Courts affirm artistic freedom as a federal judge blocks the NEA’s “gender ideology” restriction, while the ongoing government shutdown threatens NEA/NEH funding, slows artist visa processing, and coincides with new USCIS Premium Processing procedures.

In this column, we offer reflections from ACA staff members—what we are reading, what we are thinking about, how we address the balance between our work lives and our creative lives (and the points at which those intersect). We asked Claudia Nolan, who manages our grantmaking and consortia partnerships, to share what she was reading.

In honor of ACA’s 35th Anniversary, we are sharing 35 stories from field leaders. First up is Sanjit Sethi, who has served the ACA board since 2017 and has been co-chair since 2022. We invited Sanjit to share a short memory, artifact, or reflection that captures what ACA has meant to him—or how he imagines the future of artist support. Sanjit currently serves as Head of Campus at Green Schools Bali.

As part of ACA’s own reflection on our history and evolution over the past few decades, we remain inspired by our members. In this column, we will speak to members about their experiences with ACA and with the residency field. For this issue, we talk with Ruth Adams, Executive Director of Art Omi.