In January the Trump Administration issued an executive order banning DEI programs in the federal government, which includes any organization that receives federal funding. In response, Off-Broadway's The Public Theater and New York Theatre Workshop, as well as Long Wharf Theatre in Connecticut and Portland Center Stage in Oregon, have issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. "We believe that the excellence of our work is inseparable from the diversity we champion," said the statement.
President Donald Trump's return to office has caused a number of companies to scale back their DEI programs. Among them is the National Endowment for the Arts, a federally funded agency that distributes grants to theatres and other arts organizations around the country. Last month, the NEA posted new guidelines on its website saying that any grant recipients need to affirm that they are not operating any DEI programs or promoting "gender ideology," which the Trump Administration characterizes as "the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one鈥檚 sex."
The Public Theater was due to receive $35,000 from the NEA this year and Long Wharf $150,000.
In the statement, the theatres say they will continue to accept funding from the NEA while still maintaining their DEI programs and programming work by LGBTQIA+ artists: "We are confident in the legal foundation of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and remain steadfast and collectively committed to advancing this work. We will continue to uplift the work of transgender, non-binary, and queer artists and offer all our venues and programs for their stories. We will not endorse or agree to the NEA guidelines that seek to suppress or limit those efforts."
The new NEA guidelines have led to outcry in the artistic community. On March 6, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the NEA on behalf of theatre organizations Rhode Island Latino Arts, National Queer Theater, The Theater Offensive, and Theatre Communications Group. alleges that the NEA and Trump's actions are an "unlawful and unconstitutional exercise of executive power that has sowed chaos in the funding of arts projects across the United States, causing grievous irreparable harm to Plaintiffs and other organizations." It asks for an injunction against the guidelines.
鈥淭his gag on artists鈥� speech has had a ripple effect across the entire art world, from Broadway to community arts centers,鈥� said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU, to . 鈥淕rants from the NEA are supposed to be about one thing: artistic excellence. Blocking eligibility for anyone who expresses a message the government doesn鈥檛 like runs directly counter to the NEA鈥檚 purpose, the First Amendment鈥檚 prohibition on viewpoint-based regulation, and the role of art in our society.鈥�
As previously reported, an open letter calling for the NEA to reverse these new guidelines received over 400 signatures鈥攊ncluding those of Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, and Jackie Sibblies Drury. It has been delivered to the NEA. Some theatres鈥攕uch as the Guthrie Theater and the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota鈥攈ave turned down NEA funding.
The complete statement from the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Long Wharf Theatre, and Portland Center Stage is below.
We believe that the excellence of our work is inseparable from the diversity we champion. As theaters and institutions charged with telling stories that define our culture, we are deeply troubled by the new Assurance of Compliance guidelines related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and 鈥済ender ideology鈥� announced by the NEA. These guidelines鈥� tacit threat of censorship and erasure, as well as their disregard for the governing laws through which the NEA was created, deeply undermine the Endowment鈥檚 mission. Under the Arts, Humanities, and Museums Amendments of 1985, Congress specifically updated the Endowment to carry out, 鈥減rojects and productions which have substantial artistic and cultural significance and that reach, or reflect the culture of, a minority, inner city, rural or tribal community.鈥�
We are confident in the legal foundation of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and remain steadfast and collectively committed to advancing this work. We will continue to uplift the work of transgender, non-binary, and queer artists and offer all our venues and programs for their stories. We will not endorse or agree to the NEA guidelines that seek to suppress or limit those efforts. We will petition the NEA requesting withdrawal of these two guidelines. We believe the NEA鈥檚 resources are intended for the artists of the United States and we intend to aggressively pursue their distribution based on the NEA鈥檚 legislated criteria of artistic excellence."
