ORLANDO, Fla. — The Coral Gables Art Cinema will be more than $100,000 short this year. About $150,000 has suddenly disappeared from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s budget. The Miami New Drama also has an unexpected $150,000 budget hole.
Arts groups across Florida are in turmoil after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis unexpectedly vetoed $32 million in arts funding on June 12, eliminating all state subsidies for these organizations. Advocates say this will devastate arts and culture in the Sunshine State.
“What baffles me is that Florida is trying to attract business from New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and what message are we sending when we cut funding to our cultural organizations?” said Michel Hausmann, artistic director and co-founder of the Miami New Drama in Miami Beach. “Are you going to attract people to a state where art and culture are not valued? They are the lifeblood of a city.”
Arts leaders across the state say it’s the first time they remember a Florida governor eliminating all funding for arts and culture, and it comes at a time when arts organizations that have survived the closures of the COVID-19 pandemic are still recovering with smaller visitor numbers and lower revenues.
For the more than 600 arts groups and facilities eligible for state grants, DeSantis’ veto was a surprise because the Legislature had approved arts funding even though what lawmakers approved was less than half of what was initially recommended by the state Department of Arts and art. Culture. Arts organizations in Florida planned their budgets accordingly.
When asked at a news conference Thursday why he vetoed arts funding in the state’s $116.5 billion budget, DeSantis said some of the money was for programming that many taxpayers would find objectionable because of its sexual nature or other reasons.
“When I see the money being spent that way, I have to be the one to stand up for the taxpayers and say, ‘You know what, that’s an inappropriate use of taxpayer money,’” DeSantis said. “I think the Legislature needs to do this. reevaluate how that is done.”
Most arts groups are still assessing the impact, but some may have to make cuts to programming or staffing.
“We are appealing to the community to help cover some of the budget deficit and we are exploring other private sector financing options,” said Brenda Moe, executive director of Coral Gables Art Cinema. “We have to be creative to close this gap.”
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will cut expenses, look for a way to increase revenue and hope county and city officials fill some of the gap, said Karina Bharne, the symphony’s executive director.
State subsidies made up 10% of the Coral Gables Art Cinema’s budget, more than 3% of the Miami New Drama’s budget, and about 2% of the Orlando Philharmonic’s budget.
PEN America, the nonprofit free speech organization, compared the arts funding cuts to legislative priorities pushed by the DeSantis administration, such as laws limiting what can be said in classrooms about sexual orientation and gender identity and banning teaching of an academic framework that outlines the ways systemic racism is part of American society.
“DeSantis is taking his war on culture to a new level,” said Katie Blankenship, director of PEN America’s Florida office. “This decision will not only destroy the arts, but also contribute to its legacy of censorship and contempt for art, literature and knowledge. .”
State grants are important to arts groups in Florida, not only because of their financial size, but also because they can be used for salaries, rent, insurance and utilities. Private donors often make donations under certain conditions for certain programs or performances. Ticket sales cover only a third of some arts groups’ budgets.
“It dramatically hurts our ability to pay rent and salaries,” said Robert Kesten, executive director of the Stonewall National Museum Archives. & Fort Lauderdale Library, which had expected $42,300 from the state this year.
To overcome the shortcomings, arts groups may need to explore alternative fundraising strategies, such as attracting new Floridians who haven’t donated before, or collaborating with each other by sharing staff, spaces, costumes or sets, said Jennifer Evins, president and CEO of United Arts of Central Florida in Orlando.
Florida’s arts and culture industry generates $5.7 billion in economic activity annually, including $2.9 billion through nonprofit arts and culture organizations, and supports more than 91,000 full-time jobs, according to a study by American for the Arts in collaboration with the State Division of Arts and Culture and Citizens for Florida Arts Inc.
“We have a huge impact on the quality of life. We make the state more attractive, and we don’t cost any money,” said Hausmann. “There is no justification for this cut unless it makes a political statement. It is not an economic issue.”
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Associated Press reporters Cody Jackson in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report.
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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform X: @MikeSchneiderAP.
