By Darius Daughtry
(Source Miami Times)
When people hear the term “arts funding,” they may think of a theater production, an exhibition, a poetry reading or a concert. But arts funding is really about people and the opportunities those dollars create.
It gives a young person the chance to write a poem and discover that their words matter. It allows a student to step onto a stage and find confidence they didn’t know they had. It offers emerging artists opportunities to develop their craft, earn a living and share work that reflects their communities and experiences.
As the founder and executive artistic director of Art Prevails Project, I have spent years working at the intersection of art, education and community. I have watched young people find their voices and artists grow when given opportunities. I have seen what happens when communities have spaces where their stories are valued.
Yet the arts are still too often treated as an afterthought, something we fund after everything else has been taken care of.
I don’t believe they are extras.
Just as we invest in roads, buildings and transportation, communities also need theaters, libraries, museums, festivals, classrooms and creative spaces. These places are where people gather to preserve history, share ideas and create something new.
When arts funding disappears, the impact is rarely as simple as losing a single performance.
A student can lose access to an after-school arts program. A teaching artist can lose work. An emerging performer can lose a stage. An organization may eliminate a program or reach fewer families because resources are simply unavailable.
Sometimes, a story never gets told.
For Black communities, that matters.
Our history has been preserved through music, literature, theater, dance, visual art, poetry and oral tradition. Artists have documented our struggles and victories, challenged injustice and captured everyday experiences that often don’t make it into history books.
Today’s artists are continuing that work. But they need opportunities to do it.
There is talent in every neighborhood. What isn’t available in every neighborhood is opportunity.
That is why decisions about arts funding are also decisions about access. Which young people receive arts programs? Which artists receive opportunities to develop their work? Which organizations have the resources to continue serving their communities? Whose stories are told?
There is also an economic impact. Artists are workers. Actors, musicians, poets, dancers, directors, designers, photographers, technicians, writers and teaching artists build careers, support their families and contribute to our local economy.
Long before an audience arrives for a performance, people are writing, rehearsing, designing, building, producing, marketing and managing. Festivals, performances and exhibitions also bring people into communities, where they spend money at other businesses.
The arts create both work and experiences.
Supporting that work cannot be the government’s responsibility alone, nor can it fall entirely to nonprofit organizations already stretching every dollar.
Corporations can sponsor programs. Foundations can provide long-term funding. Businesses can hire local artists. Families can attend performances and visit museums. Individuals can buy tickets, donate and volunteer.
But private support cannot be expected to replace public investment.
Public funding often enables arts organizations to keep programs accessible, reach communities beyond those who can afford a ticket and provide opportunities in neighborhoods where private philanthropy may be insufficient. When those dollars are cut, the organizations with the fewest resources and the communities they serve are affected first.
That is why public arts funding should not be treated as an easy target for cuts when budgets are tight.
South Florida continues to grow, with investments in development, tourism, transportation, technology and business. Those investments matter. But so does the cultural life of the communities we are building.
As our local governments make budget decisions, elected leaders should look beyond the line item and consider what public arts dollars actually support: young people gaining access to creative programs, artists earning a living, cultural organizations keeping their doors open and communities preserving and telling their own stories.
And those of us who believe this work matters have a responsibility to make our voices heard. Attend the budget hearings. Contact your elected officials. Ask where arts and cultural funding stands in the budget. Speak up before a program disappears, not after.
We should also expect accountability from the organizations receiving public funding. We should be able to demonstrate who we serve, how communities benefit and why continued investment matters.
The question isn’t whether arts organizations should be accountable for public funding. We are accountable.
The question is whether we recognize arts and culture as part of the public investment required to build the kind of South Florida we say we want.
When we invest in the arts, we aren’t simply funding what happens on stage or what hangs on a wall. We are investing in access, opportunity, working artists and the stories that define our communities.
Public budgets reflect public priorities. Arts and culture should remain among those priorities.
Darius V. Daughtry is a poet, playwright, director, educator and the founder and executive artistic director of Art Prevails Project, a South Florida-based performing arts organization dedicated to arts education, literary programming and culturally relevant performance.
