The Arts Step Up!
On May 7, 2025, Prairie Music & Arts (PMA) was honored to receive a $10,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. This grant provided immediate funding to 80 small and mid-sized cultural organizations across the United States that were selected to receive grants through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Challenge America program, which was abruptly suspended on May 2, 2025 through an executive action, leaving arts organizations scrambling to make up the deficit.
Prairie Music & Arts was chosen in December 2024 as one of the arts organizations recommended for funding through the 2025 Challenge America grant program from the NEA. This was a first for our nonprofit, and we were proud to be recognized. The funding supported the Sun Prairie Creates project, a joint project co-created between PMA and Sun Prairie Community Schools. The funds were necessary, and the award validated the partners’ shared commitment to arts education. Offers signed and completed in good faith, with the expectation of receiving funds, are no longer available. The action impacts over 500 arts organizations, and almost $28 million has been taken away from organizations that depend on federal funding to do the essential and enriching cultural work for their communities.
As stated in the notice received, “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. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities. The NEA will now prioritize projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities. Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda.”
These new guidelines cut out programs such as the ones Prairie Music & Arts provides, which are centered on ensuring children have opportunities for creative expression beyond the school day.
Funding has always been challenging for the arts, and the loss of funding is devastating to the arts community. Not only are youth programs that are centered on offering accessible arts experiences being diminished and devalued, but performing arts projects that represent the very fabric of our society are now in a vulnerable place.
Foundations such as the Andy Warhol for the Visual Arts and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation reflect the generosity and commitment of the arts community to stand by its own.
Prairie Music & Arts is and will always be part of a greater community, supported by a committed board of directors and a network of creative teaching artists, collaborative partners, supportive grantors and donors, and most especially, the student artists we serve. Every dollar makes a big difference for a small organization such as ours. The NEA Challenge America grant had a 1:1 match requirement for organizations. Today, we invite you to help us match the generous gift from the Andy Warhol for the Visual Arts and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundations by donating to support the Sun Prairie Creates project.
We need you more than ever to ensure Prairie Music & Arts’ programming has the funding to continue offering innovative and enriching opportunities!
This was undoubtedly a setback, but PMA and the arts community are resilient, creative, and strong. Thank you for being a part of the community we love and serve.
With Gratitude,
Kari Walton
Prairie Music & Arts Executive Director