LEFT: “MOVED: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY AND CULTURE THROUGH DANCE” 2024 BELOW: GALLERY SPACE AT ARTS GARAGE only support administrative costs, not perform-ers’ fees, which come solely from ticket sales.) “I think you only have to look at national politics to understand the possible motivation, but from my perspective it was bewildering because the arts are so important to tourism, and the engine of tourism is huge in the State of Florida,” Lawrence says. “And about fringe festivals—there’s a lot of programming they do for children and families, so the idea that these are ‘sexual festivals’ is just not accurate.” The fallout from the decision has affected a di-versity of Palm Beach County artists and venues. “The State of Florida funded 100 percent of our programming operations,” says Ericka Squire, CEO and founder of Natural Movers Foundation, a West Palm Beach–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to showcasing professional dancers as well as facilitating dance for the general public. The $25,000 grant that Natural Movers expected to receive would have paid dancers to create original works for several upcom-ing events, including “Moved: A Celebration of Black History and Culture Through Dance” (scheduled for February 22 at the Kravis Cen-ter) and Dance All Day Fest (slated for April 26 at CityPlace). It also functioned as seed money—secure the dancers and programming with state money so the foundation could then approach private and corporate sponsors to support additional costs. “This is my budget,” says Squire, who is hopeful the foundation will be able to hold the events through donor funds. “I’m really thankful we’ve been able to partner with some awesome institutions that believe in the work. Twenty-five thousand [dollars] is not a lot to do what we’re doing, but it happens because of partnerships and innovative ways to create programming. We were excited to expand on that and make it more robust, because Palm Beach County is really hungry for it. We’ll have to table [expan-sion] for next season.” At Delray Beach’s Arts Garage, the situation is different but no less troubling. While the performing and visual arts venue had antici-pated the legislature would approve about 60 percent of its $150,000 request—or 5 percent of its total budget—it only granted $77,000. Then that, too, evaporated. “I was shocked, my board was shocked,” says Marjorie Waldo, Arts Garage’s president and CEO. “[Love of the arts] seems to cross political lines, and how important the arts are to communi-ties, and certainly how important tourism is to the State of Florida, so it was very surprising.” Arts Garage scram-bled, holding a call-to-action fundraiser shortly after the veto that raised more than $60,000. The FURTHER DETAILS ON THE VETO’S IMPACT TO PALM BEACH COUNTY’S volunteer board has also ECONOMIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND CULTURAL LIFE CAN BE FOUND AT stepped up, Waldo adds, PALMBEACHCULTURE.COM/ADVOCACY with two board members sponsoring a show each this season. Several artists themselves solicited donations. Waldo notes that everyone’s goal is to prevent dis-ruption to the venue’s planned schedule. “We don’t want our community and the local tourist market to suffer by receiving [fewer] masterful performances because we have to cut back,” Waldo says. “You want the bulk to be spent on programming, not on administra-tive things. We are trying very hard to not have to cut those performance dollars.” Since the veto, arts advocates throughout the state have worked to restore the grants. Representatives from the Florida Cultural Alliance have had at least one meeting with the governor’s staff, but organizations are urging their members and the public at large to contact the governor’s office and their state legislators directly with concerns. “At times like this, you have to look at the silver lining,” says Lawrence. “The win is that we can strengthen our advocacy to enhance our relationships with elected officials to build their understanding of all the ways the arts are beneficial. We need to make sure there’s intent to fix this situation, but still celebrate all the positive things the arts do for our com-munities and our lives.” ‡ ANTHONY BETHEL & COURTESY OF ARTS GARAGE art&culture 21
Art and Culture Winter 2025: Page 21
