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Arts Commission tightens grant review, adds obscenity screening after criticism
Summary
Ashley Brown, senior deputy director of the South Carolina Arts Commission, told a legislative subcommittee the commission has added a pre-review obscenity screening, uses vetted independent reviewers, and relies on reimbursement-based grants to prevent inappropriate uses of public funds after public controversy over grant recipients.
Ashley Brown, senior deputy director of the South Carolina Arts Commission, told a legislative subcommittee the agency has tightened grant-review processes and added explicit language about obscenity laws in grant guidance after public criticism of some funded projects.
Brown said the commission operates with a staff of about 25 serving all 46 counties and a FY'26 budget in the neighborhood of $17.4 million, primarily state-funded with additional National Endowment for the Arts support ($1.3 million cited). She reiterated a statutory proviso that requires 70% of state funds be granted to outside organizations and described an interactive map and searchable database that show grant distribution by county and program.
Brown outlined several program areas: artist development, arts learning and arts industry. She highlighted FY'25 grant totals of approximately $6.4 million for arts learning, $5.8 million for arts industry/community programming and $325,000 for artist project and career development. She discussed ArtsGrow SC, a program launched in 2020 supported by $20 million in ARP/ESSER funds for arts-based recovery and learning programs.
Addressing recent controversy, Brown said rumors that the commission funded a "gummy bear museum" hosting drag shows had been exaggerated in public debate. She described specific process changes implemented for FY'26: application guidelines now explicitly state what is ineligible, technical review now checks application materials for potential conflicts with South Carolina obscenity laws before they go to peer review, and grant categories (except partnerships) are reimbursement-based so final products must be submitted before payment is released.
A staff witness described reviewer selection: subject-matter reviewers are vetted, background-checked and trained; categories typically receive between two and seven independent reviewers whose scores are averaged and who are restricted to rubric-based scoring. Brown said the agency moved away from in-person "panel" deliberations toward independent review cycles to limit group influence.
Brown also described the Arts Commission's regional "arts hub" plan (six hubs across the state with phased hiring of coordinators), cultural districts intended to serve smaller communities, and direct programs such as the state art collection and an artist entrepreneur incubator. She noted leadership turnover: the commission's executive director will retire July 1 and she will serve as interim director during a search.
Committee members raised concerns about philosophical homogeneity among reviewers and the public role of funding, and Brown emphasized the agency's legal and policy obligations while describing the new technical and final-report controls that can stop disbursement if work conflicts with law. No formal committee action was recorded at the close of the presentation.
