‘This is a windfall.’ Miami Beach pledges $500k to arts groups affected by Desantis’ cuts

Miami Beach’s arts and cultural organizations—and their wallets —are breathing a sigh of relief this week.

The Miami Beach City Commission unanimously approved a one-time fund of over $492,000 for 16 Miami Beach-based arts and cultural institutions at its Wednesday meeting. The fund was in response to Gov. Ron Desantis’ unprecedented veto of $32 million in arts and cultural grants from the state budget earlier this year.

The organizations that will benefit from the fund include the Holocaust Memorial, Miami Beach Botanical Garden, The Bass Museum, Miami City Ballet and O Cinema. The funding resolution was sponsored by Miami Beach commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt.

“Every tax dollar spent on arts and culture comes back to the city with interest and dividends,” Bhatt said. “Our cultural institutions are at the heart of our quality of life in Miami Beach — for our students, families, visitors and businesses. It reaffirms our commitment to our vibrant and thriving community that as a city, we offer something for everyone.”

Budget cuts are front of mind for art institutions across Florida. Over 600 arts and cultural organizations in the state, including about 130 groups in Miami-Dade, were slated to receive $32 million from state grants. Many groups already had their budgets for the next fiscal year and incoming arts season planned before the veto. Desantis later said he cut all arts grants because he did not want taxpayer money to fund “sexual” festivals.

The timing is especially dire in Miami-Dade County, where the county commission is weighing whether to cut nearly $2.5 million in arts grants from its proposed budget . Arts community members voiced their concerns to county commissioners and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava during a public hearing last week.

Miami Beach is the first municipality in Florida to “make up this budgetary shortfall,” according to a city press release. St. Petersburg is considering a similar measure to support local arts organizations.

In July, the city’s Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee recommended giving the 16 organizations a total of $492,676.56, with each organization receiving different amounts of money, according to a city memo. Each organization will receive a grant from the City of Miami Beach of either $25,000 or half of what the State Legislature recommended to award each group before the veto. For example, Miami City Ballet would have received a $72,000 grant from the state, which means the group will get $36,000 from Miami Beach. So while the funds will offset DeSantis’ cuts, they won’t entirely make up the difference in every case.

Miami Beach officials have long stressed their desire to prioritize arts and culture in a city often defined by Spring Break and beaches. Two years ago, voters approved $159 million in bonds to fund several local cultural institutions’ repairs, renovations and projects.

“The Miami Beach City Commission has made a new commitment to the City’s cultural institutions, taking some of the sting out of the loss of State of Florida funding,” said New World Symphony CEO Howard Herring in a statement. “This move is an acknowledgment that our cultural institutions are ever more a defining aspect of the Miami Beach experience, serving our residents while building a global brand. We are grateful for this investment in culture on the part of the Miami Beach City Commission.”

The Miami Beach fund could not have come at a better time for Dance NOW!, a local performing arts group. The organization was on the brink of canceling two out of three major programs, said artistic Hannah Baumgarten.

“This is a windfall,” Baumgarten said.

She applauded Bhatt and the city commission for their commitment to the arts. City officials began discussing the matter in July, months before the county proposed art cuts in its budget.

“This is a commission that is being proactive and not waiting for the walls to crumble,” Baumgarten said.

The Miami Beach-based organizations benefiting from the fund are:

• The Bass Museum

• The Dance Now! Ensemble

• FUNDarte

• Holocaust Memorial

• Jewish Museum of Florida—FIU

• Living Arts Trust (O Cinema)

• Miami City Ballet

• Miami Beach Botanical Garden

• Miami Design Preservation League

• Miami Music Festival

• Miami New Drama

• New World Symphony

• O, Miami

• The Rhythm Foundation

• South Florida Art Center (Oolite Arts)

• The Wolfsonian—FIU

This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.