It’s become my habit in the past few months to glean information regarding the state of the world in sound bites and headlines, choosing where and when to direct my attention at any given moment in time. I tend to do so while scrolling on my phone in bed, either before going to sleep or upon waking. 

This seems to work better, since the news these days is often disturbing, and has given rise to an equally concerning new word: “doomscrolling.” 

Such was the case recently, when I was alerted to some unsettling information in connection to the world that I inhabit—specifically, that of arts and entertainment. With fingers crossed for some good news, I had powered up my phone just before dawn a few weeks ago and was confronted with an upsetting email from our friends at National Public Radio (NPR), an entity I have supported my entire adult life. 

The headline alone jolted me awake and I sat up, in order to put my glasses on and read further. Sadly, I was taken aback.

“Sweeping cuts hit the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) after Trump administration calls to eliminate the agency.”

I sighed, got out of bed and made my way downstairs to let the dog out and make coffee, since going back to sleep was clearly out of the question. 

As the sun rose, I absentmindedly stirred my coffee with a fork and stammered aloud to Gidget, who by now was happily chewing on something she had dragged in from the woods. Glancing at her prize to make sure it wasn’t alive, I went back to stirring while mumbling in her general direction.

 “Eliminate the NEA? Wait—what?” As the dog chewed, I read more.

“Beyond the wave of cuts,” NPR’s Chloe Veltman wrote, “the National Endowment for the Arts is among a group of ‘small agency eliminations’ proposed by the Trump administration’s 2026 Discretionary Budget Request, alongside the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.”

I couldn’t help but note the irony in the use of the word “humanities” and read a little bit more, but by then it was definitely doomscrolling and I forced myself to stop.

Knowing that this horrible news would undoubtedly affect people in the Upper Delaware River region, I decided to reach out. I quickly composed a short email of my own and sent it off to more than a dozen local arts organizations, knowing full well that the funding cuts would affect many of us right here at home.  

“Dear Friends,” I wrote, “Have you recently lost any of your funding or had grants cut altogether under the new administration? I’m looking at putting something together for an upcoming column and would like to hear your thoughts regarding how this action impacts local arts programs and how it affects you, your community and your future as an arts organization. I appreciate your help in getting this info out to our readership, and beyond.”

My first response came from the Delaware Valley Opera, located in Lake Huntington, NY, and was encouraging.

“Hi Jonathan,” the email from Debra A. Courtright began. “Fortunately DVO did not lose any grant funding. I only applied to NYS-sponsored grants. I did register with the government for 2026,” Courtright explained, “however, I will not be applying for any grants due to the current situation.”

The next was less comforting.

Andrew Jacobs, board president of the Borscht Belt Museum, thanked me for reaching out. “We were disheartened to learn that the second half of an $11,000 grant awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services has been terminated as part of Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal spending.”

Elaborating, Jacobs shared that no reason was given for the cancellation. “The grant was awarded last year in preparation for ‘America250,’ the upcoming commemoration of the nation’s 250th birthday. The grant would have supported the museum’s oral history project.”

As other responses flooded my inbox, I steeled myself for the next. 

“Catskill Art Space has not been the beneficiary of any federal funding, so we have not endured cuts,” wrote CAS executive director Sally Wright. “Amidst tremendous financial uncertainty and with so many causes and organizations facing existential threat,” she continued, “we have seen giving to Catskill Art Space is down compared to prior years.” Happy/sad.

“I’m sure you’ve seen excerpts of these notices over the past few days,” wrote Brad Krumholz, artistic director of the North American Cultural laboratory (NACL) in Highland Lake. “Here’s ours.”  

“Pursuant to the offer letter,” the notification informed me, “the tentative funding recommendation for [your] application is withdrawn by the agency and the National Endowment for the Arts will no longer offer award funding for the project.” There was more, but my head swam with the implications.

Disheartened, I was nonetheless struck by Brad’s passion and determination. “If you can give, give now and give large, to as many vulnerable organizations as you can,” Krumholz wrote. “The termination of the NEA (and PBS, and NPR) is just the first step, I’m afraid. They’re just getting started. We can’t say what’s next, because sowing chaos and confusion is central to their playbook, but we’d better get ready.”

“In the short term, organizations like NACL will need to shore up our current budgets and make up for the loss of operating funds that we were told we could count on. NACL was already in the process of establishing a cash reserve fund for this very reason, so the more you give now, while you still can, the better able we will be to weather the storm and make it through to clearer skies.”

“We are resilient.” Krumholz declared. “We are self-sufficient, and we are nimble. And we have no intention of stopping, backing down, giving up, or reducing in any way the support structure that we have built to sustain a healthy biome of culture. The money that comes to NACL ultimately feeds into a larger ecosystem of generative  theatre artists and ensembles. Some theatres will need money to present important and impactful performances to the public without interruption; without development spaces such as NACL, however, a crucial stage in the creation of these very performances will run the risk of being erased.”

“The result of such an interruption in the ‘producing pipeline,’ as it is sometimes called, will be a loss from which we may never fully recover. We pledge to remain fearless in our resistance to those who would so aggressively and violently tear down the works and systems of art and culture and humanity that we have built so proudly in our lifetime. We surely do face an existential threat. Please help us to fight it with everything you’ve got.”

It is words like those that inspire and instigate, words that describe what NACL stand by and for (IMHO) and I’m grateful for Brad’s insightful and thoughtful response.

As the ripples of dissent regarding the current administration’s decisions continue to swell, my response from the artistic director of Farm Arts Collective, Tannis Kowalchuk, was also thorough, well written and disheartening.

“Farm Arts Collective has been receiving NEA funding for 3 years.” Kowalchuk wrote. “We use [that] money to make a community-driven performance about farming, connection to the land, eco-justice and the climate issues facing humanity today. This project is called DREAM ON THE FARM, [and] we are in the 6th year of this annual 2-week public event. We attract hundreds of people every year to see a professional play on our farm, a play created by local artists, farmers and student interns.”  

“On Saturday, May 3, 2025, we learned that our funding was withdrawn. The company had been awarded $10,000 from the NEA Challenge America grant to produce DREAM ON THE FARM 2025, but that money (it was never paid out, only promised) was evaporating well into the fifth month of development.  The NEA grant represents one third of the project budget; the loss of NEA funding is a big blow to our small company.”

“These cuts are profound,” Kowalchuk states.  “This did not have to happen. The USA already has one of lowest arts budgets for any developed country in the world. Taking away an already modest allowance is an obvious attempt to crush culture. Why would a government want to eliminate its own producers and artists?”

I don’t know, Tannis. I honestly don’t know. 

If the recent catastrophic cuts have affected you and yours, I do want to know, and can be reached via email (I’ll read it in the morning) at Jonathanfox@riverreporter.com. It’s not political—it’s personal.

Ask the Google: What is doomscrolling? (apparently it’s one word.) A: Also known as “doomsurfing,” it is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative, on the web and social media.