Acrylic street paint used by children taking part in a 2019 public arts camp with the Arts Center of the Capital Region. Their project: to paint the crosswalk at River and Second streets in Monument Square in Troy.

A view of The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015.

$50,000? No thanks.

That's what the Arts Center of the Capital Region said to the National Endowment for the Arts when the local nonprofit was offered a federal grant for a public art project in South Troy.

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Not to suggest it was a flippant or hasty decision; far from it. Arts organizations watch every dime, and that's a lot of dimes. But the Arts Center – which offers classes, exhibitions and public installations, and also awards grants of its own to regional artists — recognized that this money may come at a price the institution wouldn't be willing to pay.

This spring, the Trump administration started canceling arts grants to........

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