Brian Weaver was gobsmacked by an email from the Trump administration on Friday, May 2.

He continued on his way to a Portland-area pizza shop with his wife and kids, thinking: “I’m not going to let this ruin my night. Just shake it off.”

His eyes met the computer screen, and staring back at him: an email announcing that $25,000 had been revoked from his arts organization’s production that was set to take the stage in less than 24 hours.

Portland Playhouse had its $25,000 award from the National Endowment for the Arts revoked less than a day before the curtain was set to go up for its “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” production — but the show went on.

The NEA did not immediately respond for comment.

As of Monday, May 5, Portland Playhouse launched a GoFundMe to raise about $600,000 for all other Oregon arts organizations affected. All proceeds raised will be evenly dispersed to each.

“It’s the power of voice. It’s the power of resistance,” Weaver, artistic director of the organization, said of the fund. “It’s the power of saying, ‘I’ll give my dollar. We don’t need your (federal) money.’”

Beyond these funding cuts, the NEA 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.

Since its start in 1965, the agency has awarded more than $5.5 billion to bring the arts to communities, according to its website.

Picking up the pieces

Weaver acted fast, disrupting his sacred family time for a quick call to their marketing director, Cassie Greer.

“Forget the press release,” Weaver told Greer. “Just forward the email.”

To no surprise, Portland Playhouse hit headlines from The Guardian to the New York Times fast.

And yes, the show did go on. And yes, it was packed.

Portland Playhouse received 600 “gifts” following the revocation and managed to raise enough funds to fill the $25,000 gap. But still, many of actors expressed fear to Weaver, asking if they were going to lose their jobs.

“After that (fear), it was exhilarating,” Weaver said of the performance. “It gives all of the lines in the play a deeper meaning.”

There are 27 impacted Oregon organizations with projects planned in 2025.

“Money is always important, but as important as the money is, the validation that getting a grant from the NEA means. It means that the community values it, communities all over the country, these are thousands who represent artistic excellence,” Weaver explained.

The email

The email, from a generic “@arts.gov” address, stated that Portland Playhouse’s project “unfortunately does not align with the priorities,” of President Donald Trump’s vision for the country.

According to the email, the new grantmaking priorities include funding projects that reflect the nation’s “rich artistic heritage,” meaning projects that elevate the following:

• Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• Hispanic Serving Institutions
• The 250th anniversary of American independence
• AI competency
• Houses of worship
• Disaster recovery
• Trade jobs
• Military and veterans
• Tribal communities
• The safety of the District of Columbia
• The economic development of Asian American communities

“They put out this list, almost like they’re flaunting it, then cancel the grants,” Weaver said. “It almost adds insult to injury.”

Portland Playhouse’s project, the production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” is the second installment of Wilson’s Century Cycle series, showcasing a decade-by-decade chronicle of the African American experience.

“You can say it wasn’t targeted, but it felt targeted,” Weaver said. “It feels like intentional erasure.”

Weaver mentioned that La’ Tevin Alexander, who plays Herald Loomis, attended Florida A&M University, a public HBCU, or historically black college or university. Alexander launched his own theater company, Confrontation Theatre, and has brought multiple professors from FAMU to Portland for work.

“It’s just another coincidence of the hypocrisy,” Weaver said.

Portland Playhouse’s “Joe Turner Come and Gone” runs through June 8. The nonprofit is in its 17th season of making theatre for diverse audiences in Portland. For more about the organization, visit portlandplayhouse.org.

A full list of impacted Oregon grantees can be found below:

Immigrant Story
$10,000 Beaverton
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support storytelling and musical performances from international communities.

Central Oregon Community College 
$10,000 Bend
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support summer art camps for low-income youth in rural communities.

Scalehouse
$20,000 Bend
Grants for Arts Projects – Design
Purpose: To support the 2025 Bend Creative Conference.

Eugene Symphony Association Inc.
$30,000 Eugene
Grants for Arts Projects – Music
Purpose: To support a concert performance for orchestra and jazz band and a residency by jazz
pianist and bandleader Darrell Grant.

Instaballet
$10,000 Eugene
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support interactive dance workshops for children with disabilities.

Lane Arts Council
$30,000 Eugene
Grants for Arts Projects – Local Arts Agencies
Purpose: To support the First Friday Art Walk, a monthly arts event in Eugene.

University of Oregon – Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
$30,000 Eugene
Grants for Arts Projects – Museums
Purpose: To support a retrospective exhibition on painter and printmaker James Lavadour (born
1951) and an accompanying catalogue.

University of Oregon – Oregon Bach Festival
$25,000 Eugene
Grants for Arts Projects – Music
Purpose: To support Oregon Bach Festival’s co-commissioning and West Coast premiere and
performance tour of the new reconstruction of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Markus Passion by
musicologist Malcolm Bruno.

Washington County
$20,000 Hillsboro
Grants for Arts Projects – Local Arts Agencies
Purpose: To support the creation and installation of public art at the Washington County District
Attorney’s Office.

Dietzman, Alisha
$25,000 Newberg
Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing – Literary Arts
Purpose: To support a creative writing fellowship

All Classical Public Media Inc
$20,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
Purpose: To support free studio time and performance space at All Classical Portland for
Oregon-based artists.

Corrib Theatre
$15,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Theater
Purpose: To support a production of “Pass Over” by Antoinette Nwandu.

Jazz Society of Oregon
$10,000 Portland
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support the free Cathedral Park Jazz Festival.

Miracle Theatre Group 
$15,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Theater
Purpose: To support Milagro’s production of “a home what howls (or the house what was ravine)”
by Matthew Paul Olmos.

Northwest Children’s Theater & School

$40,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Musical Theater
Purpose: To support the world premiere production of The Golem’s Gift by Ezra Weiss and
Benny Zelkowicz.

Oregon Children’s Theatre Company
$25,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Musical Theater
Purpose: To support the development of a new musical in collaboration with Bag&Baggage and Native Theater Project.

Passinart A Theatre Company
$20,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
Purpose: To support a multidisciplinary arts festival.

Portland Columbia Symphony
$10,000 Portland
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support a series of public concerts.

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art 
$30,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
Purpose: To support commissions performed at the Time-Based Art Festival.

Portland Playhouse
$25,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Theater
Purpose: To support the production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”

Portland Youth Philharmonic Association
$15,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Music
Purpose: To support a chamber orchestra performance project by Camerata PYP, the
Philharmonic’s chamber orchestra.

Profile Theatre Project
$35,000 Portland

Grants for Arts Projects – Theater
Purpose: To support Profile Theatre Project’s Playwright Convening.

Risk-Reward
$10,000 Portland
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support the Festival of New Performance.

Western Alliance of Arts Administrators Foundations
$35,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works
Purpose: To support the Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) initiative.

Whitney, Jeffrey
$25,000 Portland
Literature Fellowships: Creative Writing – Literary Arts
Purpose: To support a creative writing fellowship.

Write Around Portland
$10,000 Portland
Challenge America – Challenge America
Purpose: To support the production, publication and distribution of two anthologies by Portland
area writers from low-income and marginalized communities.

Young Audiences of Oregon Inc.
$40,000 Portland
Grants for Arts Projects – Arts Education
Purpose: To support the Right Brain Initiative, an artist residency and professional development
program.