Cutbacks to the National Endowment of the Arts have forced some Big Island performing arts venues to consider shorter seasons and higher ticket prices.
The Trump administration halted some grant funding for NEA-backed nonprofits like Hawaii’s State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and the nonprofit Creative West (formerly known as the Western States Arts Federation or WESTAF).
Those grants allowed the statewide art consortium Hawaii Arts Alliance to bring world-class talent to stages throughout the islands. Through the consortium, performing arts providers like Kahilu Theatre, the Hawaii Concert Society and the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center split travel costs and appearance fees with other venues.
Since grants were put on hold with the May 5 gutting of the NEA, the consortium’s participation in such block-booking has wavered, leaving performing arts venues searching for solutions just as many were hitting their pre-COVID-19 stride again.
“It’s been a wild ride for arts organizations across the country,” said Lee Dombroski, manager of the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center.
Due to the loss of grants for NEFA and Creative West that provided about one quarter of the center’s funding, Dombroski said her department is preparing for less access to artists in upcoming seasons, depending on how flexible management companies are willing to be on appearance fees.
The cuts may lead to fewer than the six shows the center was able to present during the 2024-2025 season, she said.
“We’ve weathered many a storm in the arts world … it’s about reducing expenses and maximizing income,” Dombroski said. “Raising ticket prices doesn’t serve the desired outcome, because if the ticket prices get too high to where they can’t be reasonably accessible, then it’ll be harder to provide a warm, welcoming audience for anyone who’s performing.”
The Hawaii Concert Society receives between $10,000 to $15,000 in NEA-backed support annually, or 15% to 20% of its overall funding. The concert society is facing the same predicament of frustrating or losing audiences by raising ticket prices, something its president, Tom Geballe, said the organization hasn’t had to do in a decade.
Geballe said “everyone seems really afraid to make commitments” to block-booking, which is the practice of multiple venues across multiple islands booking artists through the local consortium to maximize the efficiency of artists’ expensive travel to the state.
Geballe said of the lack of cohesion within the consortium is causing a significant increase in costs.
“At the end of every season, we have enough money in the bank for half of a season, assuming that the rest will be covered by memberships, donations, grants and ticket sales,” he said. “We could probably survive a season without grants, but then we will have to curtail our seasons. We would really hate to do that.”
Executive Director Josh Moniz of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival said that even organizations like his that don’t rely on block-booking or NEA funding to showcase talent are still impacted by the instability that radiates throughout the arts world in the wake of the cutbacks.
“Reductions in NEA support and the shifting priorities of state consortia make it more difficult for organizations like ours to plan, produce new work, and engage guest artists,” Moniz said. “These changes introduce a level of uncertainty, especially for future seasons, and we continue to monitor and adapt as needed.”
Misha Johnson, managing director of the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea, said the “notable decrease in consortium touring this year” has caused the venue to “rely more heavily on local support” and “dynamic ticketing models and increased donor underwriting to offset rising artist and production costs so we can avoid placing that burden on our audience.”
She noted that the political turmoil surrounding international visas can further compound the touring challenges.
“The uncertainty around international artist visas and the reduction in multi-island tours can isolate Hawaii audiences from inspiring performances,” she said. “Our location already presents logistical and financial challenges, and without consortium or federal support, it’s harder to bring global talent to our stage — especially for smaller rural communities that rely on these performances for connection and inspiration.”
Executive Director Phillips Payson of the Palace Theater in downtown Hilo said their live shows are not currently facing the same unstable landscape other Hawaii County venues are navigating because the Palace works predominantly with locally produced shows and performers.
However, he said that because longtime partner Hawaii International Film Festival receives approximately 20% of its funding directly from the NEA, he fears the Palace may not be able to offer as many international cinema options.
“(HIFF) is a great opportunity to see Japanese, South Asian, Indian, and European titles, so really providing a selection of films from around the world,” Payson said. “(The film festival will) happen for sure, we’ve got it from November 13 to 16. It’s just how the budget cut of this year is going to affect operations and what kind of films we’ll be able to line up for this year’s program. We’ll scale back a bit, but we’re still powering through.”
Despite the uncertainty, all the sources for this story said they are consistently impressed by the community support their organizations receive from memberships, donations and ticket sales — all of which may be the last bastion against the loss of performing arts in Hawaii County.
“It’s a quality of life metric,” Payson said of access to live performances. “It makes the world a better place.”
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
