News

BAVC Media statement on the impact of cancelled federal arts and culture funding

Published On: May 6, 2025 |

*CORRECTION (May 15, 2025): total amount updated from original amount of $250,000 to $220,000 in impacted funding. This is to reflect our ability to draw down funds originally tied up in early terminations. This is specific to the $30k for our VERSED and IMAG programs outlined below. The remaining $220,000 in funds lost includes a withdrawn award offer for the Preservation Access Program & MediaMaker Fellowship, and an anticipated cooperative agreement for the 2025 IMAG program year that was not renewed.*

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — May 6, 2025 — Along with many of our peer organizations, on Friday, May 2, 2025, we received news from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) that three of our grants have been terminated, rescinded, or closed out early; a loss totalling $220,000 for BAVC Media (Bay Area Video Coalition) programs.

“The terminations and unwinding of long-time programs, values, and support for its own exceptional staff on the Media Arts team has been upsetting to witness. In addition to losing support for our nationally recognized artist development and media preservation programs, our cooperative agreement with the NEA to co-lead media arts capacity-building activities was also terminated with only two months left on our agreement. To be honest, this felt especially egregious. As a former federal government worker, it flies in the face of good public policy and service.” – Paula Smith Arrigoni, Executive Director of BAVC Media

There are numerous stories from our community of filmmakers and peer organizations of funding losses that will inevitably impact the income of independent artists and ultimately cause irreversible harm to our industry here in the Bay Area through potential closures, job losses, and further precarity.

This follows the recent termination of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants. The impact was further exacerbated by the subsequent termination of state humanities councils, indefinitely suspending all awards by California Humanities. We’ve heard direct accounts from filmmakers in our community who have seen cuts ranging from $5,000 to $300,000.

BAVC Media programs impacted by the NEA funding cuts include:

  • MediaMaker Fellowship
    • Established in 1991 through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship (formerly the National MediaMaker Fellowship and the BAVC Producers Institute) has provided in-kind creative support for independent artists at work on social issue nonfiction film and multimedia projects, with a particular focus on supporting emerging artists and underrepresented communities. The Fellowship builds an engaged national community of creative media artists from diverse fields, increases their capacity for project completion and lasting impact, and inspires new partnerships and collaboration to support future work. 
  • Preservation Access Program
    • Serving emerging artists and cultural institutions from across the country, with museum-quality transfers and preservation services at a reduced rate. Provides affordable preservation services to individuals and small-to-midsize organizations who have analog audiovisual materials in their collections. Prioritization was given to those containing art, activism, or content featuring BIPOC communities and LGBTQ+ communities.
  • IMAG (Independent Film and Media Arts Group)
    • Administration for over two years of the Independent Film and Media Arts Field-building Initiative. Focused on knowledge exchange and peer learning, with an emphasis on regional networks, equity, and career sustainability for individuals working in the film and media arts industry.
  • VERSED Workshops
    • An economically accessible series of workshops, hands-on labs, and training for creators of all ages and skill levels interested in technology-centered creative media practices.

Despite ongoing challenges and the current federal government’s deluge of hostile actions, designed to destabilize the important work of arts and culture administrators across the US, we remain committed to serving our diverse community, being a voice for equity, and championing independent creators in the Bay Area.

We encourage you to continue supporting our wonderful local creative scene, filmmakers, venues, and cultural institutions at this time. Whether that’s making your art, attending events, watching films, making donations, or joining organizations, it is through collective action that we can ensure our mission remains sustainable, independent, and resistant to the actions of those in power.

Lastly, we urge our community to join us in fighting for the long-term survival of the NEA, NEH, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and public media as vital arts, humanities, and civic platforms. Please contact your representatives. 

Below are links for various resources for organizations and individuals impacted:

 

In solidarity,

BAVC Media