Columbus to spend $20 million on city arts scene
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus City Council has approved more than $20 million to support the arts in the city. However, it’s not money that comes from the general fund; instead, it comes from tourists and residents.
You may be used to dealing with pesky ticket fees and probably don’t want to see any extra. However, here in Columbus, the local hotel and event tax make it so the arts here in the city can thrive.
"We funded 1,500 artists last year and 108 arts organizations; we’ll do the same or more this year," Greater Columbus Arts Council President and CEO Tom Katzenmeyer said.
When a customer buys a ticket or a hotel room in the city, there's a small local tax. That money goes into a pot that is then given to the Greater Columbus Arts Council to invest in Columbus arts.
"The ticket fee was actually put in place right before the pandemic and so many of us were cringing of will this come back? Will this be an industry that is viable? And the answer is absolutely yes,” Columbus City Councilmember Nick Bankston said. “These are numbers that are surpassing what we saw in 2019 and pre-pandemic.”
In 2024 $24.6 million was raised from the hotel and cultural fee and is now going to the Greater Columbus Arts Council for them to invest in the city.
"It really shows, again, that our economy is booming and back, but more importantly, that the arts are back in Columbus and that folks are willing to spend that money," Bankston said.
This money makes pay-what-you-can admission, artist grants, murals and much more possible.
"I've been in this job for 12 years,” Katzenmeyer said. “When I started, we were just receiving the bed tax. We then worked with city council to start a new fee, the ticket fee, and we now also get money from the Franklin County Commissioners. So it adds up to about $25 to $30 million depending on where those things land."
Columbus residents and visitors can see the money at work, for example, with the mural assistance program. It launched in 2022 and has funded 81 new murals across the city.