In a recent announcement, Chicago has set up an Arts Relief Fund to assist local arts organizations that incurred losses after the Trump administration’s decision to cancel grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
At a meeting with the department’s advisory council, Clinée Hedspeth, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), unveiled the fund and explained that it aims to provide financial support to entities affected by these grant cancellations.
Grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 will be available through a quick application process, with applications set to open on Friday and concluding in mid-August. Hedspeth emphasized that the fund is a one-time initiative designed to replace critical funding that these organizations lost.
“The fund delivers responsive aid for those impacted organizations. It’s one time only, meant to replace that vital funding,” Hedspeth stated during the meeting.
However, specific details regarding the total amount of funding available have not been disclosed. Following the meeting, questions posed by WBEZ to Hedspeth went unanswered.
According to Tahira Baig, Deputy Commissioner of Finance at DCASE, the funds will be sourced from the department’s existing budget. She indicated that the department will explore areas where spending can be reduced to create the necessary funding pool, although no further elaboration was provided.
The establishment of the Arts Relief Fund comes at a crucial time for arts funding in Chicago, especially after the NEA announced in May that it would withdraw grant dollars originally promised to some local cultural organizations.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump had revealed significant changes to the NEA’s grant programs, and by May, he had decided to claw back funding that was already allocated to various Chicago arts groups.
Organizations like Open House Chicago, which focuses on architecture, and the Black Harvest Film Festival are among those that received notifications regarding the loss of NEA funding.
In January, prior to President Trump’s second-term inauguration, the NEA had committed nearly $2 million in funding to 80 arts organizations across Illinois. Traditionally, NEA funding tends to benefit larger and more established organizations, leaving smaller local arts entities struggling, especially amid a challenging financial landscape.
These smaller groups often rely on the city’s ongoing grant programming to sustain their operations. Notably, DCASE has indicated that starting in 2026, organizations will be restricted to receiving CityArts grants for a maximum of two consecutive years before they must take a one-year hiatus from the program.
In light of these changes, advisory council member Omar Torres-Kortright, who serves as the executive director of Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center in Hermosa, expressed concern about the impact of the required funding pauses on small organizations.
“The consistency of that grant is even almost more important than the amount that you get,” he remarked, pointing out how crucial predictable funding is for budgeting and planning.
In addition to support for organizations, DCASE has also allocated grants to individual artists this year. A total of 245 individuals received funding through the Individual Artists Program, which is among the highest numbers since 2019.
The grants awarded to individuals can reach up to $6,000, although DCASE has not specified the total funds distributed through this initiative for this year. In 2024, the program made $1 million available to 200 grantees, showing a significant increase from the $496,300 allocated in 2019.
DCASE reported receiving over 1,300 applications for this year’s Individual Artists Program, resulting in a funding success rate of approximately 19%. Moreover, about 59% of the recipients were first-time grantees across various disciplines, including film, music, theater, dance, and visual arts.
image source from：wbez
