News A governor-appointed arts commission has denied funding from two LGBTQ+ organizations and an artist focused on immigration issues.

October 30, 2026 — 4 min read

Demonstrators sit on the steps of the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, during a Hands Off protest on April 5, 2025. (photo Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

As South Carolinians prepare for Election Day on November 3, some are considering how their vote could affect the governor-appointed South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC). In August, the agency established new guidelines prohibiting the funding of work that promotes "any ideology," echoing Trump’s rhetoric , and denied funding to an artist and two LGBTQ+ performing arts organizations earlier this month.

Comprised of nine governor-appointed volunteers, the SCAC has distributed over $132 million in grants to artists, schools, and cultural organizations across South Carolina since Governor Robert E. McNair established it in 1967.…