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Houston artists, groups, and festivals land $13.3M grant from Mayor's office

Local artists will receive $13 million next year from the city.

Photo via Garden Theater

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.

dance troupe 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.

untitled art 2026

Prestigious contemporary art fair returns to Houston for 2026

Courtesy of World Red Eye

Untitled Art, the acclaimed contemporary art fair, returns to Houston this October.

A prestigious contemporary art fair is coming back to the Bayou City. Untitled Art, Houston returns this October for its second edition. To mark the occasion and kick off plans, the show commissioned two artist projects that will be unveiled this weekend at the 39th annual Art Car Parade on Saturday, April 11 in downtown Houston.

The art show will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center October 2 to 4. An invitation-only VIP and Press Preview will take place on Thursday, October 1.

Houston was the organization’s first expansion from its home base in Miami. When the show arrived in the city last fall, it showcased the works of contemporary artists from Houston, other parts of Texas, and around the world.

Houstonians showed lots of enthusiasm for last year’s inaugural fair. The organization reported that several galleries reported six-figure sales and sold-out booths, and leaders from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Menil Collection, and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston were in attendance all weekend.

This year, the show promises to be even more dynamic, with programming that includes live podcast recordings, panel discussions, culinary activations, and artist-led projects with an emphasis on embedding the fair within Houston’s civic and cultural fabric. Show attendees can expect an international roster of galleries alongside collectors, curators, and artists increasingly attuned to Houston’s evolving position as both a cultural gateway to Latin America and a substantial force in the international art scene.

“Houston has proven to be a vital artery for the contemporary art market, blending a deep institutional history with a bold, global future,” Jeffrey Lawson, founder of Untitled Art, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to return and deepen our commitment to the city’s creative community.”

Beyond the exhibits at the show, Untitled Art has made a commitment to helping ensure art and art collecting is accessible to the larger community. Last year, programming events took place all over the the city, with private collection visits, studio tours with artists, and guided engagements at institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Menil Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and Asia Society Texas Center, in collaboration with more than two dozen cultural partners.

This year’s Art Car entry marks the first of its kind for the organization. Untitled Art commissioned collaborations with ascendant emerging Los Angeles-based artists Aryo Toh Djojo and Mario Ayala. Ayala's exhibition Seven Vans is currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

“Houston continues to assert itself as a cultural capital of the South, and the inaugural edition confirmed that there is a serious and attentive audience invested in contemporary art from local, national, and international dealers alike," said Michael Slenske, director of Untitled Art, Houston.

Information about ticket sales will be available closer to the opening.

Courtesy of World Red Eye

Untitled Art, the acclaimed contemporary art fair, returns to Houston this October.

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