BALTIMORE – A dispute has emerged between the Baltimore City Inspector General’s Office (IG) and the Mayor’s Office over the use of federal COVID-19 relief funds to support the 2025 Artscape festival. An investigation revealed that over $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds were allocated to musical artists performing at the event, exceeding the initially approved budget.
The Inspector General’s report, released on , detailed that $516,150 of a $1.6 million ARPA grant was used for musical talent. This included $240,500 paid to one headlining performer and $125,000 to another. The spending significantly surpassed the approved $300,000 performance talent budget and the $40,000 booking fee budget.
The report further found that a total of $582,809 in ARPA funds was reallocated without the required approval from the Chief Recovery Officer or the Board of Estimates. $26,546 was used for a Mayor’s VIP Reception held during Artscape weekend.
While the names of the headlining performers were not initially disclosed in the Inspector General’s report, subsequent reporting identified them as Fantasia and Robin Thicke. Nine other Artscape performers received a combined $40,650 in ARPA funds.
The process for selecting Artscape’s entertainment appears to have been informal, with an unnamed Mayor’s Office employee telling the Inspector General that the mayor is typically asked for a “wish list” of performers. “You usually just ask the mayor, ‘Hey, anyone on your wish list? Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they say no,’” the employee reportedly stated.
The allocation of funds to the Mayor’s VIP Reception included $10,860.25 in direct ARPA payments to six vendors. The Artscape Festival Operations Director received $26,546.73 in ARPA funds, alongside $6,856.82 in state funds, to coordinate the reception and a VIP cigar lounge at the War Memorial Building.
The Mayor’s Office has defended the use of ARPA funds, asserting that the money was not directly used to purchase alcohol, despite documentation showing alcohol purchases were prohibited under federal rules. The City claims the $26,000 allocated to the VIP reception covered “facility rental, room set-up, decor, and signage.” An additional $10,000 was reportedly paid to an unnamed actress for hosting an invitation-only Artscape after-party.
The Inspector General’s report highlighted a lack of competitive bidding for the talent booking vendor, noting that because the grant was categorized as “Revenue Replacement” under federal guidelines, competitive procurement rules did not apply. Investigators also reviewed hospitality riders that included alcohol requests, but were unable to confirm whether ARPA funds were used for those purchases due to a lack of required receipts.
The City’s justification for using ARPA funds for Artscape rests on the argument that the festival falls under the U.S. Treasury’s definition of “government services.” According to the Mayor’s Office, Artscape “generates jobs, innovation, and public art which enhances the value of the festival’s footprint.” The City also pointed to the cancellation of the festival in and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and challenges faced in and – including weather-related disruptions – which resulted in economic losses for the city.
The Inspector General’s report recommended that the City “develop standard operating processes for events such as Artscape to help define roles and responsibilities among the entities involved and ensure the City receives the best possible cost when selecting vendors.”
While the Inspector General did not formally accuse the City of misusing ARPA funds, the report referenced U.S. Treasury guidelines regarding permissible uses of the funds, which prioritize essential government services such as public safety, health, education, and infrastructure. The report noted that ARPA funds can be used to replace lost revenue for the provision of government services, but the application of this provision to a large-scale arts festival is now under scrutiny.
The Mayor’s Office responded to the report by stating that it “attempts to raise questions about various aspects of the Artscape budget and utilization of ARPA funds that seem to insinuate impropriety where none exists.”
The controversy raises questions about the appropriate use of federal COVID-19 relief funds and the level of oversight in allocating those funds to cultural events. The situation in Baltimore may draw attention to similar spending practices in other cities that received ARPA funding, as municipalities across the United States continue to grapple with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
