Some good news for our local arts and culture sector: The City of Houston has awarded a total of $5 million dollars to area arts organizations. The funding comes as part of the Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and provides grants from $8,500 to $100,000, which can be used to support artist contracts, marketing in support of the activities in the artist contracts, and staff expenses incurred between July 1, 2021, through the end of this calendar year.

Those entities represent organizations large and small, all of which offer arts programming, education, or awareness for audiences and stakeholders across the Bayou City.

Among the 62 area organizations receiving the grants are: Apollo Chamber Players, Art League of Houston, Classical Theatre Company, Dance Source Houston, The Ensemble Theatre, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston Center for Photography, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Main Street Theater Houston, Rothko Chapel, SHAPE Community Center, Society for Africans in the Diaspora, Society for Indo-American ArtsStages, and Writespace.

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) collaborated with Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), a trusted partner with a track record of helping the city efficiently distribute federal funds within the creative economy, on this funding project.

"The City of Houston is vibrant and renowned because of the diversity of our artists, arts nonprofits, and cultural centers rooted in deep traditions,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a press release announcing the grant awards. “The cultural sector is not just one of our defining features and economic drivers, it is the soul of our city. This funding will help restore our arts ecosystem and reinvigorate our travel and tourism industry.”

Area arts organizations were able to applying for funding through an open application process. A total of 115 applications were submitted, totaling more than $10 million in requested funding between June 1 through July 10, 2023.

While the COVID-19 public health crisis wreaked havoc on businesses and individuals across economic sectors, creative organizations were hit especially hard. According to the Texas Comptroller, the creative industries in Houston saw $1.6 billion in cumulative losses along with a loss of more than 42,000 creative jobs.

“Supporting our arts and cultural organizations and helping them recover from the strain of the pandemic not only strengthens our economy, it strengthens our sense of community,” said Todd Stein, M-AAA’s president and CEO. “We are honored to partner with the MOCA on this grant opportunity to help arts organizations preserve our collective history and amplify artistic voices.”

Those wishing to learn more about the process and awarding of grants can visit M-AAA's website.