DeSantis wipes out culture funding statewide, bringing anxiety to Florida arts groups

In finalizing Florida's 2024-2025 budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts and culture funding across the state, affecting theaters, festivals, orchestras, nonprofit museums and more. Now, such organizations are left to grapple with significantly decreased funds.

When asked why he vetoed all arts funding for the 2024 fiscal year, DeSantis called out the Fringe Festival by name at a press conference June 27.

“You have tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is a sexual festival where they’re doing all this stuff,” he said. “I can’t sell the Fringe Festival to taxpayers, nor would I want to try to sell the Fringe Festival to taxpayers.”

The Orlando Fringe, which holds its two-week festival in May, is the longest-running in the country. The Florida Secretary of State approved Orlando Fringe to receive $150,000 in state grant funding for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Tampa Fringe, a smaller 10-day festival hosted annually in June, also was approved for more than $15,000 in grants.

Both grants were part of the nearly $77 million that the Florida State Department’s Division of Arts and Culture recommended in the state budget to go toward arts funding. By the time the budget made it to DeSantis’s desk, Florida legislators had already cut the recommendation down to $32 million — the entirety of which DeSantis vetoed.

Aside from theaters, the cut will also affect zoos, museums, children’s choirs and orchestras. That includes the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford, which was slated to receive $150,000 in state funding.

Other Orange County arts organizations originally recommended for funding include the Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Science Center and Orlando Family Stage.
Orlando Fringe criticized DeSantis for generalizing its festival as “sexual” in a Facebook post shared June 27. Fringe performances span genres including music, children’s programming and puppetry, the statement said.

“To veto all state arts funding in Florida based on one aspect of a large and growing arts industry ignores the economic, cultural and quality of life benefits the arts provide to the communities they serve,” the post reads.

Orlando Fringe recently wrapped its 33rd year with a lineup of about 900 live performances. Of those, a little less than half were rated for audiences aged 18 and up, while 300 were geared for 13 and up, 24 for 7 and up, and the remaining 150 shows were recommended for all ages.

Entries ranged from all-age shows like Cypress Creek High School’s musical “Too Much Ado About K-Pop” to Vulva Va-Voom & Company’s 18-plus “Transmasculine Cabaret” live makeover.

DeSantis' critics connect his Fringe criticism to the governor’s ongoing efforts to curb drag performance in the state. During the 2023 legislative session, his administration attempted to pass a law that assessed penalties for venues that host any type of "adult live performance" with people under 18 present.

Orlando's Hamburger Mary's sued the state over the law, which was widely interpreted as a way for the state to punish and restrict venues that host drag events. The lawsuit resulted in a block on the law statewide.

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