The National Institute of Flamenco & Conservancy of Performing Arts has a mission statement that seems to suggest the organization is dedicated to celebrating creativity and Albuquerque’s rich artistic heritage. It reads, “[Our mission is] to preserve and promote flamenco’s artistry, history and culture by presenting the finest flamenco in the world and by educating the American family in this art form while emphasizing the positive influence of art on family and community.” Family and community are literally circled in bold on the website. At the beginning of the month, the institute lost a big chunk of change set aside to bring artists out for its biggest event of the year: Festival Flamenco Albuquerque.
“Why are people concerned about a flamenco festival?” Executive Director Marisol Encinias says. “Flamenco is an incredible art form, but the work we do is about so much more than flamenco. It’s about wellness, it’s about opportunities, it’s about the empowerment of youth and giving them something incredible to sink their teeth into. To be able to grow as individuals and as artists through intense investigation, research and creative development truly does transform lives.”
On May 2, at night, less than two months before the 38th annual Festival Flamenco Albuquerque kickoff set for June 20, the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) let Albuquerque’s National Institute of Flamenco know their funding recommendation had been withdrawn. The institute provided the following quote from the NEA:
“The National Endowment for the Arts will no longer offer award funding for the project. 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. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
Encinias says the institute applied for the grant in February of last year and was approved to receive the money last November. This month, $70,000 set aside specifically for artist travel expenses — about a tenth of the festival’s total budget — was withheld in a last-minute decision. The National Institute of Flamenco says festival programming will continue as planned, and it’s going to be fantastic. But the hit is gonna hurt somewhere.
There are ways you can help them bounce back. You can donate at bit.ly/neacutdonate, share this information with your network on social media or attend a workshop, but Encinias says the best way to support the Institute is to attend one of their events.
Encinias says the institute feels their Festival Flamenco has aligned with the priorities of the NEA, especially since one of those values was supporting Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The festival is part of a partnership with UNM, a long-standing HSI, and one of many programs at the National Institute of Flamenco geared toward youth development programming.
“We have a group of 50 young students who are going to be seeing all of the festival performances for free. That’s 14 performances of the world’s best flamenco artists,” Encinias says. “Many of them have dedicated their life to studying for many years, and the festival is an important activity for them, because they get to be in the theater seeing all of these different interpretations of flamenco — really world class performances. Contracts are signed, tickets are purchased, work visas have been submitted, so we have to move forward with the festival at this time.”
Founded in 1982, The National Institute of Flamenco is hosting its 38th Annual Festival Flamenco this year. Encinias says they have received NEA funding for the past 15 years and have worked with the same people managing dance grants for nearly two decades. She worries the organization may be in danger of being dismantled.
“The grant staff in all areas — whether it be theater, literature, dance, music, education — have taken an option to resign or take early retirement,” she says. “Who knows if we will have a National Endowment for the Arts for the United States anymore.”
Encinias says the institute is invested in providing accessible arts activities and programming to underserved communities including people of color and low-income demographics, and she’s sad to see similar organizations across the country receiving news of funding cuts. At the same time, she is hesitant to complain about losing grant funding when so many people are struggling with serious issues such as being denied due process.
“We’re lucky enough to have strong community support, and I think that the National Institute of Flamenco is going to be okay,” she says. “But how many arts organizations are going to be able to withstand four years? I’m nervous about it. I’m going to push forward, and we’re going to have a really good festival, but I’m very worried about the future of the arts in the United States.”
Fortunately, what goes around comes around, and some of the institute’s track record of generosity has returned to them. Encinias says that since they provide free arts education to underserved communities during the summer, a handful of county commissioners who work in those districts are supporting them with additional funding to help close the $70,000 gap. The City of Albuquerque has also been supportive in helping them appeal the NEA funding withdrawal. Local businesses and the Hispano Chamber of Commerce have also stepped in to support The National Institute of Flamenco with funding.
Given the history of flamenco and the art form’s Spanish roots, many of the people who travel to work with the institute are from Spain. Encinias says some of them lived through a period of dictatorship between the 1930s and the 1970s, so they know what it looks like when a government doesn’t allow its people to disagree with the official opinion.
“What is happening to the humanities, what is happening to museums, what’s happening to libraries is just devastating, and I hope that there’s something that we can do collectively to fight this,” Encinias says. “We can have diversity, we can have a difference of opinion, we can support things that make us think and provide a different kind of narrative or form of expression than what some people consider to be valuable, and that’s okay.”
Last week, the National Institute of Flamenco filed an appeal to get the grant money back. As of print time, The Paper. has not received news of the NEA’s decision.