FAIR in the Arts

FiA - Community Gathering

Karen Howes FiA Director — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:55:03 GMT

Join FAIR in the Arts on Weds, October 21 at 7PM ET for our monthly “After Hours” gathering — an informal opportunity to connect with fellow writers, actors, musicians, filmmakers, choreographers, visual artists, and other creatives who believe in artistic freedom.

FAIR in the Arts is launching Arts After Hours, a monthly Zoom gathering for FAIR artists, members, and guests to meet one another, exchange ideas, share opportunities, and strengthen the courageous creative community we are building together.

This isn’t a webinar or a formal presentation. It’s a gathering.

Come tell us what you’re working on. Bring an idea you’d like to explore, an opportunity you’d like to share, a question or project for other artists, or simply come to meet writers, actors, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and other creative people who believe that art flourishes through curiosity, independence, open inquiry, and the courage to create authentically.

Our first After Hours gathering will be held Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 PM ET, and we’ll gather thereafter on the third Wednesday of every month.

FAIR in the Arts is becoming more than a place to defend artistic freedom. We want it to be a place where artists can use that freedom to create, connect, collaborate, and help shape the culture around us. I really hope you’ll join us.

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.

Every month on the third Wednesday.

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FAIR in the Arts Newsletter

Fair For All — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:06:37 GMT

FiA -- The Next Act

Hello Friends of FAIR in the Arts,

Building on the community created over the past four years, we’re expanding the ways FAIR artists can find one another, share their work, build professional connections, reach new audiences, and participate in the larger cultural conversation.

As the new Interim Director of FAIR in the Arts, I’d like to introduce myself and, more importantly, invite you to become part of what comes next.

My name is Karen Howes. Most of my professional life has been spent in the theatre as a multi-award-winning playwright, artistic director, lyricist, and educator. I hold an MFA in Writing for the Performing Arts and have taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, written television programming for PBS, and developed series pilots for studios. I’ve also spent much of my life creating work outside conventional professional lanes, which has given me an appreciation for how important it is for independent artists to find one another.

I’m honored to step into this role with the goal of leading FiA to become a go-to community for independent, free-thinking artists: a place to find collaborators and audiences, exchange ideas, promote one another’s work, and build the professional relationships that allow serious art to flourish.

Over the coming months, that will mean more opportunities to connect: live conversations and gatherings, a directory through which artists can find and collaborate with one another, greater promotion of members’ work, and a calendar highlighting FiA performances, exhibitions, publications, screenings, readings and events. I hope that means I’ll meet many of you through email, across a Zoom room, or, even better, in person.

But the larger ambition, the bigger picture, goes beyond networking and promotion. FiA can provide a vehicle through which artists become active participants in shaping culture. For too long, much of the contemporary arts world has encouraged artists to think of themselves through categories that are political, demographic, and ideological before thinking of themselves as artists. We are changing that.

We believe artists should be free to follow an idea wherever it leads; to create characters who refuse to behave according to political expectations; to ask uncomfortable questions; to risk offending an audience; to pursue beauty, humor, complexity, truth, and excellence without first determining whether the result conforms to the prevailing cultural script.

That freedom comes with responsibility. If artists want a culture in which intellectual independence and artistic courage are valued, we cannot simply wait for institutions to create it for us. We have to become its builders.

That means cultivating artists who are willing not only to create independently, but to become leaders within their disciplines: starting companies and publications, producing work, mentoring younger artists, creating new venues, supporting one another’s projects, and opening doors for artists whose work deserves to be seen.

Our ambition for FAIR in the Arts is therefore not simply to provide refuge from an arts culture that is ideologically narrow, or that determines the value of an artist’s work by the immutable characteristics of its artist. It is to help build something better.

I’m deeply grateful to Monica Harris for her genuine enthusiasm for FAIR in the Arts and her support for where we plan to take it. I’m especially grateful to the artists and supporters who built the community over the past four years and gave us something worth expanding.

This first newsletter is an invitation: Tell us what you’re creating. Tell us about your upcoming performances, exhibitions, publications and events. Tell us what you need professionally, and what expertise, opportunities or connections you might be able to offer another artist. Tell us what you think FAIR in the Arts should become.

Below is a preview of what we’re building, what we’re talking about, and where we hope to go in the remainder of 2026 and beyond. Welcome to the next act.

Warmly,
Karen
Interim Director, FAIR in the Arts

Subscribe now to receive FiA News weekly in your Inbox.

FiA Goals and Vision:
Building a path for a stronger artistic community

Launch a Member Spotlight Calendar through which FiA members can share screenings, performances, openings, book tours, speeches, and any event that highlights your work as an artist. We want to know what you’re doing. Send information to Arts@fairforall.org. In the subject line, write Calendar Submission - the month
Connect FAIR Chapter Leaders with FAIR Artists in each state to provide more streamlined connections between local artists and local resources, audiences, and supporters.
Launch a weekly Artist Stories series introducing members to one another and the larger FAIR community. We’ll begin with FAIR’s 2026 Artist Grant recipients through the end of the year, then expand the series to feature artists throughout the FiA community.
Publish FAIR Artists Directory online with member-only access to assist artists with FAIR-friendly resources and collaborators.
Launch a Fundraising initiative to provide Artist Grants for our 2027 cycle and to build FAIR-aligned support for our artists’ projects. We are looking to form a committee of artists, producers and friends of the arts who can help us write grants, create presentations, and seek donor-based funding sources.
Increase our Social Media presence. We want to be out there. Too many independent artists have spent years measuring their words or keeping their heads down for fear that an unfashionable opinion might cost them professionally. FiA wants to help create an arts culture in which artists can be artists without first passing an ideological or identity test. Look for us on Substack Notes, X, and Instagram -- and help us spread the word by sharing our Substack and encouraging other artists to join.
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FiA Events and Gatherings:
Getting together with like-minded artists and supporting each other’s work

FiA will host monthly Zoom gatherings where we can meet one another discuss successes, challenges, industry news, and strategies for elevating individual artists, and FAIR-aligned thinking while rebuilding every aspect of the arts. Our first meet-up will be October 21 at 7PM ET; then every third Wednesday of the month. Stay tuned for a Zoom link. I hope you will join us.
We encourage local in-person gatherings. A deep thank you to Julie Eicher Aguilar for organizing a meet and greet on September 12^th at the Virgin Hotel in Nashville. Over 20 artists gathered to informally discuss work, life, and dreams. It was exciting to see so many enthusiastic creators in one place. If you want to announce an upcoming In-person meeting or tell us about one you had, send an email to Arts@fairforall.org In the subject line write Local Meet-up.

FiA Member News:
Staying Connected! Read about what other FAIR artists are doing

FAIR Artist Grant recipient Mary Poindexter McLaughlin received over 250 submissions for DEAR US: One-Acts to Bridge the Divide, her new short-play project designed to put varied viewpoints on the same stage and encourage open-hearted listening and dialogue across differences. The winning plays and finalists were announced on September 20th; performances are on October 25th & 26th in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
FAIR Artist Grant recipient Kimberley Tait celebrated the launch of Dogstar Press, her new independent publishing company dedicated to “beautiful, sincere, 100% human fiction.” The press champions fiction created by human writers in an increasingly AI-driven publishing environment. https://www.dogstar.press/
Unspeakable podcast host Meghan Daum sat down with Kimberley Tait to discuss Tait’s recently published novel, Bright Stars, September 11, and the cultural transition from what Daum describes as the “Before Times.”
Robert Cooperman, artistic director of Stage Right Theatrics and a FAIR Artist Grant recipient, has launched the podcast For the Rest of Us, a program devoted to the arts, their influence on American culture, and the role traditionally minded artists can play in shaping that culture. The program airs on Saturday at 11 AM on 95.9 FM in Columbus, Ohio — and here, where you can also get past episodes.

Reaching Out:
Helping us build a network

We want to know what you know, what you hear, what you see, and what you’re doing. Send news, events, opinions, successes, and challenges to arts@fairforall.org . In the subject line write - News for FiA Newsletter
FiA is building a resource directory of studios, performance spaces, bookstores, galleries, venues and other arts resources where independent artists can work, participate and connect. We also hope to partner with venues willing to offer FiA members reduced ticket prices or other benefits. Know a place we should include? Send it our way.
Your generous support enables us to continue developing resources, strengthening our artist network, and advocating for open, viewpoint-diverse arts communities. Please consider supporting FiA today and asking others to do the same.

Donate to Fair in the Arts

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TONIGHT: Community Meetup with Hector Herrera

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:10:37 GMT

Community Meetup with Hector Herrera: Tonight @ 7 PM ET

TONIGHT @ 7 PM ET: Join Fair For All for a community meetup and town hall with Hector Herrera, animator and filmmaker. We will hear about Hector’s story and hear your thoughts about the state of arts & culture in 2026. Register here.

HECTOR HERRERA is an animator and filmmaker, and the co-producer of the documentary The Coddling of the American Mind. He co-runs the studio TOGETHER Words+Pictures with writer and producer Pazit Cahlon, producing animated work for education, journalism, and documentary storytelling. Hector’s short films have screened at TIFF, the Berlinale, and other international festivals. He is currently adapting Michael Shellenberger’s Apocalypse Never into an animated series and leading design and animation on the documentary White Guilt, based on Shelby Steele’s book and directed by Eli Steele. He is also a senior editor at The Coddling of the American Mind Substack and writes his own Substack, Friendly Fire, which explores free speech, cultural conformity, and institutional failure.

Please reach out to arts@fairforall.org with any questions.

TONIGHT: Mary McDonald-Lewis Speaks Out

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:18:43 GMT

The Toll of Cancellation on the Human Spirit

Tonight – December 18th at 7 PM EST – join FAIR as we explore the human cost of cancellation, the spiritual and emotional dimensions that often go unseen, and the importance of building a culture where disagreement does not mean disposability.

Our guest Mary McDonald-Lewis will share her story, her losses, her resilience, and her hope for a better future—one marked not by fear, but by exchange, openness, and shared humanity. Register here.

Read Mary’s latest, The Artist in Exile, for FAIR’s Substack here:

Fair For All

The Artist in Exile

Editors Note: Below you will find a long-form essay by Mary McDonald-Lewis. We generally don’t publish long-form content on our Substack, but Mary’s voice and experience are so timely and important that we feel compelled to share this in its original form…

10 months ago · 39 likes · 9 comments · Mary McDonald-Lewis

Artist Grant: Thank You & Deadline Extension

Thank you to everybody who applied to the 2026 FAIR Artist Grant.

We will be accepting late applications through 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, December 21st, 2025. Through this grant, mission-aligned artists have the opportunity to win competitive funding that will reward them not based on their identity group or ideological allegiance – as many arts grants quietly continue to do – but instead on the quality and integrity of their work.

Art is the most powerful transmitter of ideas in human history. If we want to influence minds and change culture, we must create culture. Help us in our mission to build a new culture that frees artists from groupthink by donating to the Artist Grant Fund. Special thanks to The Snider Foundation for their support.

Learn More about the FAIR Artist Grant

Announcing the 2025-26 FAIR Artist Grant

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 15:00:51 GMT

Applications Now Open for the FAIR Artist Grant

We are pleased to introduce the 2025-26 FAIR Artist Grant, an opportunity available to our community of artists who carry out work that aligns with, advances, and supports FAIR’s mission in the arts.

Through the FAIR Artist Grant, mission-aligned artists have the opportunity to win competitive funding that will reward them not based on their identity group or ideological allegiance—as many arts grants quietly continue to do—but instead on the quality and integrity of their work.

Since our first granting cycle in 2023, we have awarded $16,000 in direct funding to twenty artists spanning industry, background, and geography. Learn more about our 2023-24 Artist Grant Winners and 2025 Artist Grant Winners.

Art is the most powerful transmitter of ideas in human history. If we want to influence minds and change culture, we must create culture. Help us in our mission to build a new culture that frees artists from groupthink by donating to the Artist Grant Fund.

”Programs like the FAIR Artist Grant are absolutely worth supporting—they empower artists at the grassroots level, create space for bold storytelling, and help ensure that new voices continue to shape the future of American theatre. We’re deeply grateful.” (Frank Mihelich, 2025 Artist Grant Winner)

Learn More & Apply by 11/30

Donate

Fair For All

Introducing the 2025-2026 FAIR Artist Grant

Dear Friends of FAIR…

a year ago · 7 likes · Fair For All

Freedom in the Arts launches new sector-wide research on artistic freedom

From FAIR Arts Fellow Rosie Kay: Freedom in the Arts (FITA) has launched three new confidential surveys exploring how boycotts, censorship and political pressure are shaping the UK’s cultural sector.

This is the first research of its kind, designed to inform the creation of a practical FITA Toolkit — a set of clear, lawful, and supportive resources to help artists, venues, and agents navigate pressures with confidence and integrity.

FITA Artists Survey | FITA Agents & Managers Survey | FITA Venue Survey

Learn More about Freedom in the Arts

Latest from Our Community

Clifton Duncan for the State of the Arts – You MUST Avoid This Trap.

“Curiosity and Empathy are foundational to the craft of acting. In truth, they are foundational to any artistic discipline. They are the artist’s bread and butter, what sets them apart from the civilian population. And they’ve become rare in today’s atomized, hyper-partisan climate.”

The State of the Arts

You MUST Avoid This Trap.

Tribalism is killing any chance of artistic revival…

a year ago · 100 likes · 4 comments · Clifton Duncan

Don Baton for The Spectator – The Decline of the Met

“In [this essay], I argue that the Met’s problem goes deeper than programming too many boring and irrelevant contemporary operas. The overarching problem is, rather, a leadership that treats its audiences with contempt. I also advance a few hard-won pearls of wisdom on the direction of American opera programming […]”

The Podium

The Decline of the Met: New article in The Spectator

Dear all…

a year ago · 11 likes · 1 comment · Don Baton

Franklin Einspruch for The Arts Fuse – Book Review: “Against Morality” — The Shaming Regime

“‘Against Morality’ is the cri de coeur of a cultural critic who realizes that the presentation of art and its adjacent pursuits, including much art itself, have become the subsidiaries of progressive politics.”

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

Support FAIR in the Arts

Broadway's DEI Downfall, Building Bridges Through the Arts, and More

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 14:41:20 GMT

The Big Read: Is DEI Undermining the Core of Broadway’s Pit Orchestras?

For FAIR’s Substack, composer and music producer Kevin Lynch dives into how discriminatory DEI practice continue to dominate hiring on Broadway pit orchestras – and the way forward.

If Broadway genuinely wants to pursue equity, it must be merit-based and identity-blind. As it stands, DEIA doesn’t dismantle bias—it rebrands it under a new name and punishes those who challenge the orthodoxy. It demands conformity to group identity over personal skill, experience, and persistence.
Fairness has never meant guaranteed outcomes. It means equal opportunity—not engineered results. There’s no entitlement to pit work. These roles are earned through passion, sacrifice, and years of invisible effort. Demographics don’t capture the late nights, the unpaid gigs, the practice hours, or the life sacrifices.
If Broadway’s idea of evolution is replacing excellence with ideology, it’s not evolving. It’s collapsing. Skill built this industry, and appeasement will kill it.

Fair For All is proud to fight for artists like Kevin Lynch in advancing fairness and equal opportunity across the arts & entertainment industries. Read our National Endowment for the Arts Civil Rights Complaint.

Read Kevin’s full essay here:

Fair For All

Is DEI Undermining the Core of Broadway’s Pit Orchestras?

Behind Broadway’s bright lights lies a hiring culture that has long been driven by competition and merit. But that culture is now being reshaped by ideology. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives within Broadway’s pit orchestras are no longer rooted in fairness or excellence—they’re promoting exclusion and ideological confor…

a year ago · 99 likes · 20 comments · Kevin Lynch

A Summer of Building Bridges Through Performing Arts

Mind the Gap in NYC. Photo by Colleen Sturtevant Photography.

This summer, FAIR in the Arts had the opportunity to collaborate with our friends at Braver Angels Music on bridging divides and advancing peace through the performing arts.

On August 3rd in New York City, Braver Angels and NY Theater Workshop presented Mind the Gap – a project bringing together a politically diverse group of participants to interview each another and collaboratively create theater based on their conversations. Over a single weekend, this group devised and performed an original show for the community. Kudos to all FAIR artists in Mind the Gap!

On August 15th at The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, FAIR in the Arts Manager Brent Morden joined Braver Angels for a panel discussion on how music can advance peace. This panel was part of the Woodstock Anniversary Week, which also featured an inter-political collaborative songwriting workshop and presentations from Music in Common, Daniel’s Music Foundation, and more partner organizations.

Upcoming Events

August 24th through September 7th in NYC: DISMANTLING PROSPERO by Tom Rowan

NEW YORK CITY – Dismantling Prospero is a new play by Tom Rowan with original music and dance sequences. It follows a dynamic and single-minded professor of dance as he rehearses a new ballet version of The Tempest with his students–and inadvertently sets off a storm of protests on the campus. This timely, provocative, and potentially controversial piece takes on diversity training, cultural appropriation, homophobia, cancel culture, and more with humor and insight.

Directed by Kevin Ray, it opens August 24th and plays six performances through September 7th as part of the Dream Up Festival at the legendary downtown venue Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, in Manhattan.

Dismantling Prospero is supported in part by funds from the FAIR Artist Grant. Learn more about supporting the FAIR Artist Grant fund here.

Tickets for Dismantling Prospero

Freedom in the Arts Threatens Legal Action Against University of Leicester

Led by FAIR Arts Fellow Rosie Kay, Freedom in the Arts (FITA) has issued a formal legal letter (a pre-action protocol for judicial review) to the University of Leicester, demanding the withdrawal of its Trans-Inclusive Culture Guidance. The Guidance, for museums, galleries, archives and heritage organisations, is alleged to misstate UK equality law, promote unlawful conduct, and contribute to a chilling effect on free expression in the arts.

“There is widespread, deeply held perception that it is political closure and ideological orthodoxy that governs the arts. Questioning it, adding nuance, or rejecting it risks grave career and personal consequences.” — Afraid to Speak Freely, FITA 2025. Read the full press release here.

Around the Web

This month, we’re reading:

Our Shared Reality Will Self-Destruct in the Next 12 Months – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (8/20/25)
Some Heroes Wear Jeans: Sydney Sweeney Hasn’t Apologized to the Mob – Ted Balaker for The Shiny Herd (8/5/25)
Yes, comedians are being cancelled – Andrew Doyle (8/1/25)
August 2025 Newsletter. Feminism and the First Days of School – Chris Munce for Choralosophy (8/1/25)

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

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Meet the Dynamic Duo Shaping the Future of Film

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:15:25 GMT

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July 1st: Community Meetup with Ted & Courtney Balaker

On July 1st, join FAIR in the Arts for our virtual community meetup with award-winning filmmakers Ted and Courtney Balaker.

After producing for Universal Pictures, Dimension, ABC News, Reason TV, PBS and others, Courtney and Ted Balaker founded Korchula Productions in 2011 with the motto — making important ideas entertaining.

Their films have won dozens of awards and have been released in theaters and on many popular platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+. Their projects have been lauded and amplified by many diverse voices including Elon Musk, Seth MacFarlane, Larry Elder, John Stossel, Congressmen Thomas Massie, Jamie Raskin, and Dana Rohrabacher as well as publications such as The San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, National Review, and The Hollywood Reporter.

The Balakers’ films include Little Pink House starring two-time Oscar nominee Catherine Keener; Can We Take a Joke?, which features comedians such as Gilbert Gottfried, Adam Carolla, and Penn Jillette; and The Coddling of the American Mind, a documentary based on The New York Times bestselling book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. The Balakers have recently finished writing the screenplay for a new feature called Troubled, which is based on the bestselling memoir by Rob Henderson.

We look forward to a stimulating and topical community discussion on July 1st. If you have any questions, please reach out to Brent Morden at arts@fairforall.org.

Courtney & Ted Balaker at the NYC premiere of The Coddling of the American Mind in April 2024.

Congratulating FAIR Artist Grant Winner Tom Rowan

We’re thrilled to congratulate 2025 FAIR Artist Grant winner Tom Rowan, whose grant-funded play Dismantling Prospero has been accepted into the annual Dreamup Festival at Theatre for the New City in New York City. The play will be directed by Kevin Ray, 2023-24 FAIR Artist Grant winner and a longtime FAIR Arts member.

Dismantling Prospero will be performed at the Dreamup Festival during its run from August 24th to September 14th, 2025. More details to come. With gratitude to our Artist Grant supporters, join us in congratulating Tom and Kevin!

Support the FAIR Artist Grant

Upcoming Community Events

Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th in NYC: The Tin Angel Opera

The Tin Angel Opera, based on a libretto by Paul Pines from his widely acclaimed novel of the same name, with music by award-winning composer and FAIR Arts Member Daniel Asia, is set in the edgy world of the NYC Bowery jazz club, where a unique cast of characters play out a dramatic story as a call for redemption. The inspiration behind the story is The Tin Palace, New York City’s real-life jazz mecca of the 70s, founded by Paul Pines in 1973. The Tin Angel Opera is being produced by Teatro Grattacielo and is set for its world premiere in New York City's The La MaMa Theater on June 28th and 29th. More info and tickets here.

Tickets for The Tin Angel Opera

Around the Web

This month, we’re reading:

Audiences Prove that Experts Are Dead Wrong – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (6/24/25)
In Top Gun Maverick They Picked the Girl. For Midnight Hammer, They Picked the Best. – Sasha Stone for Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning (6/23/25)
Does the Pulitzer Prize Hate Substack? – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (6/22/25)
What the Sowell Play Will be About. – Clifton Duncan for Becoming Thomas Sowell (6/15/25)

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

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We're Holding the NEA Accountable

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:31:08 GMT

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We’re Holding the NEA Accountable

Last week, in a new and important step defending civil rights in the arts, FAIR submitted a formal federal civil rights complaint to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) against Maestra Music, Inc. and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) after they funded and facilitated a discriminatory hiring opportunity that excluded applicants based on sex and race.

In 2023, Maestra and Musicians United for Social Equity (MUSE), in collaboration with the Broadway production Wicked, advertised a three-week paid apprenticeship for aspiring music directors. This opportunity was funded in part by federal grants awarded by the NEA to NYSCA and then passed on to Maestra.

The program was “exclusively open” to members of Maestra or MUSE, but there was a catch: Maestra’s membership was restricted to women and nonbinary individuals, and MUSE only accepted “people of color.”

Kevin Lynch, a talented music director and FAIR Artist who happens to be a white male—and thus a member of federally protected classes under Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act—tried to apply. His applications to both Maestra and MUSE were denied or indefinitely delayed, effectively blocking him from eligibility.

Fair For All

FAIR News: National Endowment for the Arts Civil Rights Complaint

Dear Friends of FAIR…

a year ago · 27 likes · 5 comments · Fair For All

Federal funding should never be used to divide Americans by race or gender. Every artist, creator, and citizen deserves equal access to publicly funded opportunities—no matter their background. We cannot allow a two-tiered system to take root in our institutions, least of all in the arts.

Thank You: An Evening with Adam Gussow in NYC

Thank you to everybody who joined us in New York City on May 19th for our book talk with Adam Gussow, professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi and a world-renowned blues harmonica player. We had a wonderful evening of stories, conversation, and live music. We’re proud to congratulate Adam on publishing his new memoir, My Family and I, and look forward to hosting more live events!

Around the Web

The Big Read: “Music After DEI” by Don Baton for The New Criterion (5/20/25)

This month, we’re also reading:

“The Ten Warning Signs” – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (6/7/25)
“The Media is Busted” – Hector Herrera for Friendly Fire (6/5/25)
“52 Texts Our Students Are Reading” – The University of Austin (6/4/25)
“How to save free speech in the UK” – Andrew Doyle (6/4/25)
“Kevin Spacey Is Uncancelled, But Has He Learned Anything?” – Ted Balaker for The Shiny Herd (6/3/25)
“Beauty Is Stone Cold in the Arts, but Hot as a Consumer Product” – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (6/1/25)

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

Support FAIR for All Arts

A Special Announcement from Lincoln Jones

Tue, 13 May 2025 19:24:46 GMT

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The Euterpides, by "the girl who is revolutionizing music"

We’re thrilled to share a special announcement from FAIR Arts Fellow and FAIR Board of Director Lincoln Jones, who is teaming up with one of the world’s most talked-about young composers to create a new ballet—and they’re doing it outside the system.

American Contemporary Ballet (ACB), one of America’s leading nonprofit ballet companies, is taking an unusual step for an arts organization – crowdfunding. Says ACB’s Artistic Director Lincoln Jones:

“I think crowdfunding is going to be a big part of the future for artists and arts organizations who want to focus on art, rather than the strings that often come with traditional support. It’s already been a game-changer for individual artists, but institutions need to take notice. The incentives are in exactly the right place—it empowers people to support work that excites them.”

Jones is betting that his collaboration with composer phenom Alma Deutscher will resonate:

“Alma wrote her first opera and violin concerto before she was ten. She writes beautiful, deeply touching melodies. This is her first ballet, and I think people will want to be a part of that. At ACB, we make ballet that has drawn a whole new, contemporary audience to the art. We hear all the time, ‘I never thought I’d be a ballet fan, but…’ So sharing this work with the world just makes sense.”

Fair For All Arts is proud to support Jones and Deutscher in this bold new collaboration. As they pave the way for a new model of arts patronage, we hope that you will join us in this effort. Learn more about becoming a part of this ballet’s creation: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/americanballet/the-euterpides-by-the-girl-who-is-revolutionizing-music. The campaign goes live today at 10 am PST / 1 pm EST.

Support the Creation of "The Euterpides"

May 19th: An Evening with Adam Gussow in NYC

On Monday, May 19th, join FAIR for an exclusive book talk with Adam Gussow, professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi and a world-renowned blues harmonica player. This talk will be moderated by FAIR Arts Manager and Adjunct Professor of Music at Hofstra University, Brent Morden.

The author of My Family and I: A Mississippi Memoir, Gussow comes to New York City to share inspiring stories from his lifelong quest for racial reconciliation. From gigging in the streets of 1980s Harlem to graduate training at Princeton to teaching at Mississippi's most notorious prison, Gussow has lived a life uplifting Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for a just, humane, and colorblind America—especially in the 2020's as social justice fundamentalists insist on stigmatizing whiteness and hardening the color line rather than healing our divisions.

With a live musical performance and a social to close out the evening, we look forward to seeing many of you on May 19th. More info and tickets here.

"A must-read at a political moment when the colorblind ideal has been so cynically exploited.” -- Thomas Chatterton Williams, author of Self-Portrait in Black and White: Family, Fatherhood, and Rethinking Race

Afraid To Speak Freely with Rosie Kay and More

Wed, 07 May 2025 13:05:21 GMT

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ROSIE KAY: Afraid to Speak Freely

On Sunday, May 11th, join FAIR in the Arts for a community discussion with choreographer, FAIR Arts Fellow, and founder of Freedom in the Arts Rosie Kay. We look forward to speaking with Rosie about the findings from her highly anticipated May 6th report, Afraid to Speak Freely. This report explores the state of freedom of expression within the UK arts sector, shedding light on self-censorship, intimidation, and the chilling effects of ideological conformity. Register here.

[The report] highlights how politically sensitive topics—such as gender identity, Israel-Palestine, and race—have become virtually off-limits, undermining the open debate and creative risk-taking that define the arts.
Co-authored by Rosie Kay, Denise Fahmy and Professor Jo Phoenix, the report concludes with a call to action: arts institutions must urgently commit to protecting freedom of expression, supporting viewpoint diversity, and rejecting ideological gatekeeping.

We look forward to seeing many of you on May 11th. Learn more about Afraid to Speak Freely at www.freedominthearts.com.

May 19th: An Evening with Adam Gussow in NYC

With a live musical performance and a social to close out the evening, we look forward to seeing many of you on May 19th. More info and tickets here.

"A must-read at a political moment when the colorblind ideal has been so cynically exploited.” -- Thomas Chatterton Williams, author of Self-Portrait in Black and White: Family, Fatherhood, and Rethinking Race

ICYMI: Congratulating our Artist Grant Winners!

In case you missed it: FAIR is thrilled to announce the winners of our 2025 Artist Grant!

The FAIR Artist Grant was established as a fund for independent artists seeking support for professional activities that align with FAIR’s mission of advancing fairness, understanding, and humanity in the arts. Our purpose is to further a culture where all artists—regardless of their perceived identity group or belief system—can be judged on the quality of their work and practice their craft freely without fear.

FAIR congratulates our 2025 Artist Grant winners: Grand Prize—Julie Eicher Aguilar, Robert Cooperman, Maziar Ghaderi, Frank Mihelich, Lou Perez, Molly Surazhsky, Julia Wald, and and Elena Velez; Runners Up—Seth Clayton, Nicholas Cueva, Lauren Marshall, Kate Rodriguez, Tom Rowan, and Aleta Valente. Learn more about and support our Artist Grant here. Read our full press release below:

Fair For All

FAIR News: 2025 Artist Grant Winners

Dear Friends of FAIR…

2 years ago · 10 likes · 2 comments · Fair for All

Read, Listen, and Watch

This month, we’re reading:

“Hollywood is a Ghost Town and Everyone Knows It” – Sasha Stone for Free Thinking through the Fourth Turning (5/4/25)
“30 Ways to Revitalize Arts & Culture” – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (5/2/25)
“Fire Walk With Me” – Wade Major for The Hollywood Heretic (4/24/25)
“Of Political Horseshoes and Ideological Contagion” – Hector Herrera for Friendly Fire (4/24/25)
“CBS Settles Discrimination Lawsuit Over Alleged Racial Quotas for Hiring TV Writers” – Winston Cho for The Hollywood Reporter (4/21/25)
“A Banjo, a Bible, and the Road Back Home” – Winston Marshall for The Free Press (4/20/25)
“After math (3)” – E. Lily Yu for The Paper Airplane (4/19/25)
“Disney vs Dwarfs: ‘Snow White’ Is More Evidence That the Madness Isn’t Behind Us” – Ted Balaker for The Shiny Herd (3/25/25)
“How Cringe Stole My Christmas” – Jukka Savolainen for Free Black Thought (3/24/25)

And we’re listening to:

The Countercultural Arts Fund – Yuri Bezmenov and Brian Chau for From the New World (4/27/25)

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

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Reflections on "The Golden Age" & More

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:16:36 GMT

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EXCLUSIVE: Art From the Ashes

For FAIR’s Substack, voice actor and director Mary McDonald-Lewis tells all about the recent cancellation of her play THE MACBETHS from Portland’s Milagro Theatre.

And then I asked myself if I would change a single thing about what happened; if I would recant my alignment with science, federal law and the Constitution to stage my play in Portland, and the answer was “no.” But I have to confess that underneath this question is a darker one, now. A harder one than before, when I thought my trials were over and I was going to be able to “return to my art as a soldier returns to his fields, home from the war.”
Even though houndings might terrify me, decimate my friendships and drive my art out of Portland; even though they might never stop—am I willing to endure it all to speak up for women and girls?
It seems I have to.

Read Mary McDonald-Lewis’ full piece here:

Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism

Art From the Ashes

ACT I: NO HAPPY ENDING…

2 years ago · 8 likes · Mary McDonald-Lewis

The Big Read: Free Speech and Readers’ Rights

For FAIR’s Substack, Nicole Sullivan writes about the activist takeover of the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and its ongoing consequences—including her own story.

So, [the ABA seems] to have adopted policies that ensure their DEI commitment remains impervious to any internal or external dissent.
It is in the best interest of authors, publishers, and customers to stand up to the kinds of censorship the ABA seeks to normalize. We need to move the needle back to a place that prioritizes art over idealism and the viability of our small businesses over activism.

Read Nicole Sullivan’s full piece here:

Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism

Free Speech and Readers’ Rights

I grew up in a conservative Southern Missouri town without a bookstore, so I spent countless hours in our small library until a Barnes and Noble moved to town.. Soon, with access to more choices, my reading habits expanded into classic, contemporary, and literary fiction. I was exposed to different people, places, cultures, and histories in a deeper way…

2 years ago · 75 likes · 35 comments · Nicole Sullivan

Feature: Clifton Duncan on MAGA's "Golden Age" in Art

For The State of the Arts, actor, writer, and FAIR Arts Fellow Clifton Duncan argues that a renaissance in American art and culture is sorely needed, but it's unlikely to come from the political right—until they understand the bigger picture. And what that will take.

Rightists seek order, a career in the arts is chaos; rightists chase stability, artists chase dreams; rightists crave normal, artists defy normal. Artists live in emotion while the right asserts “facts don’t care about feelings.” […]
Such pragmatism is obviously vital to a functioning society. But the right’s dedication to consequential knowledge comes at a cost: the left has the pride, privilege and prestige of controlling such vaunted institutions as Juilliard, the Metropolitan Museum, the Metropolitan Opera, and Carnegie Hall (each just miles from one another, in a single city)—to say nothing of owning the music, entertainment and publishing industries. The right has zero cultural clout.

It doesn’t have to stay that way.

Read Clifton Duncan’s full piece here:

The State of the Arts

On MAGA's "Golden Age" in Art.

Trump made artists angry (again…

2 years ago · 100 likes · 9 comments · Clifton Duncan

Highlights from Our Community

In service of highlighting our community artists, we would love to share a few of their projects.

Ildiko Tillmann: Captured Landscapes

Photographer, journalist, and FAIR Artist Grant winner Ildi Tillmann joined the Institute for Liberal Values for a conversation about ideology, propaganda, and cultural paradigms, discussing their influence on art and education in the contemporary United States.

Ildi’s most recent work in progress is Captured Landscapes: Cuba, New York, a multimedia art-documentary project in collaboration with award-winning composer and jazz pianist Elio Villafranca. Learn more and support Ildi’s work here.

Stage Right Theatrics: Celebrating Eugene O’Neill

Stage Right Theatrics, founded and directed by FAIR member artist Robert Cooperman, is pleased to announce a new annual theatrical program designed to “edutain” audiences on American theatre history. “Before They Were Gods” is SRT’s new annual celebration of American master playwrights. For the 2025 season, SRT will focus on the plays of Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953).

Performances are March 21 and 22 at 7:00 PM and March 23 at 1:00 PM at the Abbey Theatre of Dublin, OH. The plays will be presented both in-person and live-streamed. Tickets cost $20 per person (in-person) or per device (live-stream) and are available here.

***

Looking to share your work with FAIR for All Arts? Email Brent Morden at arts@fairforall.org.

Read, Listen, and Watch

This month, we’re reading:

“If William Shakespeare Came to Hollywood Today...” – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (3/9/25)
“The Art of Conformity” – Hector Herrera for Friendly Fire (3/6/25)
“Nobody Told the Oscars That the Madness Is Over” – Ted Balaker for The Shiny Herd (3/4/25)
“Make Actors Apolitical Again” – Kat Rosenfield for The Free Press (3/1/25)

And we’re watching:

Bodies Upon the Gears – A short film by FAIR artist Paul Wagner about Mario Savio and the 1964 Berkeley Free Speech Movement.

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

Support FAIR for All Arts

FAIR Arts Bulletin February 2025

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:03:35 GMT

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FAIR Arts is now on Substack!

It’s official. We’re on Substack. And we’re excited to launch our soft rebrand to “Fair For All Arts.”

What can you expect? News roundups, reading from around the web, latest from our community, upcoming events, announcements, and more. We’re here to inform, share, and lead the conversation.

Fair For All Arts (FAIR in the Arts) is proud to remain steadfast in our mission to advance a common culture of fairness, understanding, and humanity in the arts & entertainment – for all.

We’re empowering artists of all stripes to free themselves from groupthink and self-censorship in their industries. We’re building a new arts infrastructure reclaiming beauty, excellence, and freedom. We’re changing culture by uplifting better culture.

There’s a lot going on in the arts world these days. Let’s dive in.

ICYMI: The Future of American Arts & Culture

On February 11th, we welcomed Fisher Derderian (Dux Culturae), Clifton Duncan (The State of the Arts), and James Harker (Thousands of Tiny Tyrants) to discuss the future of American arts & culture under the new federal administration.

We explored topics including: should we be optimistic about an American cultural revival? Will arts & culture institutions now back down on the divisive ideologies they have pedaled this last decade – or double down? How can freethinking artists interested in reclaiming beauty, excellence, and fairness in the arts go on the offensive to advance cultural change in 2025?

Watch the full conversation on X and YouTube. And tell us, what do you think?

Thank You: Community Meetup with Carrie Manolakos

Thank you to everyone who joined our February Community Meetup with singer, actress, and songwriter Carrie Manolakos.

From the Broadway stage and Madison Square Garden to the MAHA Inaugural Ball, Carrie has lived a dynamic and inspiring career. We were honored to give voice to Carrie’s story and her perspective on the shifting culture in the theater and entertainment industries.

Artist Grant Application Period Has Closed

The submission window for our 2025 Artist Grant is now closed.

A big thank you to all of our applicants. We received many high-quality applications that we are thrilled about the opportunity to fund.

The adjudication period will run from late February through mid-March. Winners will be announced by the end of March.

The FAIR Artist Grant is our effort to promote a better alternative to many of the ideologically captured funding entities in the arts. We do not take a partisan stance or fund to pursue one-sided political activism. Instead, we are invested in uplifting universal principles of beauty, excellence, and humanity.

Read, Listen, and Watch

This month, we’re watching:

“Welcome to the Age of RECONSTRUCTION!” – Douglas Murray’s keynote speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference (2/18/25).
“The Battle for Body, Mind, and Meaning” by Rosie Kay – FAIR Arts Fellow and founder of Freedom in the Arts – at Genspect (2/15/25).
“Has Wokeness Peaked?” – Melody Rachel, FAIR Artist Grant Winner, with Salomé Sibonex (2/10/25)

And we’re reading:

“Face the music” – Don Baton for The New Criterion (2/26/25)
“Who Killed the Oscars?” – Sasha Stone for Tablet Mag (2/25/25)
“State-Funded Politics of Resentment” – Hector Herrera for Friendly Fire (2/20/25)
“Three Ways the Entertainment Industry Quietly Enforces Conformity” and “How Did ‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Go from Trans Hero to Hollywood Heretic?” – Ted Balaker for The Shiny Herd (2/18/25 and 2/11/25)
“Vocational Self-Portrait” – Franklin Einspruch, FAIR Artist Grant Winner, for Dissident Muse Journal (2/5/25)
“The Power of Patronage” – Fisher Derderian for Dux Culturae (2/4/25)
"The Infrastructure of the Recording Industry Is About to Fail” – Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker (1/30/25)

Questions? Tips? Anything you’d like to share? Reach out to us at arts@fairforall.org.

Coming soon

Fair For All — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 18:22:32 GMT

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FiA -- The Next Act

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TONIGHT: Community Meetup with Hector Herrera

Community Meetup with Hector Herrera: Tonight @ 7 PM ET

Recommended Reading - Around the Web

TONIGHT: Mary McDonald-Lewis Speaks Out

The Toll of Cancellation on the Human Spirit

Artist Grant: Thank You & Deadline Extension

Recommended Reading - Around the Web

Clifton Duncan for The State of the Arts – What No One’s Saying About Men.

Ted Gioia for The Honest Broker – Hollywood Is Turning into a Content Farm for Silicon Valley

Ted Balaker for The Shiny Herd - Why We’re Doomed: Happy New Year!

Mene Ukueberuwa for The Free Press – Things Worth Remembering: ‘White Christmas’ Is a World War II Anthem

Announcing the 2025-26 FAIR Artist Grant

Applications Now Open for the FAIR Artist Grant

Freedom in the Arts launches new sector-wide research on artistic freedom

Latest from Our Community

Clifton Duncan for the State of the Arts – You MUST Avoid This Trap.

Don Baton for The Spectator – The Decline of the Met

Franklin Einspruch for The Arts Fuse – Book Review: “Against Morality” — The Shaming Regime

Broadway's DEI Downfall, Building Bridges Through the Arts, and More

The Big Read: Is DEI Undermining the Core of Broadway’s Pit Orchestras?

A Summer of Building Bridges Through Performing Arts

Upcoming Events

August 24th through September 7th in NYC: DISMANTLING PROSPERO by Tom Rowan

Freedom in the Arts Threatens Legal Action Against University of Leicester

Around the Web

Meet the Dynamic Duo Shaping the Future of Film

July 1st: Community Meetup with Ted & Courtney Balaker

Congratulating FAIR Artist Grant Winner Tom Rowan

Upcoming Community Events

Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th in NYC: The Tin Angel Opera

Around the Web

We're Holding the NEA Accountable

We’re Holding the NEA Accountable

Thank You: An Evening with Adam Gussow in NYC

Around the Web

The Big Read: “Music After DEI” by Don Baton for The New Criterion (5/20/25)

A Special Announcement from Lincoln Jones

The Euterpides, by "the girl who is revolutionizing music"

May 19th: An Evening with Adam Gussow in NYC

Recent Reads

HIGHLIGHT: Freedom in the Arts’ “Afraid to Speak Freely” Report – On the State of Free Expression and Self-Censorship in the Arts (5/6/25)

Afraid To Speak Freely with Rosie Kay and More

ROSIE KAY: Afraid to Speak Freely

May 19th: An Evening with Adam Gussow in NYC

ICYMI: Congratulating our Artist Grant Winners!

Read, Listen, and Watch

Reflections on "The Golden Age" & More

EXCLUSIVE: Art From the Ashes

The Big Read: Free Speech and Readers’ Rights

Feature: Clifton Duncan on MAGA's "Golden Age" in Art

Highlights from Our Community

Ildiko Tillmann: Captured Landscapes

Stage Right Theatrics: Celebrating Eugene O’Neill

Read, Listen, and Watch

FAIR Arts Bulletin February 2025

FAIR Arts is now on Substack!

ICYMI: The Future of American Arts & Culture

Thank You: Community Meetup with Carrie Manolakos

Artist Grant Application Period Has Closed

Read, Listen, and Watch

Coming soon