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Alex V. Cipolle

The federal government is pulling museum grants from cultural institutions nationwide, including many in Minnesota.

In April, the Institute of Museum and Library Services — the main federal funder of museums and libraries — told the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Walker Art Center, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and the Ramsey County Historical Society their grants would be cut.

The IMLS pulled $625,000 in grants from the Science Museum, $250,000 from the Walker, $248,929 from the Mille Lacs Band and $212,714 from the Ramsey County Historical Society.

“This is definitely unprecedented,” says Christopher Stevens, the Walker chief of advancement. “It’s pretty devastating, and it’s discouraging that the federal government, which makes a relatively tiny investment in the arts, is willing to cut that investment.”

According to Chad Roberts, director of the Ramsey County Historical Society, “The biggest thing is: It’s not really ever happened before where the federal government has made this kind of a promise to a museum with a grant agreement and then just decided not to do it,”

“It really shakes your confidence in any kind of funding promise that gets made,” Roberts says.

The cuts are the result of President Donald Trump’s March 14 Executive Order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.” The order called for the IMLS and other government entities to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

The IMLS then put more than 80 percent of its staff on administrative leave and curtailed and terminated hundreds of grants across the country.

In total, the IMLS awarded $1,544,319 in 2024 museum grants to Minnesota institutions. However, it is unclear how much funding has been lost in Minnesota, as the cuts could also impact grants issued in previous years that were designated for multi-year projects. This also does not account for the cuts to grants issued to libraries statewide.

The IMLS rescinded a grant awarded to the Walker in late 2024 to help the Minneapolis museum “reduce barriers for visitors with disabilities by planning and implementing interpretive tools and programs for learners with disabilities.”

Stevens, who has been with the Walker for over three decades, says he’s never seen cuts like this.

“We’re deeply saddened that the federal government, which made a commitment to support that work and has contributed more than $3 million to the Walker over the decades, is now going back and canceling a contract and work we thought would benefit people that enjoy coming to art museums,” Stevens says.