Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Radice to refuse NEA funding for 3 gay film festivals Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 15:30:30 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION \SS (WS) \HD Radice to refuse NEA funding for 3 gay film festivals \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS The head of the National Endowment for the Arts has decided to reject grant requests for three homosexual film festivals, an NEA source said yesterday. Acting NEA Chairman Anne-Imelda Radice was expected to inform the groups today in a letter that's likely to renew criticism that she is succumbing to political pressure. "We're upset by it," said Julian Low, national director of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, an Oakland, Calif., arts service agency that receives NEA money and distributes it to media arts projects. "We think that the argument she will make is that her decision is based on artistic excellence, but we feel that's a smoke screen, . . . that it's largely for political reasons," he said. Mr. Low said he was notified informally that a requested $17,500 for three homosexual film festivals would not be approved. The money was to go to the Gay and Lesbian Media Coalition in Los Angeles, the New Festival in New York, and the Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. An NEA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that Miss Radice, after five months of review, had decided to reject the requests and that a letter with the decision was expected to go out today. Josh Dare, a spokesman for the independent federal agency, declined to discuss the matter, saying, "We don't discuss ongoing applications until a resolution has been made." Miss Radice is likely to face a flurry of protests for rejecting the requests, just as she did in the spring when she overruled two advisory groups and denied federal money for two exhibits that had sexual content. At the time, shortly after she became acting chairman, she said the projects "did not measure up" and were "unlikely to have the long-term artistic significance necessary to merit endowment funding." The film festivals that were rejected for grants have been held, Mr. Low said. The NEA this year agreed to give $250,000 to the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture to distribute to various arts programs that the alliance deemed worthy. Under the NEA's procedures, the alliance in April recommended 53 organizations to share the money. Fifty were approved in September, but the alliance was told this week that three cannot share in the money, Mr. Low said. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM