Funding organizations allegedly plan to withdraw support from a museum at a Florida university, due to the proposed relocation.
Florida's Arts and Culture Funding Under Threat
Under Governor Ron DeSantis, arts and culture funding in Florida has taken a significant hit. Last year, DeSantis vetoed over $32 million in state grants for arts and culture, contributing to funding losses alongside federal cuts, including reduced support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
This decision has drawn criticism from local museum leadership and advocacy organizations. The veto, described as "unprecedented in the history of [Florida's] grants program," by leaders from the Florida Cultural Alliance, has reportedly led to donors pulling support from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, associated with Florida State University, totaling more than $750,000 in planned gifts.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art may face further funding issues due to its proposed transfer from Florida State University to the New College of Florida. The New College of Florida, a small liberal arts college in Sarasota, has shifted its reputation due to DeSantis' prioritization of conservative values in arts and culture education. The transfer, described as a "takeover" by WUSF, has caused concern among museum supporters and staff.
The New College of Florida is perceived as an ill-suited steward for the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, on both operational and conceptual levels. The charter school follows a "classical education curriculum model," a pedagogical model stressing the "centrality of the Western tradition." The Tampa Bay Times described this model as adhering to "white, Western European and Judeo-Christian foundations."
Meanwhile, the New College of Florida has canceled its gender studies program and featured Tom Homan, a prominent advocate for Trump's border overhaul, as a speaker. This shift in focus and values has raised concerns about the New College's ability to effectively manage the museum.
The Tampa Museum of Art is another institution feeling the pinch of reduced funding. It lost some $500,000 in state funding due to DeSantis' veto, which was called a "huge disappointment and a quandary" by the museum's director.
These funding losses have forced many arts and cultural organizations to scale back exhibitions and educational programming, reduce staff, and seek alternative fundraising methods. The cuts are seen not only as a threat to the survival of arts institutions but also to the cultural identity, community access, and the local economy, which benefits from the arts through tourism and job creation.
While other US states have generally maintained or increased their arts funding despite federal spending declines, Florida’s approach under DeSantis contrasts with this trend, emphasizing austerity and reduced public support for the arts.
In Miami-Dade County, substantial cuts proposed in the FY 2025-26 budget, if enacted, would reduce cultural grant funding by more than 50% (a $12.8 million decrease), eliminate the Department of Cultural Affairs as an independent entity, and merge it with the public library system. This local budget proposal further compounds the crisis for museums, theatres, and arts organizations already reeling from state-level reductions.
In conclusion, under Governor DeSantis, Florida is experiencing notable reductions in arts and cultural funding, significantly threatening museums, local arts organizations, and by extension, higher education institutions involved in arts programming.
The governor's cuts to arts and culture funding have led some museum collectors to reconsider their support, as seen with the withdrawal of over $750,000 in planned gifts from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The proposed transfer of the museum to the New College of Florida, known for its conservative values and classical education curriculum model, has raised concerns among museum supporters and staff about its leadership's ability to maintain the museum's art educations and self-development programs, as well as its general mission. The New College's focus on politics, evidenced by the cancellation of its gender studies program and the invitation of political figures like Tom Homan, has fueled further apprehension. These funding and organizational changes, together with Governor DeSantis' vetoes, pose a threat not only to the survival of arts and cultural institutions but also to the education-and-self-development opportunities they provide and the cultural identity and local economy they uphold.
