‘A death blow’: Filmmakers, archivists reel as DOGE suddenly cuts their funding.

Within the Bay Area, a metropolitan area surrounding San Francisco, California, several humanities projects were able to remain viable and continue their initiatives thanks to grants from the NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities), an independent US government agency dedicated to supporting research in the humanities. Active funding totaled nearly $18 million.

On April 10, however, most of the NEH staff was placed on leave and the agency's $290 million budget was frozen. The disappointing move came from the Department of Government Efficiency, run by Elon Musk. Following the unexpected change, more than 1,000 grants were revoked, leaving hundreds of creatives without any financial support.

The NEH's contribution between 2019 and 2023 had proven crucial, providing more than $66 million in grants to various creative projects. Currently, before the interruption by the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), the initiatives supported by the NEH numbered 51.