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The Cultural Division’s recently published FY21 annual report provides an informative look into the impact of Broward County’s considerable investment in arts and culture. While quantifying this impact is not an easy task, the report, available online here at ArtsCalendar.com and our website, Broward.org/Arts, offers an accessible overview of the year’s activities (covering fiscal year 2021, which spanned from October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021), including dollars granted to artists and non-profit organizations, public art allocations, newly completed public art projects, community engagement and marketing initiatives.
As a Broward County agency, the Cultural Division’s budget comes from tax dollars appropriated during the annual budget process. During FY21, the Cultural Division’s total expenditures were just over $7.5 million.
The largest amount of our annual allocations goes to our grantmaking program, which provided $4.8 million in funding for 129 non-profit organizations and 34 artists. In total, 167 grants were awarded (this number doesn’t include an additional $2.5 million in CARES funding authorized by the County Commission that the Division also administered in FY21). Visit the Division’s Grant programs here.
Another way the County invests in arts and culture is through the Division’s Public Art & Design program, which funds public art projects through an ordinance that allocates 2% of County construction projects to public art. Through this program, seven new public artworks were completed and installed in FY21 at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Broward Municipal Services District, and the newly completed Lauderhill Transit Station. View the collection of more than 280 works of art and other information about our Public Art & Design Program here.
The Division’s efforts aren’t limited to grants and public art. Our Community Engagement section is actively working to develop the Destination Sistrunk Cultural Center in the Sistrunk neighborhood, with a goal to create a neighborhood cultural asset full of arts activities. There is also our rigorous teaching artist training program that helps develop (and certify) Broward artists as teachers who can provide high-quality education services to schools and other community organizations.
Additionally, the Cultural Division is committed to communication and elevating arts and culture, which we do via print and digital advertising, events and programing, social media, electronic communications, storytelling and our websites – including ArtsCalendar.com, where you can find hundreds of arts and culture events in greater Fort Lauderdale. Follow @BrowardArts on Instagram and other social media profiles via the below icons.
"The County’s commitment to the development of arts and culture has been steadfast. The commission even approved a modest increase in the Division’s FY22 budget despite the challenges created by COVID. As more of Broward’s municipalities create their own cultural departments and initiatives, the future for the growth of the arts here is bright."