Florida

Facts and Figures

In the past five years, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed $24,095,860 in federal funding, either directly or through state and regional partners, in Florida.

In the most recent information (2022) from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), which is produced jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Office of Research & Analysis and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department, Florida...

  • Added 3.2 percent or $45.4 billion to the state economy from arts and cultural production
  • Employed 268,712 workers in the arts and cultural industries, with workers earning wages and benefits totaling more than $22.5 billion

More than 31 percent of Florida’s adults attended live music, theater, or dance performances, while more than 16 percent attended art exhibits, according to the 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to offering direct grants, the NEA supports national initiatives benefiting people across the country. Over the last five years:

Blue Star Museums program provided free admission to thousands of active military personnel and their families at 179 participating museums in Florida.

On average, more than 6,080 students from 149 high schools in Florida participated in Poetry Out Loud annually.

The NEA Big Read initiative generated 964 community events in the state, involving more than 48,080 adults and students.


Florida Fact Sheet

On this page, find information on the arts and culture for Florida, and how the National Endowment for the Arts has supported the arts in communities throughout the state. Below are highlights of just some of Arts Endowment grantees and artists working in Florida. 

To find a list of grants awarded by the agency to Florida, go to our Recent Grant Search. 

State Highlights

Interior of the Stonewall Inn bar
Grant Spotlight: Stonewall Library and Archives
We spoke with the executive director of the Stonewall Library and Archives (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) about the library's mission to share LGBTQ history and culture.
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A young woman in a black dress speaks at a microphone
2024 Poetry Out Loud Ask & Tell: Poetry Out Loud National Champion Niveah Glover (FL)
The 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion reflects on her experience participating in Poetry Out Loud.
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A Black woman holds two photos in vintage frames in the midst of a swamp landscape
Grant Spotlight: Artists in Residence in Everglades
Artists Arsimmer McCoy and Cornelius Tulloch, who are both former Artists in Residence in Everglades fellows and now work for the organization, talk about this unique residency program in Everglades National Park.
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young orchestra musicians performing
ARP Grant Spotlight: United Arts of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
Here's a look at how United Arts of Central Florida, a local arts agency, used NEA American Rescue Plan funding to keep its arts and culture community thriving.
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A fountain made of a cut stormwater pipe
Making Connections
The project Ripple will transform the stormwater treatment area into an aesthetically pleasing public space, one that is poised to become an integral part of community life in Palm City, Florida, with assistance from two Arts Endowment Our Town grants.
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A smiling woman stands with a man in front of a police sign
The Miami Police Athletic League Celebrates Literature With Their First NEA Big Read
A look at the the Miami Police Athletic League’s (PAL) National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program, which invited the local community to read and discuss David Tomas Martinez’s "Hustle," a raw, emotionally charged poetry collection that shares the author’s experience as a former gang member in San Diego.
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a white woman with long brown hair and glasses
Spotlight on Creative Arts Therapies and Telehealth
Jill Sonke is the director of the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which includes a creative arts therapy program that takes veteran’s care in new directions by providing treatment remotely through a telehealth program.
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Two men stand against a pillar and laugh while holding violins
Art Talk with Wilner Baptiste of Black Violin
Black Violin is devoted to arts education, providing grants through their Black Violin Foundation to help young people pursue innovative musical paths regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances, and mentoring students at Mary M. Bethune Elementary School in Hollywood, Florida.
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Floor to ceiling sculpture made of multicolored thread
Artwork Soars at MOCA Jacksonville's Project Atrium
As part of the University of North Florida, it makes sense that the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville is also a place of learning and reflection, much like its associated institute of higher learning.
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A young man in prison garb holds up a brightly colored painting that he made
Through Painting, Incarcerated Youth Find Freedom
Juvenile inmates at the John E. Goode Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Jacksonville, Florida, created paintings while participating in Cathedral Arts Project (CAP)’s Juvenile Justice Arts Program, which began in 2014 with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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a painting of two young men in sunglasses and backward baseball caps
Art Talk with Michael Vasquez
In the oversized portraits of street life by Miami, Florida-based visual artist Michael Vasquez, where some might see street thug, gangster, fear, Vasquez sees acceptance and connection.
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Headshot of a woman.
Dolly Jacobs
2015
2015 National Heritage Fellow Dolly Jacobs is a world-renowned circus aerialist as well as a dedicated teacher in Sarasota, Florida.
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Lenore Myka
Lenore Myka
2016
Lenore Myka is the author of King of the Gypsies: Stories, winner of the 2014 G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction.
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Edward Villella
NEA Milestone Video: Edward Villella
In this 50th anniversary milestone video, we feature dancer/choreographer Edward Villella, whose storied career started under the legendary George Balanchine as principal dancer for the New York Ballet and led to being the founding artistic director of Miami City Ballet.
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US Map
United States of Arts: Florida
In collaboration with the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts looks at the arts and culture of Florida as part of its celebration of the 50th anniversary of the agency's establishment.
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State & Regional Contacts

Florida Division of Cultural Affairs 
R.A. Gray Building, 3rd Floor
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
850/245-6470
TT: 904/488-5779
info@florida-arts.org

South Arts (Regional Arts Organization)
1800 Peachtree Street, Suite 808
Atlanta, GA 30309
404/874-7244
southarts@southarts.org