Yale Art Gallery Rescinds Federal Grant Applications Following Trump Administration’s DEI Ban

The Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven has recently withdrawn two federal grant requests intended for a Southeast African art exhibition, following President Donald Trump’s bans on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This decision leaves a $200,000 funding shortfall that the museum plans to address using its endowment. The exhibition, focused on the migration of the Nguni peoples in southern Africa, is scheduled for next fall and had initially sought $100,000 each from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Roland Coffey, director of communications at the museum, confirmed that the withdrawal was due to concerns about meeting the granting organizations’ criteria. Trump’s executive order mandates federal agencies to halt opportunities promoting DEI, impacting grant application guidelines for both the NEA and NEH. This order has also led to wider challenges, including threats to eliminate these agencies and the introduction of anti-trans and anti-queer policies.

Coffey highlighted objections to new federal requirements that programs must not violate anti-discrimination laws. This situation is not unique; federal funding changes have also affected other planned exhibitions, such as a show on Indonesian textiles. The museum previously covered shortfalls using the Robert Lehman Endowment Fund.

The Yale University endowment, valued at $41.3 billion as of June 2024, now faces up to an 8% tax on earnings under Trump’s and the GOP’s initiatives. This increased financial pressure compounds the challenges presented by the loss of federal awards, thereby affecting museum operations and programming continuity.