By Caron Schwartz
The other day a friend asked what I’ve been up to lately. Not much, I told her. Staying indoors, with air conditioning.
Staying cool provides a lot of time to think about things. Like the $32 million the state of Florida cut from next year’s arts and culture budget. What’s next for those organizations and events that locals and tourists flock to in our wacky state?
State funding is always uncertain, so Maxine Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast, knows she can’t rely on it. “Last year we didn’t get anything, but the year before we got our entire ask – $108,000,” she said. “We never know what or how much.” She admitted being turned down is upsetting, but “good for fundraising. I can say we didn’t get the money, so we depend on you!”
“The state cuts are heartbreaking,” said St. Pete Arts Alliance CEO Terry Marks. SPAA partners with the city of St. Petersburg for its renowned annual SHINE festival but was expecting the usual $25,000 from the state. “We’ll continue to do the festival and encourage people to help us.” Marks feels the entire community’s pain. “There’s no nonprofit arts organization that’s overstaffed or overfunded. We are all trying so hard to provide our community with art as it relates to education, health, creativity, and innovation. Art is the soul of our city.”
It’s also a major economic driver. Results of a recent study by SPAA, in collaboration with Americans for the Arts and Creative Pinellas, revealed that St. Pete’s nonprofit arts industry generated $132.5 million in economic activity, supported more than 2,000 jobs, and generated $26.5 million in local, state, and federal government revenue in 2022.
“The veto to the arts funding is devastating,” State Rep. Lindsay Cross said in an email. “These cuts impact hard-working artists and educators that may already be struggling to make ends meet as our communities become less affordable… It’s imperative that we take these funding requests seriously and work across the aisle to build strong arts coalitions. I would also encourage everyone that appreciates the arts to contact their representatives and ask them to be vocal advocates next year!”