“Cultural organizations across Florida have watched their funding dry up as the state slashed its arts and culture grants year after year,” writes Xander Peters in last Wednesday’s (5/30) Orlando Weekly. “But this coming fiscal year, which kicks off July 1 … local arts groups will take their most intense hits in a decade…. In March, [Florida’s] Legislature passed an $88.7 billion budget…. Only $2.7 million of that was set aside for the arts and cultural grants program in the 2018-2019 fiscal year … split among … 489 organizations…. More than $25 million … was divvied up last year for theaters, museums, science centers and more…. The budget sets aside $1.7 billion to assess damage caused by Hurricane Irma, $65 million to combat the state’s opioid epidemic and $375 million to invest in school security…. There’s also $76 million for Florida’s tourism industry…. Last year, the Department of State’s … Arts and Economic Prosperity report … found that the arts and culture sector [in Central Florida] has generated nearly $400 million of total economic activity … and contributed almost $40 million to state and local government…. Those numbers would seem like an incentive to keep a good thing going.”
Posted June 8, 2018
