Texas city strips funding for monthly art event over drag show

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — The Lubbock City Council has voted to strip funding from a popular free monthly arts walk, after a council member suggested the event promoted a drag show.

The 5-2 vote on Tuesday strips the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts of $30,000 of tax dollars collected from hotel stays — about a quarter of the funding for the First Friday Art Trail.

David Glasheen, the council member who proposed the cut, suggested the money was used to promote drag shows and LGBTQ+ programs marketed as family-friendly.

The City Council’s vote is the latest example of Texas elected officials seeking to limit the role of LGBTQ+ people in civic life. During the 2023 legislative session, state lawmakers approved several bills — including one that sought to ban drag shows in public places — that the LGBTQ+ community and free speech advocates called unconstitutional. At the same time, local school boards and city councils have pushed policies that limit access to certain books in libraries and access to restrooms.

Backlash in Lubbock has been swift.

Residents and members of the arts community decried the vote, which they say was unexpected. The agenda suggested the council would approve more than a half million dollars in grant funding for a variety of art projects by unanimous consent. However, Glasheen asked for a separate vote on the grant money to debate the art walk funding.

Glasheen, who was recently elected to his first time on council, wanted to pull the item from the agenda to remove the art trail as a recipient of the money.

Glasheen said it wasn’t appropriate to “target” children with child-friendly LGBTQ+ workshops.

“It’s certainly not appropriate for tax dollars to be used to promote it,” Glasheen said.

Council member Christy Martinez-Garcia, who represents the north side of Lubbock where the art walk takes place, looked puzzled when the discussion started. She later said she was blindsided by it.

“I don’t think anybody was prepared for this,” Martinez-Garcia told The Texas Tribune. “More people attend First Friday than vote.”

Martinez-Garcia described the trail as a hugely successful event that attracts about 20,000 people monthly. She said it’s in the city’s best interest to be inclusive.

“We need to make it open for anybody and everybody, I’m straight but I don’t hate,” Martinez-Garcia told her fellow council members. “I appreciate your input, but it’s so important that we don’t pick who we are representing.”

Lubbock’s new mayor, Mark McBrayer, agreed with Glasheen, saying the city has no business spending taxpayer money promoting “sexualized performances.”

“I love the First Friday, I’ve enjoyed it many times,” McBrayer said. “I think it’s unfortunate they chose to go in this direction. I can’t support spending money, it’s a slippery slope.”

McBrayer said he supports enhancing cultural activities in Lubbock, but the people who host it “need to take the temperature of the community in which they exist.”

In a statement, the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, which manages the trail, said it was disappointed and disheartened by the decision. The center said it was not consulted about the funding request or asked about the LGBTQ+ programming by the City Council beforehand.

“The programming in question was not held on LHUCA property, but rather at a separate entity in control of their own creative programming,” the statement said.

Lindsey Maestri, executive director for the center, said the cut will impact the city’s downtown economy along with the vendors, artists and businesses who participate in the event. Maestri said they were surprised by the quick response from the community, which includes donations to the center.

“If they cut it this year, they will probably continue to cut it,” Maestri said.

Civic Lubbock, which administers the grant, said in a statement that the funding requested covers marketing for the art trail, a trolley service, musician and artists fees for those performing on the art center campus, and security. There are more than 15 venues that participate on the trail, and each venue is in charge of its own programming.

Martinez-Garcia has requested to put the item on the agenda for reconsideration at their next meeting. She also said she’s going to be more cautious of council meetings going forward.

“It’s evident that the culture we had changed, it’s a different style of leadership,” Martinez-Garcia said. “I think when we come to the dais, we need to be respectful of each and our districts.”

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.