Tag Archives: Cultural Arts Division
Austin Opera's new HQ welcomes smaller arts orgs to the stage
Austin Opera leaders aim to turn the organization’s new headquarters and performance space into a bustling hub for arts groups increasingly pressured for space in Austin. Last week the group, which holds its major performances at the Long Center for…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 15, 2024
Black arts collective wants progress on city's African American cultural district
An East Austin arts nonprofit is looking to organize musicians, artists and other creatives for job opportunities and to put pressure on the city to move forward with building out plans for the African American Culture and Heritage District that…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 19, 2024
EDD previews changes to Cultural Arts funding programs ahead of consultants' reviews
The Economic Development Department is moving ahead with a handful of adjustments to its pilot programs for Cultural Arts grants, with more changes likely to result from a comprehensive review from three outside consultants. At this week’s Arts Commission meeting,…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 2, 2024
Artists decry delay in city grant payments, putting some projects and events at risk
Arts commissioners have joined local artists in criticizing the city for the prolonged rollout of one of its newer grant programs, which has left some recipients without funding ahead of events they’d organized with expectations of using the city funds.…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 25, 2023
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Budget shortfall forces Austin Music Foundation to suspend operations
The Austin Music Foundation nonprofit group has suspended activity and laid off its employees in response to a budget shortfall of nearly $200,000 from its planned budget of just over $300,000. At least $85,000 of that shortfall is the result…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 7, 2023
Council signals plans to review, revise new Cultural Arts grant program
City Council’s approval last week of nearly $4 million to fund a new Cultural Arts grant program came with an indication that the evaluation and allocation criteria may get a hard review and revisions to address loud concerns from arts…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 28, 2023
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New cultural arts awards bring opportunities, disappointment for applicants
Staff in the city’s Cultural Arts Division prepared themselves to hear some frustration in response to the selection of the first recipients of a radically structured system for awarding arts contracts. During last week’s Arts Commission meeting, staffers reviewed the steps…
Music & Entertainment • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 2, 2023
City’s hotel tax on the upswing after pandemic
The city’s Arts Commission heard an update last week on the status of the Cultural Arts Fund and Hotel Occupancy Tax collection numbers for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2022-23. After a rough showing during the pandemic, there are…
Budget • By Nina Hernandez • Feb 1, 2023
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Staffing issues cause slow rollout of arts, historic preservation programs
The Economic Development Department plans to wait until fall to begin spinning up three programs for music, arts and historic preservation that are funded by proceeds from the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax. Portions of those programs aren’t slated to become…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 7, 2022
Cultural Arts continues revisions for arts contracts funded by hotel tax
The city is moving ahead with further revisions to its process for awarding contracts for Cultural Arts funding, with the rollout of the first phase of a three-tiered pilot program expected to take place in October. Cultural Arts staff members…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 2, 2022
Council moves forward with arts funding plan, promising relief for nonprofit grant applicants
Following the recommendations of the Arts Commission, City Council has approved funding for cultural arts programs with plans to significantly expand its nonprofit relief grant program. That’s good news for the program’s applicants, who can all expect to see checks…
City Council • By Kali Bramble • Nov 23, 2021
Tovo eyes historic preservation funds for undisclosed property negotiations
The grant program that uses Hotel Occupancy Tax money to help improve historic sites could be put on hold for a year so the city could use its funding to purchase historic sites. At City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee…
