Following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ unprecedented veto of the state’s entire $32 million arts budget last month, local philanthropists have raised $200,000 to help Polk County arts groups.
Gifts so far: Working with the GiveWell Community Foundation and the Polk Arts & Cultural Alliance, the $200,000 in gifts have been earmarked for seven local arts and cultural organizations that lost funding, officials announced Tuesday.
It’s a welcome lifeline, but it doesn’t come near the $1.27 million that 14 Polk County arts groups had been slated to receive. Lakeland groups had been approved to receive $618,181. The governor’s cuts affected everything from children’s programs to the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra.
“While this certainly doesn’t replace the entire amount Polk grant recipients would have received in the budget, it’s wonderful to see local supporters step in to help,” said Daryl Ward, the Executive Director of the Polk Arts & Cultural Alliance. “The donors were very well-informed and intentional with their gifts in an effort to mitigate financial losses to the degree possible.”
Ward said the donors wanted to keep private which organizations received funding and for what amount.
Local impact: The Florida Children’s Museum at Bonnet Springs Park had been anticipating receiving $150,000, which would have paid for educational programs.
Kerry Falwell, CEO of the Florida Children’s Museum, called the cuts “devastating” in June, but noted Tuesday that the donation through the GiveWell Foundation will have a significant impact on the community.
“I am humbled and overjoyed by the community response to the loss of state arts funding,” Falwell said in a press release. “This gift is so important to thousands of children in Central Florida.”
When the state budget reached DeSantis’ desk, legislators had already trimmed arts funding from $77 million to $32 million. There was a rigorous vetting process based on extensive documentation from the arts groups.
Ward said $3.6 million would be needed to fully fund Polk County’s Culture Builds Florida Grants, while $4.56 million is needed to fully fund Polk County’s Cultural Endowment.
Why did the governor do it? DeSantis defended vetoing all funding for arts grants, saying at a June press conference in Polk County that he didn’t want state funds supporting fringe festivals, popular art and performance festivals that draw thousands of people and involve performances for all tastes and age ranges.
“We didn’t have control over how it was being given. So you have your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sexual festival where they are doing all this stuff,” DeSantis said. “How many of you think your tax dollars should go to fund that? Not very many people would do that.”
On its website, Tampa International Fringe Festival officials called DeSantis’ statements “a gross mischaracterization of what the Tampa International Fringe Festival is, and what Fringe Festivals all over the world do.”
More than $7,000 was going to the Tampa International Fringe Festival.
What is a fringe festival? According to Tampa International Fringe Festival, “fringe” began in 1947 in Scotland, “where local artists rebelled against the curated city arts festival.” Instead, they performed their shows on the outskirts or “fringe” of the larger festival. The idea spread throughout the world.
The Tampa International Fringe Festival was founded in 2016 and is held in Ybor City. Its website states that Tampa Fringe abides by specific principles: “to promote inclusivity, allow for creative freedom, to give 100% of the base ticket price to artists, and more.” Anyone is welcome to perform or show their artwork.
“The production from this year’s Tampa Fringe Festival that the state’s Communications Director drew attention to was ‘Captain Havoc & the Big-Titty Bog Witches,’ a satire that employed naughty language but was otherwise just a regular comedy play,” Tampa fringe officials said in a statement on the festival’s website. “This show was labeled as 18+, and entrance was restricted because we are committed to ensuring that we follow all laws and that shows are age-appropriate.”
Ward said there were no fringe festivals planned for or funded in Polk County.
Polk County cuts
Cultural and Museum Grants
- Florida Children’s Museum (formerly known as the Explorations V Children’s Museum) — $150,000
- Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College in Lakeland — $150,000
- Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales — $150,000
- Theatre Winter Haven, Inc. — $145,000
- Lakeland Community Theatre — $90,000
- The Polk Theatre in Lakeland — $90,000
- The Lakeland Symphony Orchestra (formerly known as The Imperial Symphony Orchestra) — $73,181
- Friends of the Lake Wales Museum, Inc., which supports The Lake Wales History Museum — $43,455
- Florida Dance Theatre in Lakeland — $40,000
- Lake Wales Arts Council — $25,000
Culture Builds Florida
- Platform Art in Lakeland — $25,000
- Blossom Charitable Foundations, Inc., of Lake Wales — $25,000
- Artist Donald A. Gruel, Jr. of Davenport — $25,000
Cultural Endowments
- Bok Tower Gardens, Inc., in Lake Wales — $240,000
“For us, this is a blow to our budget as these grants fund important programs,” said Bok Tower Gardens CEO David Price. “We will need to trim from other programs and eliminate other initiatives to support the overall budget.”
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Ms. Moore, you are being VERY careful with what you DON’T say. I speculate that Polk County is a bastion for the MAGA, “anti-Woke”, politics-by-personality cult movement to the ultra far-right that DeSantis is a leader. I speculate DeSantis knows exactly what the cuts really meant. He figured it would be popular among his supporters. He’s probably right. It’s cruel.