Last Thursday night, Pinellas County Commissioners refused to yield a measly $156,000 of the county’s budget to an agency that has nurtured arts and culture in the county for over a decade.
The vote hurts Creative Pinellas’ ability to offer grants and it sets the table for the closure of the nonprofit’s gallery, which has made space and showcased homegrown artists since 2018.
But the fight might not be over.
As previously reported, Creative Pinellas uses about $1.05 million to support and promote the arts in the county. Pinellas’ tourism bed tax—collected when visitors book hotel rooms— provides $861,000.
Thursday’s 5-2 vote to cut the $156,000 from the general fund was made at the suggestion of Commissioner Brian Scott.
It came after two hours of compelling arguments and personal stories from Pinellas artists, teachers, art patrons, gallery owners, arts administrators, business owners and entrepreneurs, museum workers, filmmakers, marketing professionals, writers and poets.
And Creative Pinellas—which has 11 employees who could lose their jobs—may need them to show up again since commissioners will discuss the overall county budget before a final vote on Sept. 18.
Creative Pinellas CEO Margaret Murray told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that, for now, $156,000 from the general fund is what her organization stands to lose.
Commissioner Scott has also suggested doing something else with the $861,000 Creative Pinellas gets from the bed tax, perhaps setting aside $500,000 that other nonprofits can bid for.
If it cannot find a way to bring in more funds, Creative Pinellas will be forced to layoff staff and shutdown the gallery it opened in Largo seven years ago.
Before last Thursday’s vote, Murray was given 10 minutes to speak against the county’s proposal to defund the nonprofit—and fight for the life of the arts and artists in Pinellas.
With that time, she discussed plans to seek more private funding to support the organization and lessen its reliance on county funds. She also reiterated all that Creative Pinellas has done to put art in front of county visitors, explained what the organization brings to the table in terms of arts and culture expertise, and once again expressed her desire to work with the county and Visit St. Pete-Clearwater (VSPC) to make Pinellas County the best arts and culture destination it can be.
Raucous applause could be heard from an overflow room packed with artists and other creative professionals. With so many residents showing up to support Creative Pinellas, victory, or at least a continued conversation, seemed certain. Elected officials surely wouldn’t ignore both the facts and the desires of hundreds of their constituents. It felt like the entirety of Pinellas County’s creative community was split between the two rooms—colorful tattooed troops ready to respectfully fight for art in this country’s rapidly-escalating culture war.
“Being blindsided like this gave us little opportunity to respond effectively, and in fact, and this is important, if we are not funded in this budget, our county lease requires that we vacate our offices and galleries by the end of the fiscal year in three weeks,” Murray concluded. “As a solid partner to the county for many years, I believe that we deserve the chance to work together to thoughtfully answer any questions you might have and work toward a solution for all. Right now, I am asking for at least one more year of funding and further conversations to allow us to implement the changes we have underway.”
What followed was an arts education for anyone who cared to listen.
David Ramsey—an art collector who’s served on multiple boards, and former City Manager of Treasure Island—spoke about the importance of funding smaller arts venues, makers and performers in a community, as Creative Pinellas does.
Beth Daniels, President of the Clearwater Arts Alliance, discussed the time it takes for a creative community to recover after a funding withdrawal.
Several Pinellas County artists spoke about the outsized impact that a small grant, like those Creative Pinellas gives, can have on an artist early in their career.
Kendra Patterson, a 2024-25 Pinellas County School Teacher of the Year—knows the power of arts. She said cutting funding would deprive her students of the opportunity to show their work at an elementary student art show hosted by Creative Pinellas.
“At that show, I witness my students’ excitement as they see their artwork beautifully framed and displayed alongside local artists. This event provides an award ceremony that draws hundreds of supporters, showcasing the community’s appreciation of our young artists,” Patterson added. “Families express their joy, not only in seeing their children’s creations, but also in the inspiring environment that creative Pinellas fosters. Defunding this organization would silence the recognition that my students deserve.”
Jenee Priebe, former director of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s SHINE Mural Festival, spoke about the challenges she had working with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater (to whom Commissioner Brian Scott wants to give Creative Pinellas’ share of the county’s bed tax).
“While I respect that it’s their job to market and promote Pinellas County as a tourist destination, in my experience, it was an uphill battle trying to educate them on matters of art,” said Priebe. “We struggled for years to get Visit St Pete-Clearwater to pay mural artists for the use of their work in their ad campaigns. The artists own the copyrights to their mural work, even though it’s in a public space, it’s no different than purchasing a song to use in a commercial. There are royalties that must legally be paid to the owner of that work. An organization that is responsible for generating a billion dollars by promoting the vibrant cultural offerings of this area was refusing to pay $500 to an artist to use their work. That is not the organization I want in charge of supporting or funding an artist.”
Some of Pinellas County’s most significant artists and thinkers made their arguments before the Pinellas County Commissioners, casting pearls before swine.
Commissioner Chris Latvala was first to oink, saying that VSPC “knows how to put on a mural festival that I’ve never been to,” in reference to SHINE, which is actually put on by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance (VSPC only helps fund and market the festival).
Latvala was quick to mention that the county has funded the Dali Museum and the Chihuly Collection to the tune of millions of dollars. But $156,000 for Creative Pinellas to support artists who live and vote in Pinellas County is too much.
“I do appreciate all of the folks that are here, that is very impressive, but I will remind my colleagues that there are many more folks that have reached out to us and have demanded that we reduce their property taxes,” Latvala continued.
Commissioner Rene Flowers said that she might have a different affinity for art than others, citing her son Josh, a product of Gibbs High School art institute who still paints oil on canvas to this day.
“I saw what [art] did for him, someone who didn’t necessarily express themselves in a way that others do,” Flowers added. “But he could express himself through art.”
Flowers—a former St. Pete City Councilwoman and Pinellas School Board Member—told the room that more than 244 individuals sent emails sharing their ideas and concerns. More than 50 locals came to the dais to make well-researched in-person public pleas to save the funding.
Not one public comment was made in support of the cuts to Creative Pinellas.
Commissioner Dave Eggers wondered out loud if VSPC has the experience to make art happen in Pinellas County like Creative Pinellas does. He made the point that it would be easy to find $156,000 in the budget for Creative Pinellas.
“If we’re talking about how to relieve the pressure on the budget, I would say that if we tell Barry [Burton, the county administrator] to find $156,000 on the budget, and I know you don’t like when we do that, he can find it in a heartbeat. It can be found in the budget.”
“I just think it’s a little quick, a little knee-jerk reaction to DOGE telling us how to live our lives down here,” added Eggers. “And we’re all in that. We’re all about getting more scrutiny. But it’s our community. It’s what we do with it.”
But it seems only Commissioners Eggers and Rene Flowers care. No one in that ugly white box of a room with no art—as local filmmaker Victoria Jorgensen pointed out—is looking for $156,000 for Creative Pinellas. The commission voted to defund them, 5-2.
“I just think it’s a little quick, a little knee-jerk reaction to DOGE telling us how to live our lives down here
Commissioner Dave Eggers
Discussions indicate that, as of right now, in contrast to Creative Pinellas’ thoroughly researched plan—they researched arts tourism initiatives across the country for inspiration—Visit St. Pete-Clearwater has presented no arts tourism plan for Pinellas County.
Last Thursday, when Commissioner Scott brought forth the proposal to defund Creative Pinellas, he said that he had a discussion with VSPC President/CEO Brian Lowack about funds that go to the arts nonprofit. Scott claimed that he asked Lowack if his team could facilitate a “competitive grant program specifically for arts tourism,” and that Lowack said his team could “get it done.”
During public comment, Julie Wilson, former director of marketing at MFA St. Pete and current nonprofit consultant, cited Lowack’s conversation with Scott.
“Yeah, they said ‘yes,’ but what’s the plan? Where’s their experience, where’s the proposal?,” Wilson asked. “Yes, they said ‘yes.’ But are they the best organization to do that?”
Wilson said she works with organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children and is used to hearing people say that nonprofits can be run by someone else—she wondered if VSPC has the skill set to do what Creative Pinellas has done for the last 14 years.
“[VSPC] does something else that’s really great,” Wilson added. “Creative Pinellas has experts that do what they do as well.”
She hoped that commissioners would’ve taken Murray’s suggestion to establish new key performance indicators and find a new path forward instead of defunding Creative Pinellas. “It’s not a best practice to pull an investment without monitoring and measuring.” Wilson said.
The day after the vote to defund Creative Pinellas, Lowack told CL that VSPC knows what art means to Pinellas county.
“We’re committed to working with the local arts community to bring beauty and creativity to our community that will continue to enhance Pinellas County’s reputation as a vibrant arts destination sought out by visitors and arts enthusiasts from around the world,” Lowack added in a statement. “We are fortunate to have an arts community so passionate about sharing their work with the world – and we’re excited about having more of a role in helping support their efforts with funding directly from the millions of annual visitors to our incredible destination.”
Asked how he felt about the county’s vote to remove Creative Pinellas’ share of the county budget, Lowack declined to comment.
But two years ago, when the county announced plans for a “Cultural Plan Initiative,” Lowack wrote, “We look forward to working with Creative Pinellas and the Cultural Planning Group to develop a new, countywide cultural plan to continue to advance our local arts.”
Creative Pinellas, for its part, thanked supporters for showing up and reminding the community that arts are not a luxury, but part of the county’s identity, economy and quality of life. The nonprofit added that while it was disappointed with the commission’s vote, it will spend the next days assessing short and long-term impacts the cut will have on galleries and programs, contacting affected grantees and looking at a path forward.
“No single vote (or 5 votes) can erase the creativity, resilience, and care this community shows every day. Your support has strengthened our resolve to remain part of an arts ecosystem that is collaborative, accessible, and worthy of Pinellas County,” the board and staff wrote.
And in reality, there’s still time for Pinellas County Commissioners to do the right thing. All it takes is for a single commissioner to propose a motion to amend the budget to preserve Creative Pinellas’ funding and then the County Commissioners will have to vote on the same issue all over again. If they don’t change their minds on this, Creative Pinellas will have to vacate their gallery in Pinewood Cultural Park before Oct. 1.
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This article appears in Sept. 4-10, 2025.