CHARLOTTE, N.C. — All funds could be slashed for the National Endowment for the Arts as part of president Trump's proposed budget.
Trump's budget proposal eliminates nearly 1 billion in federal funding for arts and cultural groups, including money for events and groups in Charlotte.
The Charlotte Ballet, McColl Center + Innovation for the Arts and the children's theater are all at risk.
It would also include the National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
"We've been fighting this battle over and over again since the 1980s, but this is probably the most dramatic," said Robert Bush with the Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
These organizations said that would mean fewer artists coming to Charlotte, fewer performances and fewer exhibitions.
"If we're a great nation, we need to make sure we are leaving a legacy of great art," Bush said.
Armando Bellmas of the McColl Center said they got about $80,000 this year from that federal funding, and if it goes away, there's a significant trickle down effect.
"When we receive money from the NEA, we're also required to match that from the community. So that would mean fewer people would be given to organizations like McColl Center or the Charlotte Ballet"
He said that also means fewer jobs, and hopes Congress steps in to save at least some of the funding.
"You'd see fewer ballet productions, fewer theater productions, fewer activities related to arts in schools, so it has a really big impact," he said.
Visitors at the McColl Center said they are extremely disappointed by the proposal.
“If you've ever been to a play, ever seen a concert, every seen and art exhibition, every made a piece of art yourself, if you’ve ever bought a piece of art, the arts matter to you,” one man told Channel 9.
He said they're hopeful funding won't be totally eliminated as the proposal works its way through Congress.
Cox Media Group
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