Arts Funding and Its Nationalisms, The Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present (ASAP), Houston, TX, October 22-25, 2025. #ASAP16

This panel will examine how contemporary cultural production emerges in relation to the real economy by foregrounding funding for the arts. Over the past two decades, a considerable body of scholarship has examined the varied institutions that mediate cultural production and distribution (Ferguson 2013, Bennett 2015, Spahr 2018, Brouillette 2019, Paeth 2023). These sociologically informed studies map an increasingly centralized network of state and corporate players, namely government agencies, universities, private corporations, and non-profit organizations that provide monetary and professional support to writers and artists. As scholars of contemporary art, how do we take seriously both the worldmaking/worldbreaking capacities of creative acts and the often-limited material resources with which these acts are carried out?

We invite abstracts that investigate the relationship between arts funding and shifting nationalist frameworks. Across the twentieth century, funding for the arts played a strategic role in the liberal state’s consolidation of national cultural identity at home and expansion of cultural diplomacy abroad. In our current nationalist era characterized by protectionism, hardening borders, and the erosion of multilateral institutions like UNESCO, what new pressures and expectations do artists and arts organizations face with respect to funding? How might analyses of shifting funding priorities, like the National Endowment for the Arts’ recent changes to its programming in response to the Trump administration’s dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, contribute to our understanding of realignments in nationalist discourse and policy? 

While this call is written primarily from the perspective of literary studies, scholars from a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives are encouraged to submit proposals. Theoretical explorations are welcome, as are case studies based on real life experience and archival research. Perspectives from outside the United States are especially welcome. 

For consideration, please submit a 250-word proposal and a short bio statement to Claire Farley at cfarl068@uottawa.ca.

Deadline for submission: March 14, 2025