The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County is on track to provide a record $10.6 million in funding for local arts and culture over the next 12 months.
The Nov. 16 announcement, delivered by Cultural Council president and chief executive Dave Lawrence during the opening reception for the “Whimsy & Wonder” fall exhibition, marks the most funding provided by the organization in its nearly 50-year history.
“Supporting the cultural sector is absolutely essential — now more than ever,” Lawrence said. “The arts and culture community drives economic impact, supports thousands of jobs and contributes to quality of life in Palm Beach County.”
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The influx of money to the local arts and culture community comes as the result of the council’s Year of Extraordinary Support, or YES!, a campaign that features new funding initiatives supported by the Palm Beach County Commission, Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council, the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation and local donors.
“We’ve worked diligently this past year to assemble new funding initiatives that provide support and new opportunities for creative professionals and cultural organizations,” Lawrence said. “We are fortunate to have visionary partners to help us provide grants, fellowships and other support services that will create a ripple effect in Palm Beach County.”
Included in the campaign is a plethora of new grants and programs for cultural organizations and creative professionals. Medium to large cultural organizations already receiving grants from the Cultural Council for tourist marketing will receive another $7 million in grant funding, an almost $2 million increase compared to the previous year, the council said. Funding for those grants is provided by the Tourist Development Council.
Partnering with Palm Beach County, the Cultural Council introduced a new $3 million capital grant program using money from the American Rescue Plan, also known as the 2021 COVID-19 stimulus package.
The council also announced plans to sponsor a 10-month Arts Administrator of Color Fellowship program, launching in 2024. The program aims to provide a platform for new and diverse voices in the arts and culture, and to build a leadership pipeline for arts administrators and graduate students vying for a career in the arts. The program also will provide additional career-enhancing opportunities including workshops, networking and mentoring, the council said.
Lawrence announced that the third round of the council’s Artist Innovation Fellowship program is open to applicants. The program provides $7,500 in grants to artists to aid in any research, retreat, travel or mentorship opportunity that would aid in the creation of new work.
“This fellowship is an opportunity for artists to step back, take a breath and explore,” Lawrence said.
Moreover, with the additional funding from the Bailey Foundation, the fellowship has expanded from six openings last year to 10 openings.
The council also unveiled the Emerging Artist Prize, set for fall of 2024. The prize will be awarded to five artists and includes funding for materials or supplies, mentorship from Artist Innovation Fellows and access to cultural organizations, public art professionals and galleries.
In an effort to find new ways to support and reach new organizations and artists, the Cultural Council announced the commissioning of three new artist ambassadors: Musician Lindsey Mills, actor and performance artist Autumn Kioti, and writer and spoken word artist Desiree Reavis.
The ambassadors will receive a stipend and provide their expert insight and resources to a new website launched by the Cultural Council, which will serve as a repository for these resources to assist artists throughout the county with toolkits, links and other important information.
The Cultural Council launched its new campaign in response to results from the Sector Needs Assessment Survey completed last year.
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The survey, meant to aid the organization understand the top needs of artists and cultural organizations, found that artists’ top needs included career support, assistance generating income, funding to offset the cost of doing business and meaningful networking. For cultural organizations, top needs included funding, board recruitment and management, staffing, audience development, and assistance with equity, diversity and inclusion.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.