Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on Feb. 19 used the county's annual State of the Arts address to promote a new strategic initiative, Arts Energize 305, and to warn that recent cuts to state cultural grants and rising operating costs have left local arts organizations vulnerable.

Levine Cava said the initiative aims to expand public access to arts programming across the county and to support artists and cultural organizations. "When we invest in the arts, we invest in our economy, our children and families, and our quality of life," she said.

The nut of the message was financial: cultural leaders described a significant loss of state funding last year and urged continued local and private support. Cultural Affairs Council chair Brian May said Arts Energize 305 "reaffirms that the arts are a fundamental way to unite people and to build community," and Maria Laura Lehi, director of the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, outlined outreach work to recruit new grant applicants across neighborhoods.

Why it matters: Miami-Dade's cultural sector is a major local industry, with figures cited in the address showing an estimated $2.1 billion annual economic impact and more than 30,000 jobs tied to nonprofit cultural organizations. County officials said each county grant dollar leverages roughly $43 in additional community economic activity.

Key facts and local programs
- Arts Energize 305: Launched as a county strategy to expand access to cultural activities across neighborhoods and age groups; county leaders said it promotes partnerships and encourages cost-efficient delivery methods such as pop-ups and nontraditional venues.
- Way of Water: A multidisciplinary performance beginning the night of the address that county leaders said pairs artists with Water and Sewer Department employees; the county described it as a collaboration among Cultural Affairs, Water and Sewer, Transportation and Public Works, the Division of Environmental Resources, and the Office of Resiliency.
- Older-adult and youth programs: Officials cited the Golden Tours program (arts activities for older adults), the Golden Ticket arts guide (25,000 copies printed in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole this year), Culture Shock for youth, and Arts for Learning partnerships with the Children's Trust.
- Grant outreach: Lehi said the department held more than a dozen grant workshops around the county attended by about 350 prospective grantees and that the workshops have produced 40 new grant applications so far this year.

Funding pressures
Speakers described two funding risks: the elimination of state cultural grants last year and broader cost pressures. Lehi and other speakers said a governor's veto of state cultural grants last year cost Miami-Dade nonprofits an estimated $6.4 million across 32 organizations. Mayor Levine Cava noted the governor's proposed budget later in the week included $27 million for the arts, but county officials urged continued advocacy before the Florida Legislature.

"The impact of the veto has been staggering," Brian May said, adding that leaders must remain "vigilant in advocating for a restoration of this funding with the Florida Legislature."

Officials also warned that post-pandemic federal arts funding has tapered and that tourism-tax revenue projections could level off, increasing reliance on local and private support. County staff and council members called for creative cost-sharing and repurposing of nontraditional spaces to ease venue shortages.

Economic context and evidence cited
County leaders cited several metrics during the address: $2.1 billion in annual economic impact attributed to the nonprofit cultural sector, more than 30,000 people employed by that sector, roughly 88,000 volunteers, about 4.2 million cultural tourists a year, and county estimates that cultural activity generates roughly $1.5 billion in personal income and about $443 million in tax revenue (local, state and federal combined).

Voices from the program
- Mayor Daniella Levine Cava: promoted Arts Energize 305 and urged support for broad public access to arts programming.
- Brian May, chairman, Cultural Affairs Council: framed Arts Energize 305 as a unifying strategy and called for advocacy to restore state grants.
- Maria Laura Lehi, director, Department of Cultural Affairs: described grant workshops, neighborhood outreach and the department's portfolio of programs.
- Commissioner Raquel Regalado and Commissioner Marlene Bastien: both spoke in support of arts education and outreach to children and families.

What was not decided
No formal votes, funding allocations, or binding actions were taken at the event. Speakers sought continued advocacy and funding but did not announce specific county budget approvals or changes during the program.

Background and next steps
Speakers asked arts advocates and residents to contact state legislators as the Florida legislative session approached. County leaders also encouraged private-sector partners and incoming residents to support cultural organizations. The Cultural Affairs Department said it would continue grant workshops and neighborhood outreach in the coming months.

Ending
Speakers closed by stressing the arts' role in education, economic development and community cohesion, and by previewing a video reel and performances tied to Arts Energize 305. Organizers said the Way of Water performance would run through the weekend at the Moss Performing Arts Center in South Dade.