As the Pinellas County Commission works on next year’s budget, Commission Chair Brian Scott proposes that the county stop funding its designated local arts agency, Creative Pinellas.
Scott raised the idea, which includes shifting $500,000 to launch a new competitive art grant program run by the county’s tourism development agency, Visit St. Pete Clearwater, during an August 28 budget workshop. No other commissioners spoke up to support the funding cut during that meeting, and commissioners René Flowers and Dave Eggers shared some concerns about the timing and impact of the proposal.
With the County Commission’s first budget vote scheduled for Thursday, September 4, and many arts organizations already facing an uncertain future from federal and state funding cuts, a rallying cry has gone out in the local arts community to show up and speak out in support of Creative Pinellas and the arts’ place in the county.
“I want to do my best to make sure they (county commissioners) understand that the arts community and the business community value the arts,” Creative Pinellas CEO Margaret Murray says. “As the local arts agency for Pinellas County, we have a responsibility to let artists know about issues that can impact them. We’ve always taken that responsibility very strongly and will always do that.”
Creative Pinellas was formed in 2011 as a nonprofit agency stepping into the role of the county’s dissolved Cultural Affairs Department. That role includes artist grants, organizing and hosting art shows, partnering to fund and support public art installations like murals and signal box wraps, providing grants to summer art camps to cover the registration fees of eligible children and teens, hosting student art exhibitions during Youth Art Month, putting on artist workshops, and promoting Pinellas as a vibrant arts community.
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Sandrasonik PhotographyPinellas County Commission Chair Brian Scott proposes the county stop funding its local arts agency, Creative Pinellas, in the budget year starting October 1.During the August 28th workshop, Scott said he was “pretty underwhelmed by” the agency’s updated cultural plan and “honestly don’t think they’re bringing much to the table.” He said the organization continues to rely heavily on county funding, approximately $1.2 million currently, instead of becoming self-sufficient through fundraising and other strategies.
Scott proposed that the county stop funding Creative Pinellas for the upcoming budget year that starts October 1st. He suggested that the largest piece of the organization’s budget, $860,000 in tourism development tax revenues, be redirected to Visit St. Pete Clearwater, with $500,000 going to a new competitive grant program for tourism-related art projects and the rest to the tourism development agency’s general budget.
During the budget workshop, Eggers voiced concerns about timing and process. He did not want a scenario where such a significant move is first put forward during a budget workshop in the last week of August, potentially approved in budget hearings that start the following week, and then takes effect in a fiscal year starting only weeks after that.
“I get nervous when we start to unravel things that are significant to people without having folks in the room,” Eggers said.
He suggested scheduling a workshop on the future funding of Creative Pinellas so the arts community can be present instead of taking action “on the fly.” Eggers noted that the county’s 2025 community survey showed strong resident support for the arts and culture, which he considered “part of what makes the tapestry of Pinellas County so special.” Along with some world-class museums, Creative Pinellas plays an important role in cultivating the county's arts and cultural landscape, he said.
“It is for our community,” Eggers said. “It is for the young rising artists. It is for programs we have all over this county.”
Flowers said that, because of entities like Creative Pinellas, “our community is now known for its art,” along with its beaches.
Murray says Creative Pinellas’ reach and impact are widespread.
Last year, the organization distributed more than $63,000 in funding to approximately 14 summer camps, reaching hundreds of students. Creative Pinellas works closely with the Pinellas County school system, showcasing the work of students from kindergarten through eighth grade every March during Youth Art Month. The nonprofit’s gallery also hosts the annual 13th Congressional District High School Art Exhibition, with winners going to an awards ceremony in
Murray says Creative Pinellas has established “such a strong through line reaching students at every stage of their artistic career, and it’s incredibly important that we’re able to continue doing that.”
Creative Pinellas also partners with multiple county departments. It maintains the county’s public art collection on display at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport
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Courtesy Creative PinellasCreative Pinellas' public art initiatives include mural projects like local artist Leo Gomez's "Better Together" at the Lealman Exchange Community Center. and earlier this year opened the art gallery Sightline at PIE. The nonprofit has a five-year agreement to do public art projects in the Lealman Community Reinvestment Area, works with the county on a graffiti abatement art program that includes art-wrapped signal boxes, and partnered with the Pinellas County Tax Collector’s Office to have artist Frankie G. create murals at that agency’s Largo location.
“We’re embedded in the county in ways that a lot of people don’t realize,” Murray says. “We’re everywhere. We work behind the scenes as a good agency should. We’re always working to beautify Pinellas County and make sure visitors have wonderful experiences here.”
Creative Pinellas has two new tourism-focused initiatives in the works. On October 4, Murray says they’ll launch Current Culture, “a digital online magazine designed specifically to promote and showcase Pinellas County arts experiences to visitors.”
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Creative PinellasCreative Pinellas' "Making Waves" cultural tourism pilot program is planned to bring environmental-themed public art projects to locations around the county in spring 2026.Creative Pinellas’ 2025-26 Artist Impact Fund is going to artist grants for “Making Waves,” a new pilot program that will bring environmentally-focused art installations and performances to nature preserves, beaches, parks, trails, and other public places countywide in spring 2026.
“That is specifically tied to cultural tourism, and that came out of conversations with Visit St. Pete Clearwater,” Murray says. “We worked really hard to look at their initiatives, look at visitor data, and see what visitors prioritized.”
The Thursday, September 4 Pinellas County Commission budget hearing begins at 6 p.m. in the Palm Room at the Pinellas County Communications building, 333 Chestnut St. in downtown Clearwater. The second and final 2025-26 budget hearing is 6 p.m. September 18 in the same venue.
For more information, go to Creative Pinellas and Pinellas County Commission