Trump's proposed NEA elimination threatens US museum exhibitions

The Trump administration's proposed 2018 budget would eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), jeopardizing the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Program, which has saved US museums an estimated $450 million since 1975. Created by Congress, the program covers insurance for transporting and handling artworks, enabling major exhibitions. Alicia Thomas, director of exhibitions and collections management at Palm Springs Art Museum, relied on it for the current show "Women of Abstract Expressionism," which features 50 paintings by Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, and Lee Krasner loaned from banks nationwide. Without the program, museums could not afford such exhibitions. Over 42 years, it supported 1,400 exhibitions at 300 institutions, with only two claims totaling $4,700. The NEA's end would also terminate this program, despite its proven efficiency and minimal cost to the federal government.