DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — After recent changes to rules for state funding, commissioners in Delray Beach agreed to give the Arts Garage money to help keep the organization afloat, following concerns about keeping the local arts alive.
WPTV learned about this issue at a Let’s Hear It meet-up in June. Since then, WPTV reporter Victor Jorges highlighted the efforts to help keep the arts hub open.
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The city commission recently voted to give Arts Garage $275,000, helping the organization stay open through summer 2027.
“Absolutely, there’s a sense of relief,” said Marjorie Waldo, Arts Garage’s president and chief executive officer. "That's a huge part of our budget and a really meaningful piece."
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Despite the grant, the Arts Garage is worried about the lack of state support due to a change in law that mandates 100% of programming to be family-friendly to recieve funds.
"For us, arts and culture is something that shouldn't be censored,” Waldo said. "We do nothing that we're ashamed of. We do everything with the idea that we're serving our community.”
The debate has made its way to Tallahassee, and just last month, an Orlando-based representative pushed back on the application change. Representative Eskamani asked Florida’s Secretary of State Cord Byrd how those recent changes were not considered censorship, even if the organizations don’t use the state funds to cover non-family-friendly programs.
Byrd stood his ground during a hearing saying, "This is the appropriation of money. It is a grant, it is not an entitlement, so this is not First Amendment or free speech implications,” during a Nov. 19 hearing.
In the meantime, the community continues to step up to help keep Arts Garage’s door open.
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Waldo said she would rather raise funds than bend to new state rules.
"We're just trying to protect ourselves,” Waldo said. "The last few years have been tricky to navigate, and we don't anticipate that it will be any less tricky moving forward.”
