South Carolina Arts Commission Defunds Two LGBTQ-Focused Orgs, Says Art Can’t “Promote Ideology”

The South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) voted to defund two LGBTQ-focused cultural organizations at a meeting on Thursday after forcing the groups to defend their merit in August.At the meeting, the SCAC voted 5-3 to remove funding from the two organizations, the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus and the Proud Mary Theatre Company. Though the funding had initially been promised to the groups, per the South Carolina Post and Courier, back in August, the commission required only the two LGBTQ-focused arts organizations to resubmit budgets and prove their “artistic merit.” These two groups appear to have been singled out of the nearly 180 the SCAC supports. “I thank all the groups that have been involved in the process,” SCAC chairperson Flavia Horton said after the group voted to defund the two organizations. “The commissioners have been under a lot of pressure. There was pressure from the arts world, there is a lot happening. This has been a difficult process. I just want to thank the two organizations for all the work that you’ve done in resending us the documentation.” She also thanked staff for their work during this “difficult situation for all of us.” The meeting, which lasted only 20 minutes, was held on Zoom, allowing the public no way to directly confront commissioners during the vote. EMBED: https://www.youtube.com/live/4g1zuGMne5M Both the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus and the Proud Mary Theater Company expressed surprise and dismay at the vote. Calling this a “difficult day” in a statement released on social media, the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus said it was “deeply disappointed and concerned about what this decision means not only for GGMC, but also for the future of state arts funding in South Carolina.” Losing the promised funds will create “real and lasting financial challenge” to the organization, per the statement. The Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus said that they intend to fight the outcome and are “evaluating legal op