By Arren Joseph White
The arts are important to Pensacola, that’s for sure. Things like Gallery Night, the Arts Festival, and our Jazz Festival all represent the culmination of our town’s collective interest and passion for all things creative. Specifically, the Jazz Festival is the community event where well-known and local jazz talents would show off and entertain the festival attendants. Unfortunately, this year’s Jazz Fest has been cancelled due to budget cuts. Where did these cuts come from? Ron DeSantis.
For those not aware, Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in Florida funding for the arts in summer of last year. Various museums, festivals, and other cultural organizations were affected greatly throughout the state. This left many of the groups trying to find new funding after the surprising veto. Many institutions rely completely on this grant from the state, so there has been a struggle to regroup and decipher where the money will now come from. Many of the communities affected have tried to get donations from the public or other kinds of smaller local support.
According to DeSantis, these vetoes are meant to crack down on festivals of a “sexual” nature. DeSantis mentioned specifically the Fringe Festivals that take place down in Orlando and Tampa. These festivals typically include drag shows and other performances.
He would like to restore most of this funding to groups, but only to what he deems as “family-friendly” performances and content. There were also mentions of this cut being in the best interest of Florida and the way that its money is spent. Despite this, there have been various public uproars about the lack of funding.
It is not only our Jazz Fest that might be at risk because of these funding cuts, however. Much of Pensacola’s art community, much like the rest of Florida, might be at risk because of lack of grant money. The Pensacola arts community lost an estimated $1.5 million total in funding for artistic endeavors.
Both Escambia and Santa Rosa have felt these blows. Notable organizations such as the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola Little Theater, and even the local Pensacola Children’s Chorus might be in trouble with the lack of money from the state. Many of these popular groups have been trying to plan their next steps at this point. They have turned to ask for support from their more local government figures, as well as the public.
Florida’s general fame for its artistic spaces made DeSantis’ choice shocking to cities. Much of the state, including Pensacola, are known for artistic expression and interest. It brings tourism to the cities, which is a large part of Florida’s economic backbone.
The state and its arts and culture organizations depend on the grants and money from the State, so this is a huge blow to most of these groups. One thing is for sure, the future of Florida’s arts and culture depends on DeSantis and his next moves.
