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United Arts Collier wants people to understand how integral arts are to Collier County, and it’s starting education on a large scale: through local business.

The Arts & Business Council of Collier County was born this month, with its first informational meeting Jan. 23 at Norris Community Center. Few businesses were at the meeting, but Elysia Dawn, executive director of United Arts Collier, said the UAC had already hosted query sessions with several major employers who indicated they’re open to the idea.

“There was a little bit of behind-the-scenes work where we had people come together and asked them what they would like to see for us going forward,” Dawn explained. “They said they would like to see this — where they get a better understanding and how it benefits us. And then from there we’ll start to do meetings.”

An idea with urgency

The immediate incentive behind this push for support came from the financial thrashing arts took this past year. Nonprofit arts organizations in Collier County were asked to whack their grant requests by about 9% before commissioners even looked at them. Before that, Gov. Ron DeSantis axed all funding under its Division of Arts and Culture, shorting Collier County groups by roughly $1.5 million.

In Collier County the statistics for support are in their favor. The nonprofit arts alone stimulated $147.1 million in spending even apart from ticket prices in Collier, according to its most recent figures from a 2022 Americans for the Arts study. But it hasn’t hit the gong with governmental bodies, despite its accounting for $3.9 million local tax revenue, $2.9 state tax revenue and $22.5 in federal taxes.

The arts community of Southwest Florida has been brainstorming to imprint the importance of the arts, and to get strong, vocal support for it more broadly.

A full version of this story appears in the upcoming Jan. 31 issue of The Naples Press.

Copyright 2025 Gulfshore Life Media, LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior written consent.

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