May 05, 2025
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A circus school in Philadelphia is scrambling to fund its May 30 production after its NEA grant was canceled by the Trump administration Friday.
Numerous U.S. cultural institutions received word over the weekend that their National Endowment for the Arts funding had been withdrawn amid the Trump administration's push to eliminate the agency. A Philadelphia circus program was one of them.
The Circadium School of Contemporary Circus said it learned through a "generic email" Friday that its $15,000 NEA grant, earmarked for its upcoming production "The Garden of Earthly Delights," had been canceled. The message implied that the student show did not align with President Donald Trump's cultural vision.
"The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President," the email read. "Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities. Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration's agenda."
The reversal has left the Circadium in a lurch, with just three weeks until the show's opening date. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" was scheduled to debut at FringeArts on Friday, May 30, as part of a wider circus festival. The school, which offers a three-year accredited program to aspiring performers, is now attempting to raise the funds itself. Its crowdfunding page had amassed more than $5,000 as of Monday evening.
"This is a shocking development," Shana Kennedy, executive director of Circadium, said in a statement. "We received no prior indication that our funding was at risk. Our students have poured their hearts, bodies, and creativity into this production, and now we are left scrambling to determine how — or even whether — the show can go on. It is unclear whether we can raise the funds in time to replace what has been lost."
Representatives for the school did not immediately clarify who sent the email canceling the grant.
But other performing arts organizations received some version of the same message. The NEA grant recipients affected include the Central Park SummerStage and Classical Theatre of Harlem in New York City, the Portland Playhouse in Oregon and the literary magazine n+1.
The wave of cancelations started Friday soon after Trump unveiled his budget proposal, which calls for the elimination of the NEA. The agency has previously provided funding to dozens of Philly institutions, including the Barnes Foundation, Mural Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Walnut Street Theatre. Its grants also helped restore the William Penn statue atop City Hall.
The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance did not immediately say if other city groups had been affected by the grant cancelations, but condemned the Trump administration's efforts to "strip away critical resources from the institutions that preserve our nation’s heritage, strengthen our communities, and power our creative economy." Philly organizations received $3.2 million from the NEA in 2024, it added.
"The termination of already-awarded grants only deepens the damage, leaving local organizations in limbo and jeopardizing projects that were planned (and budgeted for) in good faith," Patricia Wilson Alden, president and CEO of the alliance, said in a statement. "Breaking those commitments is not just destabilizing – it is a breach of public trust.
"The Cultural Alliance stands united with Philadelphia’s creative sector – and with arts and humanities leaders, culture workers, and stakeholders nationwide – to demand the reinstatement of these critical agencies and the vital reinvestment they provide to our communities. "
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