{"id":3039,"date":"2024-07-03T12:11:35","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T19:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=3039"},"modified":"2024-07-03T12:11:38","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T19:11:38","slug":"on-the-florida-arts-funding-cuts-beyond-the-fringe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2024\/07\/on-the-florida-arts-funding-cuts-beyond-the-fringe\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Florida Arts Funding Cuts: Beyond the Fringe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last week Florida governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts funding, which in that state is managed and allocated by the Division of Arts and Culture. The Miami Herald<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday cited \u201csexual\u201d festivals in Orlando and Tampa as the reason he vetoed more than $32 million in arts funding across Florida this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sexual festival where they\u2019re doing all this stuff,\u201d DeSantis said during a news conference, offering the first explanation about his decision to cut the entirety of the cultural grants and arts funding from the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like, how many of you think your tax dollars should go to fund that?\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cNot very many people would do that.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeSantis\u2019 spokespeople did not respond to questions about which events at the festivals were sexual, or whether there were other arts projects around the state he objected to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You can find the program for the Orlando Fringe here<\/a>. You can read about the state Division of Arts and Culture here<\/a>. And you can see it follows the basic template for an arts granting agency, with peer review panels and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to make of this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I had a chance to talk to the governor\u2019s people, maybe the first question I would ask is what arts in their view should<\/em> get some funding support from the state? And why<\/em>? It is possible to make the case that the state has no business in funding the arts at all; I don\u2019t agree with that view, but it is not outlandish to suggest that there are other priorities, that the funded arts are not really a public good, but private consumption by the well-off, and that we, or at least Florida, lacks a consensus as to what culture is valuable. But DeSantis has never made this argument, nor does he appear to be making it here. If I were to take him at his word, he seems<\/em> to be saying that some<\/em> arts funding could be defended, but that other<\/em> arts are beyond the pale, and that if the Division of Arts and Culture cannot seem to be able to tell the difference he will, at least for now, do a blanket veto. This is terrible public management, since he is throwing a lot of nonprofit arts organizations into a sudden monetary loss as a result of the government being unable to coordinate with its own Department of State as to what its mission is supposed to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond that, it is not clear what arts he thinks should<\/em> be funded. Opera? Aside from the fact that it too has its share of, as he puts it, \u201call this stuff\u201d, it\u2019s not clear that Opera Orlando<\/a> would gain the support for public funding from a majority of citizens, with live opera, or even recorded opera, being very much a minority taste. In the United States public funding for the arts survives by working with a diverse portfolio of genres such that most people can find at least something<\/em> they enjoy in the set of grant recipients. Indeed, it is commonly observed that in a referendum on arts funding, typically held for local earmarked taxes for the arts in the US<\/a>, throwing parks, zoos, botanical gardens, science and history museums, and the like into the basket makes the chance of the referendum passing much more likely. A tax to fund purely the high arts simply won\u2019t pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public funding for the arts requires a diverse portfolio. Fringe theatre is not my mug of English Breakfast, but it clearly attracts people to Orlando and Tampa who don\u2019t necessarily get much out of other nonprofit arts, or of the commercial entertainment behemoths that dominate central Florida. No arts council could function if each distinct genre or presenting organization were subject to a referendum; it must be considered as a bundle, and any such bundle is going to have some things in it that an individual might find not to their taste, to be a bit too<\/em> fringe, or to be simply tedious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe Governor DeSantis will further enlighten us, though honestly I doubt it – he seems to think he has said all that needs to be said, that he is representing \u201cthe people.\u201d But then I don\u2019t see what the granting agency is supposed to do with this result\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross-posted at my Substack: https:\/\/michaelrushton.substack.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week Florida governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts funding, which in that state is managed and allocated by the Division of Arts and Culture. The Miami Herald reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday cited \u201csexual\u201d festivals in Orlando and Tampa as the reason he vetoed more than $32 million in arts funding across Florida […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-N1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2069,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/07\/the-size-of-the-arts-sector-is-not-a-rationale-for-public-funding-of-the-arts-sector\/","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":0},"title":"The size of the arts sector is not a rationale for public funding of the arts sector","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In yesterday's post, I wrote (as an aside): I see a lot of advocacy that follows the '1.\u00a0the cultural sector is bigger than you thought it was, 2.\u00a0???, 3.\u00a0deserves more public funding'\u00a0model. Conveniently, this morning we get this story\u00a0from The Scotsman on the Edinburgh Festival: Flagship events like the Edinburgh\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"???","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/gnome-300x168.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1966,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/02\/local-state-federal-public-funding-for-the-arts-in-the-u-s\/","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":1},"title":"Local, state, federal: public funding for the arts in the U.S.","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"At the Atlantic, Andy Horwitz asks 'Who should pay for the arts in America?' He is specifically asking about nonprofit arts, whose funding comes from paying customers, donors and other sponsors, and the public sector. He observes: The current state of the arts in this country is a microcosm of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"this land is your land","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/america_map.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/america_map.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/america_map.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2962,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2024\/02\/museums-are-not-like-highways\/","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":2},"title":"Museums are not like highways","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In a New York Times op-ed, Laura Raicovich and Laura Hanna call for a generous increase in the way the government, in particular the federal government, funds arts institutions: As policymakers in Washington gather to draft a new budget for fiscal year 2025, they could solve culture\u2019s current financial crisis\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3005,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2024\/04\/why-public-funding-for-the-arts-a-personal-view\/","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":3},"title":"Why Public Funding for the Arts: A Personal View","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u00a0wrote a book\u00a0looking at how different ways of moral and political theorizing drew different conclusions regarding whether the state should, or should not, subsidize the arts. At the very end of the book I give something of a personal view. There is a review circulating that is terribly confused about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1499,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/09\/local-arts-funding-and-urban-design-responses\/","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":4},"title":"Local arts funding and urban design: responses","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"September 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"My thanks to those who took the time to comment on my most recent post. As usual - and this is for the good! - discussion went in unexpected directions. One commenter wrote, in response to my line that local government arts funders should respond to local tastes: Should \u201ctaste\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"we get letters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/postbox.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3824,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2025\/07\/the-search-for-the-very-nice-arts-philanthropist\/","url_meta":{"origin":3039,"position":5},"title":"The search for the very nice arts philanthropist","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month, the Scottish government came up with a\u00a0one-time grant of \u00a3300,000\u00a0to cover the Edinburgh International Book Festival, after pressure from environmental protestors caused the previous sponsor, Baillie Gifford, to back out. 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