Kansas State Art Funding Distorted as ‘Drag Shows for Children’ in Governor’s Race
The Kansas state government awarded grants to two nonprofit arts organizations to fund a visiting artist and operating expenses, according to state contracts and one of the groups. Republican efforts to link the funding to all-ages drag shows don’t hold up to scrutiny.
The dustup over drag shows was sparked by a British tabloid story and pushed by state Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican who is challenging Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, in the Nov. 8 election.
In an Oct. 24 story, DailyMail.com said that the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, part of the state Commerce Department, was “behind a grant that helped fund” an event called the Dada Ball, advertised as “a free, all-ages evening of music, fashion, drag & dancing” at an outdoor art space in Wichita. But the Commerce Department told the tabloid that the claim it had funded the event was “blatantly wrong.”
After the DailyMail.com story was posted, Schmidt in which he said the Kelly administration was “sanctioning and condoning
