Texas city cuts “vital” funding for “beloved” art walk over “sexual” LGBTQ+ exhibits

City Council members in Lubbock, Texas, have cut funding for its monthly Art Trail event because it features LGBTQ+ activities.

City council members cut $30,000 in total, which makes up about a quarter of the funding for the First Friday Art Trail.

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City Councilmember David Glasheen said that he “led an effort to decline the grant” because of a drag show that took place, saying he believes “it is wrong to target children and families with sexual content.”

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He added, “the intention is to offer full drag performances on the Art Trail in the next year.”

The Art Trail event is considered an integral part of Texas’ art scene, according to The Dallas Express. The event is funded by Hotel Occupancy Tax grant, which supports art centers, museums, galleries, and local businesses.

During Pride Month, the Art Trail featured events such as drag performances, exhibits that encouraged using more inclusive language, and a workshop called “Queering Texas — a child-friendly LGBT workshop.”

Mayor Mark McBrayer supported pulling the plug on arts funding, saying, “I see some people shaking their heads in the audience, but the fact of the matter is, drag queen performances are sexualized. We have no business spending tax money promoting that for an event that’s supposed to be, I believe, family-friendly.”

Mayor McBrayer, along with Councilmembers Jennifer Wilson, Tim Collins, Brayden Rose, Gordon Harris, and Glasheen, voted to cut the funding. Only one council member, Christy Martinez-Garcia voted against the motion.

She told The Texas Tribune she was blindsided by the decision.

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

Martinez-Garcia said that the event is extremely popular, attracting about 20,000 people monthly.

“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.” She has requested to put the item on the agenda for reconsideration at their next meeting. 

The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA) operates the event and condemned the decision.

“There was no reason to cut this vital funding for a beloved community event,” argued LHUCA in a statement posted on Instagram following the vote. “We are saddened to see First Friday Art Trail suffer as a result of this decision by the Lubbock City Council.”

The statement also noted the drag performance in question was not held on its property, but “at a separate entity.”

Opposition to drag performances has become increasingly common across the United States. Last week, Tennessee banned drag performances, also under the guise of protecting children. The Adult Entertainment Act (AEA) bans “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest” from appearing “on public property” or “in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.”

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