Quad City Arts to Scale Back Visiting Artist Series
One of the many Quad Cities nonprofit leaders attending Monday’s roundtable on planned federal funding cuts was Brian Allen, executive director of Quad City Arts.
One of the many funding sources for the local nonprofit agency (which serves six counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois) is the National Endowment for the Arts, which has been a consistent target for elimination by President Trump.
In early May, the NEA announced the termination of previously approved grants to hundreds of organizations nationwide. For 2024-25, the NEA grant to Quad City Arts was funded — $50,000 in support of its work with last year’s Visiting Artist Series, which has brought artists from around the world here since 1974.
But recently, Quad City Arts eliminated the position of performing arts director Margot Day, who was the main organizer and coordinator for the VAS.
Allen said the program will continue, but be reorganized likely with fewer visiting artists, and coordinated through existing staff. He expects four to six visiting artists for the coming school year, compared with 12 in 2024-25.
Brian Allen has been Quad City Arts executive director since April 1, 2025.
Future NEA funding is a concern, which was one reason that Day’s position was cut, Allen said Monday.
“While there have been shifts in some funding sources, including non-NEA grants, the decision to scale back the Visiting Artist Series is not solely a response to financial pressures,” he said. “Rather, it reflects a broader and proactive effort to ensure that all of our programs — including the Visiting Artist Series — are aligned with community priorities, fulfill our mission, and are sustainable for the long term.
“This year, we’re deeply engaging with our community through listening sessions to better understand what students, educators, and families need most from arts programming,” Allen said. “Our goal is not just to preserve what we’ve done in the past, but to evolve it into something even more responsive and impactful. We remain fully committed to arts education and are excited to design programming that reflects the voices and values of the community we serve.”
The VAS brings professional artists from around the world directly into local schools — enhancing the curriculum, broadening cultural awareness, and exposing students to artistic forms they may never encounter otherwise. In 2024, the nonprofit reached 40,126 students K-12.
Support for the Visiting Artist Series is also provided by Scott County Regional Authority, Bechtel Charitable Trust, Regional Development Authority, Quad Cities Cultural Trust, Iowa Arts Council, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Quad Cities Community Foundation, Arts Midwest GIG Fund, Rock Island Community Foundation, Rauch Family Foundation I, Moline Kiwanis, Kiwanis Club of Davenport, Moline Rotary, Rock Island Rotary, and the Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Trust.
Since 1974, the series has brought more than 600 artists to the QC, 424 residencies, 10,000 school visits, 400 concerts, and has reached over 2.6 million people in the region, according to Quad City Arts.
Quad City Arts brought in 12 international visiting artists to local schools and community sites in 2024-25, and expects to scale back to between four and six for the next school year.
“We’re still doing it, we’re still in the schools,” Allen said Monday of VAS. “We’re going to figure out what the best way is moving forward. We’re going to try and get as many engagements as we can.”
Quad City Arts will be forced, like most nonprofits, to diversify its funding sources, and including seeking more private funds (and local funding) for programs, he said.
Allen wrote in a May blog post that Quad City Arts receives annual support from the NEA ($36,000 on average) which helps fuel programs that reach over 436,000 people each year—through public art, school residencies, cultural festivals, and more. These funds don’t just support creativity—they drive real impact.
“Now, that impact is under threat,” Allen wrote. “The proposed elimination of the NEA would dismantle programs that create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, and ensure the arts are accessible to everyone—regardless of income or zip code.”
In 2022 alone, the nonprofit arts and culture sector in the Quad Cities generated over $29 million in economic activity, supported 712 local jobs, and returned more than $6 million in government revenue. NEA grants deliver a 9-to-1 return in private and local funding. “That’s not waste—it’s one of the smartest investments we can make,” Allen wrote.
“With NEA support, Quad City Arts empowers artists, activates public spaces, and builds bridges across communities. These are the very outcomes that make our region thrive,” he said.
“We can’t afford to lose this momentum. Call your representatives. Share your story. Make your voice heard,” Allen added. “Creativity isn’t expendable—it’s essential. For our economy. For our identity. For our future. Let’s stand up for what we’ve built—and keep the arts thriving in the Quad Cities for generations to come.”
“The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,” said the May email from NEA, according to NPR. “Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
The National Endowment for the Arts has given out $5.5 billion in grants since its creation in 1965 by Congress.
The email stated President Trump’s priorities as being: “Projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful, and support the economic development of Asian American communities.”
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. “The Budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of Federal funding for, the following small agencies — consistent with the President’s efforts to decrease the size of the Federal Government to enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities. Past Trump administration budgets have also supported these eliminations. Remaining funds account for costs of orderly shutdowns,” the budget request stated.
Since its founding by Congress in 1965, the NEA has awarded $5.5 billion in grants. It is the largest arts funder in the U.S. — yet one of the smallest federal agencies, according to NPR.
It is currently funded at $207 million, which represents a tiny fraction of the overall budget. According to an NEA fact sheet from 2022, the agency’s funding amounts to 0.003% of the total federal budget.
In contrast, Trump has requested a $1.01 trillion national defense budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
The Andrew Collins Trio in a Visiting Artist Series school program.
