Arts Funding

This is a continuation of a multi-year project (previously "Arts Strategy") designed to create a rationale for ongoing, consistent community investment in nonprofit arts organizations, performance groups and individual artists. The Partnership will work with the Arts Alliance to prioritize art funding at the city and county level, following the strategies identified in the Comprehensive Arts Strategy.

Art is a foundational part of St. Petersburg and something that sets us apart from other communities. For the last decade, our city has experienced an urban renaissance, with more artists living, investing, and building our cultural community. Local philanthropists are investing in the arts, but the public sector has not provided an ongoing, consistent funding source for art. The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership recognizes the critical role art plays in our sense of place and economic growth. Art funding is an investment the public sector should make to encourage economic development. Therefore, the Partnership is working to secure long-term, consistent art funding from a public source.

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