As Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner winds down his final term, one of his lasting legacy has just announced a major gift to local arts.

The City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) will award more than $13 million in grants to some 72 individuals and 156 arts and culture nonprofit organizations, the agency announced. Specifically, $13,323,343 will go to individuals, organizations, and fiscally sponsored projects offering public exhibitions, presentations and performances in 2024, per press materials.

These awarded funds come from the Support for Organizations, Festival and Support for Artists and Creative Individuals grant programs, which support local arts and arts groups. Funds are raised by a portion of city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax and managed and administered each year by the Houston Arts Alliance (HAA).

Qualifying for these grants is a lengthy process. Applications go through a two-step process are reviewed by HAA staff for objective eligibility. Then, eligible applications are scored by some 130 panelists, who are experts in the arts and vetted through the HAA Grants Committee of the Board of Directors. After scoring, the competition process is reviewed in full, voted on, then advanced to the Board of HAA for review and vote.

The grants will aid local dance, arts, theater, music groups, and more.Photo courtesy of Theresa Chapman

Once Board review is complete, the results are sent to MOCA for the City’s and mayor’s approval. This year, Turner has approved a new BIPOC boost formula as part of the larger grants competitions’ formulas for funding artists, groups, and festivals. Turner has allocated an additional $800,000 to the grants programs to support the new formulas, according to press materials.

“We began implementing the City’s Arts & Cultural Plan at the beginning of my tenure and MOCA has dedicated itself to increasing access, transparency and equity to the City’s grants system over the last eight years,” Mayor Sylvester Turner noted in a statement. “That hard work was evident in the first equity indicators report where arts grants received a 96-equity score highlighting more opportunity across the city. As we continue to ensure that Houston’s diversity remains its strength, we must continue building an inclusive creative ecosystem where creatives and entities thrive. I am proud to have this as part of my legacy in serving Houston and its people.”

An artistic way to draw an end to his tenure, indeed.