Creative Pinellas Lays Off Half Its Staff Ahead of County Vote to Cut Funding
by Avery Anderson, Claire Farrow
Editor's note: Updated Sept. 18
Pinellas County Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to approve the county's budget for next year – one that doesn't include any funding for Creative Pinellas.
Days before the scheduled vote, the nonprofit laid off half of its staff and canceled nearly all of its fall programming, anticipating the commissioners' decision to cease funding.
The decision shutters four upcoming community events, from an international exhibition opening to hands-on workshops and public talks. MOVIDA 2025: Reclamando Our Untold Stories will go on thanks to a last-minute relocation to Allendale Church, but other programs — including the Sept. 26 opening reception for Sacred Pilgrimage: Gaudí and Galbán (the show is currently installed at the Creative Pinellas gallery), a Sept. 30 “Drawing with Thread” workshop, and an Oct. 3 lecture by architect Peter Hauerstein — are off the table.
In a statement, CEO Margaret Murray said the organization has “simply [not had] the emotional or operational bandwidth to host any events right now” after the layoffs.
“We have cancelled everything except one that was required by the County," said Murray. "It's unfortunate, and I'm incredibly sorry that Mi Gente is scrambling, as we all are. There's no easy way to make these decisions.”
A ripple effect already in motion
This isn’t just about canceled receptions and workshops. Creative Pinellas is the county’s designated local arts agency — the body that funds grants, installs public art, and runs cultural tourism pilots meant to drive visitors and dollars to Pinellas. When its operations freeze, the impact hits artists, kids in summer arts camps, neighborhood beautification projects, and partner organizations across the county.
“To be perfectly honest, while we have verbal assurances from the County that we can remain in our building, we don't know for how long,” Murray said. “We are hopeful that there will be a soft landing, but we are actively looking at alternatives should these discussions not be fruitful. I am incredibly sorry for everyone who has been impacted by this, including our staff, artists who have applied for funding, and all the Reclamando, Mi Gente and Movida colleagues who have worked so hard to bring something beautiful to our community. There is a ripple effect to this decision that is just now beginning to be felt.”
Avery Anderson
The politics behind the cuts
As Arts Passport reported earlier this month, Commission Chair Brian Scott said he was “underwhelmed” by Creative Pinellas’ cultural plan and questioned whether the nonprofit brings “a lot to the table” for its roughly $1.1 million in county funding. He floated the idea of cutting the organization entirely and shifting money to a new, county-run competitive grant program overseen by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.
That assessment ignored several pilot programs still waiting to launch — including Making Waves, a countywide initiative blending art and nature experiences, and Current | Culture, a new online magazine positioning Pinellas as an arts tourism destination.
The numbers also tell a different story: less than 1% of last year’s $94 million in bed tax revenue went to Creative Pinellas. In return, the organization directed hundreds of thousands of dollars toward local artists, hurricane relief, public murals, and other projects.
During the Sept. 18 commission meeting, not much (if anything) was said by commissioners regarding Creative Pinellas.
Ahead of the meeting, the nonprofit's leaders said they told supporters that rallying wasn't necessary. Still, a few citizens spoke about the organization's defunding.
“We did not ask for there to be a rallying tonight because we heard your message, and we want you to know that while this is a surprise, we have already, as Creative Pinellas, taken steps to have a financial shift to reduce costs, and we are actively pursuing fundraising efforts in the future because Creative Pinellas will continue, and we want to be an active partner in whatever way you, as the Commissioners, would like us to be. So, thank you for your support in the past and look forward to working with you going forward.” - Doreen Moore.
“I’ve been doing some checking, guys, and you guys have been having a bad run,” Largo resident Ron Walker said in part during public comment. “Recently you voted to defund—take a small grant away from the artsy’s down in St. Pete. Of course they’re weak. And you’re good at attacking the weak.”
"The way this defunding took place is an embarrassment. Squeezing out our well-positioned and responsibly managed local arts agency is an act of diminishment carried out under the guise of fiscal responsibility, as though it were a binary choice. When Commissioner Eggers plainly stated that the money could be found. By leveraging misinformation into a deliberate blow, you make the same mistakes your predecessors made in 2010, when they dismantled Pinellas County Cultural Affairs. We will all lose more than you yet realize. What becomes of the cultural life of Pinellas communities when priorities are weighted toward tourists instead of residents, when fewer artists can afford to live here because they're not getting the support that they need, or they choose to leave for more supportive environments? We're about to find out." - Mitzi Gordon, former Creative Pinellas employee.
What’s at stake
At its core, this fight isn’t about a line item on a budget spreadsheet. It’s about whether Pinellas County keeps its infrastructure for arts funding intact — or dismantles it at a moment when cultural tourism is both an economic driver and a community lifeline.
Still happening: MOVIDA 2025 — Reclamando Our Untold Stories
Presented by Mi Gente Mi Pueblo, relocated from the Creative Pinellas campus.
📅 Saturday, Sept. 20, 12–5 p.m.
📍 Allendale Church Sanctuary, 3803 Haines Rd, St. Pete
🎟️ Free and open to the public