Mexic-Arte pushes for state cultural district while museum reconstruction awaits

Leaders from the Mexic-Arte Museum downtown are at work gathering public input and indexing the cultural organizations along Fifth Street that could help to enhance the area that they hope will receive state recognition as a cultural district for the local Mexican American community. The city gave the area from Republic Square to Plaza Saltillo a cultural corridor designation more than a dozen years ago, and finally posted signage in recognition of that last year.

Sylvia Orozco, the co-founder and executive director of Mexic-Arte, said by next June she and others involved in securing the state designation need to complete public engagement with community members and relevant area organizations, do an inventory of cultural assets, create a marketing plan for the district and assemble a board of directors that would help manage and program the area. They are currently seeking input from an online survey as part of the engagement process, which is being conducted with the help of a $120,000 grant from the Economic Development Department.

Orozco said she hopes to continue efforts to bring more events to Republic Square that honor its history as a major cultural gathering place for the city’s Mexican American community prior to the 1928 plan.

“Helping to return to Republic Square in downtown is the Mexican Independence Celebration, which was originally held at Republic Square,” she said of the planned Sept. 15 event.

The state cultural designation would bring $250,000 in annual funding to the district to provide placemaking and programming that would help to communicate its cultural importance. She said the street signs posted last year have caused some awareness and confusion to those who don’t see any other cultural hallmarks in the area.

“They see the signs, and then they wonder, ‘Well, what is this?’ Then they start asking questions. It’s progressing. The progress has been slow, but there is progress,” she said. “With the Downtown Austin Alliance behind the project and the city as well with the investment of the community engagement, I think the next step is there is going to be an investment in the marketing plan.”

Andrew Gonzales, the consultant helping to conduct the community engagement for the application to the state, said the possible benefits to the area are clear.

“If you look across the state at different cultural heritage districts, it just helps to cultivate a unique cultural landscape in those cities. In our case, it would be not only recognizing the contributions of Austin’s historic Mexican American community, but additionally, celebrating those contributions,” he said.

“A successful application to the state, it would go to further support the Dia de los Muertos celebrations, the Diez y Seis celebrations, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, even possible street fairs. I imagine dreaming big on the level of the Pecan Street Festival would open up space for Mexican American and Latino vendors, supporting economic development of not only the businesses that are along Fifth Street, but also vendors that identify with the cultural heritage that the district is looking to celebrate.”

While work on the application continues, Orozco and others are also continuing to fundraise and complete other work related to the redevelopment of the Mexic-Arte structure, which will see its historic facade preserved but its interior completely rebuilt.

Last week, City Council approved an ordinance change that will waive more than $62,000 in fees from the cost of the project, which is currently budgeted at about $24 million. Of that, $20 million will come from bond money approved by voters in two elections, with Mexic-Arte having raised $1 million toward the remainder.

Orozco said a mural on the Fifth Street side of the building and proposed festival sidewalks will help to add more cultural flavor while the planning and design work moves forward to prepare for construction, which has been eyed to begin next fall.

“We have basically fallen in love with the building, but we know it’s old and it has its deficits. Keeping that façade will be something wonderful, because it’s part of our history,” she said.

“The side of Fifth Street will be a canvas for the continuation of our programs. There’ll be a lot of white walls on the side also so that we can do projections, lighting, different things. The sidewalk on the side will also be expanded, like a great street sidewalk, so that maybe we can also have activities on that, maybe like an artisan market on Saturdays like they do in Mexico.”

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