Fort Worth groups lose $110K in NEA funds to transform former KKK hall after Trump move

Two grants tied to the redevelopment of a former Ku Klux Klan auditorium into a hub for culture and arts in Fort Worth’s Northside have been cut as the National Endowment for the Arts begins to abruptly withdraw funding for cultural institutions nationwide. 

Transform 1012 N. Main Street, the nonprofit that acquired the structure in 2022, has lost a $35,000 grant related to the design of the building. The Welman Project, a west Fort Worth nonprofit that provides free supplies for educators, has lost $74,900 in funding through the NEA’s ArtsHERE program. That grant would have supported building a community makerspace and tool library inside the hall. 

The nonprofits join a growing list of North Texas institutions that have reported grant terminations since Friday. 

“It’s devastating,” said Welman Project co-founder Taylor Willis, who received notice of the grant reversal in a May 6 email. The funding will be terminated effective May 31. 

The Trump administration has started canceling NEA grants as the federal agency begins to update its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that “reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,” according to the email. Trump recently proposed eliminating the entire agency from the 2026 federal budget.

In its email, the NEA said it will now prioritize projects that elevate historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions, celebrate American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trades, make Americans healthy, support the military and veterans, support tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and support the economic development of Asian American communities. 

“Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda,” the email said. 

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, represents the district where the former Ku Klux Klan hall is located. U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, represents the district where The Welman Project is headquartered. The congressmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NEA decision or their positions on the proposal to eliminate funding for the agency entirely. 

Since 2019, Transform 1012 has sought to turn the former Ku Klux Klan auditorium into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing. The building will honor the memory of Fred Rouse, a Black man who was lynched in 1921 by a white mob who removed him from his hospital bed where he was recovering from another mob attack in the Stockyards. Rouse is the only recorded lynching victim in Tarrant County.

The building will house a performance space, meeting spaces, an outdoor urban marketplace, a makerspace and historical exhibits, along with services for underserved and LGBTQ youth. 

Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime, executive director of Transform 1012, said the nonprofit was “disappointed” to receive the notice of termination, but it isn’t hindering the group’s mission to redevelop the space. 

“Our continuation of this important project is made possible thanks to our generous private donors,” he said in a statement. “At Transform 1012, we are empathetic to the arts organizations that have been deeply impacted by this shift in NEA’s grantmaking policy priorities. We encourage individuals to donate to and show their support for nonprofits to which they feel strongly connected.”

In September 2024, The Welman Project was one of 112 organizations to receive funding through ArtsHERE, a pilot program designed to expand access to arts participation across the nation. The grant was expected to be distributed through June 2026.

The NEA grant made up roughly 12% of the nonprofit’s annual budget, Willis said. In 2021, The Welman Project brought in revenue of $439,069, with expenses reaching $510,584, according to the nonprofit’s most recent 990 tax filings.

The community makerspace and tool library were planned for a late 2027 opening, but that timeline may now change, Willis said. 

“This funding was key to creating a space that we feel Fort Worth desperately needs. This loss really sets us back in that planning process,” Willis said.

The Welman Project’s plans to support the transformation of the space didn’t align with the NEA’s priorities, according to the termination email. The nonprofit plans to appeal the decision. 

“We’re in a really big fight to save our country right now,” Willis said. “Every service we value, every vulnerable population, is under attack. We have to stand up for the things that we care about.” 

In January, the Art Galleries at TCU received a $10,000 grant from the NEA to support the “Indian Removal Act III” exhibition from Native American artist Joe Harjo. Through his art, Harjo addresses the misrepresentation of Native culture. 

The university has not received notice that its grant has been rescinded, Sara-Jayne Parsons, director of the Art Galleries at TCU, said Tuesday. The exhibition is expected to be on view later this year. 

Past NEA grant recipients express concerns for future

Several Fort Worth art institutions have received support from NEA grants in recent years, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Amphibian Stage, Arts Fort Worth, Fort Worth Opera, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Kimbell Art Museum, Texas Ballet Theater and the Cliburn. 

The Cliburn, which oversees the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, received over $90,000 in NEA grants between 2019 and 2023. The organization applied for funding but did not receive a grant this year, resulting in increased fundraising efforts to compensate, said Maggie Estes, spokesperson for the Cliburn. 

Still, funding from the NEA makes up less than half a percentage of the Cliburn’s budget, she added. 

“We’re fortunate at the Cliburn to have diverse sources of revenue, though we value the support we get from our government on all levels,” Estes said via email. 

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra received $65,000 in NEA funds between 2019 and 2023. Keith Cerny, president and CEO of the symphony orchestra, appreciates the funding they’ve received over the years. 

“As the landscape of institutional giving evolves, the FWSO looks forward to continuing to monitor NEA and other grant criteria to identify potential grants to support the FWSO’s mission of providing exceptional musical experiences in the community,” he said in a statement. 

Amphibian Stage, a performing arts theater in Fort Worth’s Near Southside, received $30,000 from the NEA between 2019 and 2023 to support two stage productions. Jay Duffer, artistic director of Amphibian Stage, said he is “deeply concerned” about the grant terminations, believing there is no data backing the decisions. 

“They are moving at a lightning pace with no opportunity for organizations to prepare or adequately react. They are penalizing organizations who have already secured the funds,” he said in a statement. “The stated requirements for future NEA funding are unimaginative, irrational, uninformed and severely limited by the administration’s own abrasive hubris.”

Arts advocates need to mobilize and contact their elected officials to take action against the agency’s shift, Duffer added. While the arts have always seemingly been an easy target, Duffer said, Congress has typically recognized the “invaluable contributions of America’s theater landscape” and helped the NEA survive moments like this. 

“This is no common moment,” he said in a statement. “For the NEA to become extinct now would be disastrous.” 

David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @davidmreports.

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