Early in 2025, in an Artblog article, I published a series of conversations with Philadelphia nonprofit visual arts leaders about how they were preparing for shifts in the political and funding climate. Well, we’re now more than a year into the new administration. I wanted to go back to many of the same people to ask a simple question: what has changed?
The following conversations look at how organizations are adapting structurally and psychologically; how funding pressures, political realities, and changes in artist behavior are affecting their organizations and decision-making.
Terri Saulin and Alyse Bernstein
Pete: Last year we talked about resilience...figuring things out as conditions changed. A year later, what are you actually seeing on the ground?
Terri: This year we’re realizing exactly how much our funding has decreased, and it’s glaring. We were never heavily funded, but even the small amounts we were getting made a huge difference. So now we’re shifting. One of our members is offering a workshop to raise money for the organization, and we’re trying to rethink fundraising models more broadly.
Pete: My initial assumption was that federal funding was filtering down less effectively.
Terri: It’s more that private donors are reallocating. In this political climate, people are making different choices about where their money feels most urgent. I don’t think generosity disappeared; I think priorities shifted.
Pete: So it’s not about pulling back out of fear.
Terri: Exactly. I don’t think people suddenly changed their values. They’re just directing resources elsewhere.
Alyse: From my perspective, talking with artists regularly, people are simply being more careful. Costs are up, job security feels shaky. Even for myself, I’m more thoughtful about preserving than spending. When people donate, it’s usually because they have extra, and fewer people feel flush right now.
Pete: And yet, things still move forward.
Alyse: They do. People get creative. A gallery closes, another opens. Someone donates time instead of money. That’s artists...we figure it out.
Pete: You mentioned last year that an exhibition lost funding but still went forward.
Alyse: Yes. People said, “We want to get paid but we also want to be seen.” That hasn’t changed. Opportunity still matters.
Terri: I’m also looking ahead to the semiquincentennial. It feels hopeful. Programming like The Clay Studio’s citywide project Radical Americana and the involvement of organizations like Taller Puertoriqueño, the Colored Girls Museum, and William Way feels important right now. There’s a sense that these voices may resonate even more strongly given what’s happening outside.
Pete: What really stands out to me is how much collaboration keeps coming up.
Terri: It’s not “us or nothing.” It’s satellite shows, partnerships, sharing space. That’s why organizations like The Clay Studio and CraftNOW matter. When different groups collide, the energy is real. That’s what makes me want to stay here.
Blanche Brown, Executive Director
Pete: Last year you talked about Vox being largely supported by state and local funding. Has the landscape changed?
Blanche: Because we’re relatively small (laughs) or maybe better to say scale-appropriate—the funding climate hasn’t shifted dramatically for us. But I have seen funders adjust to the moment. The Andy Warhol Foundation, for example, is now offering grants to smaller organizations for the first time. That feels significant.
Pete: A recognition that grassroots spaces are under pressure?
Blanche: Exactly. As government support recedes, people are trying to respond. And I think the political climate has actually encouraged artists to be more direct. There’s a growing demand for spaces to have clarity about where they stand.
Pete: Has that changed Vox’s curatorial approach?
Blanche: Not structurally, but it shows up in the work. Vox is about offering space...artists bring what they need to bring.
Pete: What have you learned over the past year?
Blanche: The power of collaboration. Not just across arts nonprofits, but across sectors entirely. We’ve worked with advocacy groups, community organizations. As a city, we’re stronger when we share resources and build networks.
Pete: That aligns with what others have been saying.
Blanche: It’s also behind Collective Futures. About thirty five non-profit organizations working together—yes, for 2026 programming, but also to build relationships through the process. And internally, it’s about staying flexible. Membership changes. Needs change. Listening becomes critical.
Mark Stockton, Gallery Director
Pete: Let’s start with curatorial choices. Have they shifted?
Mark: Not fundamentally. We’re still trying to align with the design culture at Drexel. We have a strong gaming and animation program, so a recent Pew-supported exhibition focuses on video games, but from independent creators rather than big studios.
Pete: Which might sound apolitical at first glance.
Mark: Right, but that’s misleading. The politics are embedded. You have artists imagining alternative worlds, questioning power structures, exploring identity. It’s not a manifesto, but it’s there.
Pete: You’ve talked before about giving artists voice.
Mark: I focus on makers; how the work is made and what it’s trying to say. It still has to be good work. I like popular entry points...comics, games...but with layers beneath.
Pete: How about funding pressures?
Mark: It’s really about higher education. Enrollments are down. Budgets are tight. There’s a
general assault on universities right now, especially around international students and public
funding. It creates a tense environment.
Pete: And yet the gallery keeps operating.
Mark: Because space matters. Attention matters. Giving someone space is a form of generosity. You can do a lot with very little, and honestly, institutions often overspend. I’ve seen exhibitions where the display costs more than supporting ten artists would for a year.
Pete: Any broader observations?
Mark: The arts are vulnerable. Creative programs are often first on the chopping block. Philadelphia is lucky to have strong foundations, but even that system has its contradictions. Still, we keep going. That’s the job.
Aisha Zia Khan, Executive Director
Pete: A year ago, there was a lot of uncertainty. How did Twelve Gates respond?
Aisha: We were nervous...but instead of working harder, we worked more strategically. What grants to apply for. What programs we could realistically sustain. We expanded staff where it mattered and paused what we couldn’t support, like our residency.
Pete: Clear, decisive management.
Aisha: Yes, and quickly. Overthinking would have hurt us. We had some multi-year funding from earlier cycles that gave us breathing room, but after that it was about making smart, sometimes hard decisions.
Pete: Did the political climate affect curatorial choices?
Aisha: Our existence is political...that hasn’t changed. But personally, it’s been heavy. Watching protests, arrests, all of it, it affects you. The challenge is not letting that fear shape the organization’s atmosphere. Twelve Gates has to remain a place of steadiness.
Pete: And that steadiness seems to be felt.
Aisha: Very much. Our free poetry circle became a lifeline. People would tell us, “I couldn’t afford a workshop this year, but I can come here.” That feedback was new and powerful. It reminded us why access matters.
Pete: You also changed your fundraising model.
Aisha: We canceled our gala and tried a concert with sliding-scale tickets. I was nervous. But it sold out...students, families, elders. People donated, people wrote to us afterward saying how much the night meant. It gave me energy to keep going.
Pete: It sounds like community is sustaining the organization as much as funding.
Aisha: Absolutely. Collaboration taught me that. Learning from partners outside my usual world. Letting others lead. That’s how we survive, and how we stay human.
What emerges from this small sample... one year on?
The community is scrappy. Funding pressures are real, but artists and organizations continue to adapt.
Political clarity has intensified even when curatorial approaches remain steady. Artists are processing their moment, and institutions are providing space.
Collaboration has become increasingly important. Organizations are working together more deliberately, sharing resources, audiences, and knowledge.
Philadelphia is fortunate: strong philanthropic support for the humanities and the visibility of the semiquincentennial offer countervailing forces as cultural and funding tides recede.
What these conversations describe is careful persistence; a field under pressure making thoughtful choices, grounded in community, attention, and trust.
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