STAGE

Taking the Highway: In response to notification that the National Endowment for the Arts had rejected two grant applications for 1996-97 totaling about $15,000, Santa Monica’s Highways performance space has issued a statement saying it will “no longer continue seeking federal funding” for its projects and performances. In the statement, Highways charges that the rejections were politically motivated “acts of cowardice” on the part of the NEA and were “due to recent controversies concerning Highways’ programming” and the calendar of events published by the venue. An NEA spokeswoman said that the grant applications were rejected on the basis of their artistic merit. The performance space, co-founded by NEA thorn Tim Miller, has received endowment support annually since 1991.