The atmosphere has been affected since the authority introduced new conditions in line with Donald Trump's directives that state grants should not support "gender ideology", writes New York Times.
According to the president, such projects include "the false claim that men can identify as – and thereby become – women and vice versa."
The art and theater groups that are now suing NEA have previously received support for art about trans people or non-binary individuals. Even Theater Communications Group, with 650 member organizations in the USA, is backing the lawsuit.
The groups are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which believes that NEA's new conditions "spread chaos in the financing of art projects across the USA". It is also described as "unconstitutional" and excludes a great deal of art, emphasizes lawyer Vera Eidelman.
Does it mean that you can't cast someone who is non-binary or trans, or can't have a character who identifies as such? That you can't have a male character who dresses up as a woman? So much art involves these themes and has done so throughout history, she says to NY Times.
