuminate artistic heritage in all its varied practices.

The leadership of the American Folklore Society acknowledges the devastating impact of these unprecedented actions on our colleagues and communities. These cuts and the proposed elimination of these agencies strike at the core of our democracy and the integrity of our field. We are deeply concerned for the well-being of our field and heretofore wide public support for traditional arts and those who carry this work forward with deep commitment.

Members, American Folklore Society Executive Board