Artburst Extras
Push Continues For Miami-Dade Mayor To Restore Proposed Arts Cuts
A memorandum from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to the chairman of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners with the subject line: “Efforts to Restore Budget Cuts to Parks, Community Organizations and Cultural Arts Programs” dated Aug. 7, 2025 gave arts groups a glimmer of hope but those advocating are advising caution.
In a paragraph, which began with the heading “Public-Private Partnerships,” Cava stated that her office has “actively engaged philanthropic organizations and private sector partners to explore opportunities for supplemental funding.” It continues: “Preliminary discussions have shown promise, particularly around support for local arts initiatives and efforts to keep our national recognized Cultural Affairs Department a stand-alone department.”
Beth Boone, artistic and executive director of Miami Light Project, co-founder of the Miami Cultural Coalition, and a member of the steering committee of Miami-Dade Arts Action Alliance, commenting on the mayor’s memorandum, said: “The cultural community, which is massive and united, is pleased that Mayor Levine Cava is listening and paying attention to our cause. That said, nothing is determined until there is a final vote on the budget. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of what is right for our community.”
On Monday, Anthony Rodriguez, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, announced on X (formerly Twitter) the restoration of $6.25 million for “cultural arts programming.” The budget calls for a cut of 52 percent ($12.8 million) in county financial support for the cultural arts in Miami-Dade County. This restoration restores less than half.
Also, in the FY2025-26 budget proposal, the Cultural Affairs Department would be eliminated as a standalone entity and instead would be consolidated into the Miami-Dade County Department of Arts, Culture and Library Services.
[Budget Proposal: See How This Department Would Be Structured]
In addition to the eradication of the Department of Cultural Affairs is also the elimination of the Cultural Affairs director position (the present Cultural Affairs director, Marialaura Leslie, has already tendered her resignation effective Aug. 31).
On Monday, Cava announced a Virtual Budget Town Hall specifically to talk about arts and culture set for 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19 with a link to register at http://bit.ly/2025cuatownhall.
Upon registration, there are two fields to submit questions to address to the mayor regarding budget concerns. The confirmation return states: “The Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council invites you to an informative, virtual Town Hall with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to learn how arts and culture are represented in the proposed Miami-Dade County 2025–2026 budget.” Also, registrants cannot share the link they receive, as it states it is a specific passcode for the individual registered.
(WATCH: Mayor Danielle Levine Cava’s Budget Proposal Press Conference)
As the director of grants and cultural affairs for Miami Beach Pride, Carol Coombes said, there is reason to question the viability of the exploration of supplemental funding from sources outside of the county.
“While the Mayor has stated that she is engaging with philanthropists, we must ask, who are they?,” said Coombes, whose organization receives funding from the Festivals and Special Events (FEST) grants program from the Miami‑Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.
“If it’s institutions like the Knight Foundation or the Perez Foundation, we know their support tends to favor short-term innovation and not the type of ongoing operating support that organizations currently receive through the Community Grants Program (CGP), the Developing Arts in Neighborhoods Advancement Program, and FEST.
The arts and cultural community were still reeling from cuts by the state of Florida, when only two weeks before the 2024-25 fiscal year began, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed more than $32 million in state arts grants. The Department of Cultural Affairs support was a lifeline for many.
Renee Pesci, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Miami, says that with the latest threats, the arts community has been mobilizing.
“We have resurrected a steering committee and we’ve been requesting meetings with the mayor and the county commissioners and showing up to town halls.
Miami-Dade Arts Action Alliance is an evolution of the 2005 Dade Cultural Alliance begun by Laura Bruney, founder of the Arts & Business Council of Miami. The alliance was rebranded as the Miami-Dade Arts Action Alliance — a county-wide coalition of cultural nonprofits, artists, and creative-economy businesses, was active in 2008 during the recession, and again when COVID shut down the arts.
Pesci says it was resurrected last year when the arts faced cuts from the county when the Department of Cultural Affairs had its 2024–25 budget slashed from $25.5 million down to $23.1 million. In response, the county managed to restore $1.5 million and supplement it with $400,000 from private donations, but it was still only a partial recovery.
This year’s cuts are part of Levine Cava’s plan to close a $402 million gap due, in part to what she described is the result of an unfunded state of Florida mandate. According to Cava, “nearly half of this budget gap is driven by expansion of our county government through new constitutional offices . . . These offices are the result of an unfunded state mandate that increased the cost of many services the county was already providing.”
[A petition to restore cultural funding before the budget is finalized is nearing 5,000 signatures.]
“The focus right now needs to be to get the community out to these town halls and budget hearings, so that they can give impassioned details of exactly the impact of these cuts on their organizations. What we want the commissioners to know is that these cuts don’t only impact the arts groups but also impact their economy. Every dollar Miami-Dade County invests in the arts leverages an additional $42. We want them to know that we don’t just take money from the county, there needs to be a consideration as to how much we give back,” says Pesci.
During the State of the Arts in Miami Dade County Address in March of 2024, Cava announced the launch of a strategic initiative “Arts Energize 305,” in which she called the arts and culture sector “an important social, economic, and tourism drive for Miami Dade County,” and touted the statistics: “The economic impact of the arts in Miami-Dade County is $2.1 billion and the arts generate 32,000 local jobs.”
While the mayor’s mention in the memorandum showed interest in the dire situation Miami-Dade’s arts and cultural community is facing, Boone said interest isn’t enough.
“We will not tire from advocating a complete restoration of an independent Department of Cultural Affairs and a fully restored – meaning 100 percent of all grant programs for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Anything other than these outcomes is unacceptable for the community,” said Boone.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Miami-Dade Arts Action Alliance has created an Advocacy Toolkit that can be downloaded here. It also has social media ready graphics. More information on its website.
The Board of County Commissioners will discuss the FY 2025-26 proposed budget at public hearings on Thursday, Sept. 4, and Thursday, Sept. 18, at 5:01 p.m., at the Stephen P. Clark Center – Commission Chambers, 111 NW 1st St., Suite 625, Miami. Public testimony is allowed at the hearings. Plan to arrive early to sign up at the visitor’s desk in the lobby and fill out a speaker’s card. Each speaker is generally given 2 minutes to address the Board.
The mayor has been conducting a series of public meetings to discuss the FY 2025-26 Proposed Budget. They were scheduled to conclude on Thursday, Aug. 7, however, there may be more scheduled. Find out about upcoming meetings at miamidade.gov/budget/
Artburstmiami.com is funded by the Department of Cultural Affairs through the Arts and Business Council and its existence is also contingent on the arts budget.