MIAMI — A group of artists and their supporters met on Wednesday in Downtown Miami to protest a proposed $12.8 million budget cut during a hearing at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava released the 2025-26 proposed budget on July 15 and reported that it closed a $402 million gap. She attributed some of it to losses in state and federal funding.
Levine Cava said that as part of her WISE 305 agenda, which she launched earlier this year, the county was consolidating departments and “combining cultural affairs and libraries.”
In a memo released on Tuesday, Levine Cava announced she was able to “restore important programs” -- including “$11.5 million to nearly fully restore cultural arts programming grants” -- after “residents asked us to protect arts and culture.”
Related document: Read the mayor’s memo
The county’s department of cultural affairs distributes grant funding and runs four facilities: Two cultural centers named after Dennis C. Moss and Marshall L. Davis, and two auditoriums, including one named after Joseph Caleb. It also runs the Golden Ticket program and the county’s art in public spaces program.
Miami-Dade County commissioners are set to discuss the proposed budget at 5 p.m. on Sept. 4 and Sept. 18. For information about how to watch public county government meetings, visit this page.
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