In our January issue, we took a deep dive into the lasting ramifications of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ unprecedented decision, last June, to veto $32 million in arts and culture funding that is typically dispensed through a key grant in the state budget. We interviewed arts leaders and administrators from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach on how the veto has affected them, the best ways to move forward, and why the arts are important. Here are a few of their observations from the cutting-room floor.
Annabel Russell, executive director of The Symphonia, on the downstream effects of the veto:
It isn’t just about culture. We’ve partnered with a local restaurant, pairing wine and food and music. We’re providing the music to fit the wine and food. It’s a really nice series. Not long after this veto was announced, I was in the restaurant talking to the general manager. He said, ‘what’s going on?’ I told him about the veto. It didn’t take him 30 seconds to say, ‘it’s not just about you guys. It’s about us, too.’ Because guess who comes into our restaurants after they’ve been to a performance? This veto is going to affect the restaurants, the bar economy … If organizations have to close because they cannot sustain themselves, there’s a whole trickle-down thing that goes to other areas of the economy.
Marjorie Waldo, president and CEO of Arts Garage, on not shying away from the politics of the veto:
I wanted to determine what I was going to say directly: This was a result of the governor’s veto. My goal always, since I’ve been here, has been to be Switzerland. I do not take a political stance. In this case, I’m not taking a political stance in terms of support or not supporting the governor. I’m just stating a fact. And I decided to approach it from that perspective, which is outside what I would normally do.
Stephanie Owitz, vice president of arts, culture and learning of Levis JCC, on making up the difference through private donations:
People are happy to give me $100, $200, $500. But the big donations are difficult to bring in when there is so much competition with people’s money. The same donors are approached over and over again. And the same people might attend programs at The Wick, and the other cultural venues in town, and they’re being approached by all of these other venues for the same donation that we’re asking for.
Matt Stabile, artistic director of Theatre Lab, on thinking beyond the impacts on the performing arts:
I was making the point to other theater-makers that we have to stop talking about this like it’s affecting only theaters, because that’s not a winning strategy. All of us are working so hard to get people back in the theater. Particularly in South Florida, theatergoing is not the same sort of culture that it is in other places in the United States. We’re always trying to build an audience and grow an audience. So us being like, ‘hey, this is going to hurt theaters,’ we’re already only talking to a smaller swath.
We should be talking to, do you appreciate any art and any culture in your daily life? The things that stuck out to me on that sheet [of impacted organizations] were not the theater companies. It was things like a naval museum in Daytona that was asking for money. So there’s an easy argument to make: ‘Oh, are you against the Navy?’ There’s the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, the City of Hollywood, the City of Pompano. I’ve been talking about those free events that cities often do, especially during Season—to have somewhere for families to go on a Saturday, whether it’s a park event or art fairs. That’s why the city of Hollywood is listed there, and Miramar, because they’re applying for stuff like that. These events that families used to be able to go out and enjoy … are going to be some of the first things that get scratched off of annual budgets the following year, especially by cities and these smaller organizations.
Waldo, on the positive impacts of arts in the community:
When I was a principal at my old school, I was bringing 100 dropouts to Arts Garage to see a play designed specifically for them, with a Q&A at the end. That outreach has a marked effect on a human’s brain. The research indicates that exposure to arts makes big differences, and some of them are measurable—reading, math scores. Some are less measurable—well-being, emotional and mental health. They’re all super important benefits of us being a part of the community.
Owitz, on why the JCC’s programming is vital:
We are a community center, so we bring people together as a community, and in a time that the surgeon general has recognized that loneliness is a health problem, as a community center we bring people together, and it’s around the arts. The arts are what bring people, but it’s also about community. And we really value that.
Dave Lawrence, president and CEO of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, on educating elected officials on the power of the arts:
It just shows us the importance of advocacy, the importance to continue to tell our elected officials just how important public funding is, and to make sure we know who our legislators are, that we’re inviting them to activities, that we’re sharing our successes and our challenges with them. I think that that could be a positive that comes out of all of this.
This Web Extra is from the January 2025 issue of Boca magazine. For more like this, click here to subscribe to the magazine.
