Miami-Dade County’s vibrant arts and culture sector is facing a seismic challenge: a proposed $12.8 million cut to cultural grants and a merger of the Department of Cultural Affairs with Libraries in the 2025–26 budget. Artists and community leaders warn that the impact could be devastating — especially for smaller organizations.
“There’s a fear that just kind of resonates across the entire community,” said Portia Dunkley, founder of Teeny Violini, a mobile music education program. “Like, ‘Oh God, here we are again, putting ourselves back in survival mode.'”
The cuts are part of a nearly $13 billion spending plan proposed by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava earlier this month in response to a projected $402 million budget shortfall. The merger alone would cut one director position and 13 vacancies at the county, saving roughly $1.9 million. But for arts advocates, the human cost far outweighs the fiscal benefit.
District 9 Commissioner Kionne McGhee called the cuts “a shockwave through the arts and culture community.”
“Our seniors are in their homes alone. Our educators and artists are looking to express themselves. Our mentor programs are saving kids and providing them with opportunities. When you cut back on those things, you send a strong message that they're on their own.”
District 1 Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said that cultural investments “stabilize families and uplift neighborhoods,” and pledged to explore “additional savings or revenue options” to soften the cuts.
Major capital projects like the Miami-Dade County Auditorium still receive funds under the mayor’s proposed budget, but far less. The FY 2024–25 allocation of $22 million would drop to $5.5 million — a 75% decrease.
CULTURAL EQUITY AT RISK
(Courtesy of Brevo Theatre)
Brévo receives $20,000 to $30,000 through cultural grants, a sizable share for an organization whose budget has grown from $50,000 to $130,000 over the past five years.
At Brévo Theatre, which co-produced “Fat Ham” at GableStage in Coral Gables in May, co-founders Terrence Pride and Zaylin Yates say the threat is existential.
“Disbelief,” said Pride. “Miami-Dade County is kind of like Wonderland, our own New York, if you will. When I hear about this, it truly makes you feel as if it’s a nightmare.”
Brévo nurtures emerging artists of color through youth programs like Young, Gifted & Brave and workshops like Freshly Rooted, ultimately leading them to mainstage productions.
“We pride ourselves on having an educational community engagement component with all of our shows,” said Yates.
The group receives $20,000 to $30,000 through cultural grants, a sizable share for an organization whose budget has grown from $50,000 to $130,000 over the past five years. These funds support paid opportunities for emerging artists of color and low-cost programming in underserved communities.
“For a small organization, that’s a lot of money,” said Yates, “especially when the majority of our audience, who benefit from our programming, is from Miami-Dade County.”
(Courtesy of Brevo Theatre)
Terrence Pride, co-founder of Brevo Theatre
Without those funds, Pride said, “It becomes not a question of reducing staff or programming. It is, can we exist? That’s the part of the story that is not always told when it comes down to smaller Black-led organizations like ours.”
Meanwhile, the psychological toll on artists is real.
“You have the artists who wonder, do they need to be coming up with a plan B?” said Pride. “Will they be receiving more work? Will their pay become less and less?”
Pride also warned of a deepening imbalance in private funding:
“Many of us haven’t even reached the point of sustainability. Now we’re competing with much larger organizations who have much longer histories, and how do we begin to compete on that level without resources?”
YOUTH PROGRAMS
(Courtesy of Vocal Youth)
Vocal Youth provides music instruction to children from kindergarten through 12th grade, primarily for free or through scholarships.
Vocal Youth provides music instruction to children from kindergarten through 12th grade, primarily for free or through scholarships. But the potential loss of $100,000 in cultural funding threatens its mission.
Executive Director Jamie Sutta said they had expected more support this year — but may now receive less or none at all.
“If you don’t have general operating funds, you cannot run an organization,” said Sutta. “Not having this funding means that we will have to cut back on programming. Some organizations may completely shut down.”
Sutta explained the stakes in terms of youth well-being.
(Courtesy Jamie Sutta)
Jamie Sutta, executive director of Vocal Youth
“For many of our students, these programs are their lifeline. This is the thing that is keeping them going. This is the thing that is motivating them,” she said. “At a time when our youth feel very disconnected and mental health issues are on the rise… they need these third spaces that are not just school and home.”
(Courtesy of Teeny Violini)
Teeny Violini offers subsidized music education to about 15 early learning centers across the county, reaching nearly 1,000 children a year.
Teeny Violini offers subsidized music education to about 15 early learning centers across the county, reaching nearly 1,000 children a year. It’s part of Art Access Miami, a coalition of organizations expanding access to arts education. Dunkley said this was the first year her organization applied for cultural grant funding to expand its work in Miami-Dade Public Schools, after receiving a $5,000 discretionary grant from Commissioner Gilbert in 2024.
“This is going to directly affect the way that we can actually reach and impact our community,” Dunkley said. “It just really puts the work that we do at a bit of a standstill.”
MUSEUMS
Even organizations that often don’t directly receive cultural grants may feel ripple effects.
(nba.com)
Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant, the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum's executive director, said art exhibits will be reduced as a result of the cuts.
Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant, executive director of the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum in Overtown, said the museum collaborates with artists and groups who do rely on county funds.
“There are organizations that use the funding that they are awarded in order to engage and utilize the museum,” he said. “Some artists will be without access to certain support and supplies that they'll need in order to present their gift and their craft.”
Cribbs-Lorrant estimates the museum could lose $20,000 to $25,000 in indirect support. Those losses, he said, could mean fewer events, fewer partnerships, and ultimately fewer opportunities for community healing and connection.
(historicalblackprecinct.org)
The Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum could lose an estimated $20,000 to $25,000 in indirect support.
“We typically produced five exhibits. We're going to have to scale that back to about three exhibits,” he said. “Arts and culture are what draw people. It's what ignites people, what gives people hope that there is access to something that can put a smile on their face.”
Cribbs-Lorrant also said the museum was looking to apply for its own cultural grant during the 2025-26 fiscal year, but now those funds are minimal.
THE COST OF MISUNDERSTANDING
According to Arts Energize 305, a 2024 initiative launched by Levine Cava herself in 2024, arts and culture generate $2.1 billion annually, support 32,000 jobs, and return $443 million in public revenue. For every $1 invested by the county, $42 is returned.
Brévo Theatre notes how even one production can create up to 10 paid jobs — from actors and directors to marketers.
Pride framed it this way:
“When we’re editing plays, we say, if you can cut it out and the story still makes sense. But the arts, when you remove it, you begin to feel it and see it. We are the fiber of the thing that holds it together.”
Sutta shared a similar sentiment:
“When budgets get tight, some of the first things that get cut are the arts because it seems like maybe there’s an understanding that it’s kind of a ‘nice to have,’” she said. “But I don’t believe that the arts are nice to have. I believe that they are essential.”
“We're investing in young people through this vehicle of art. We are actually creating a better place,” she added.
The proposed merger of Libraries and Cultural Affairs is also drawing concern.
“To put two entities with two separate missions under one — I don't think that has been thought out thoroughly,” said Pride. “Libraries are about maintaining historical artifacts. Cultural centers are about progressing us forward.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
A petition to restore cultural funding before the budget is finalized is nearing 3,200 signatures. Arts organizations plan to speak out at town halls and during September’s budget hearings.
“Our vocal youth are going to get vocal,” said Sutta. “They can count on us to be there.”
While many remain hopeful that changes can still be made, they’re bracing for impact.
“We need to shift the way our leaders view the arts," said Sutta. "They are not extras. They are an essential part of the human experience and a vital contributor to community well-being.”
Even if the cuts go through, groups vow to keep going — though with reduced reach.
“I just really urge [private funders and foundations] to step up in assisting and diversifying their pool of artists,” said Yates. “We’re going to do what makes sense. If that means that we can't offer as many shows in Miami-Dade County, then that'll just be. But that's not going to stop Brévo Theatre from doing the work that we need to do.”