Nearly three years after the city approved funding to upgrade the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex, the project remains incomplete. The wait for new theater seating to complete the upgrade has been pushed back to at least summer 2026 amid departmental transitions and procurement delays. The delay extends a yearslong effort to modernize the sizable East […]
Office of Arts Culture Music and Entertainment
Posted inCity Hall
Council to weigh new placement, funding rules for public art
Austin City Council will consider changes in September to the Art in Public Places program. The changes could expand where publicly-funded artwork can be located, apply new requirements to some public-private partnership projects and allow more flexibility in using funds for maintenance and relocation. The Art In Public Places (AIPP) program, created in 1985, allocates […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Live Music Fund reforms see improved compliance among local musicians
City staff told members of the Music Commission on Monday that nearly all recipients in the current cycle of the city’s Live Music Fund grant program are in compliance with reporting requirements — a marked improvement from the program’s pilot year, when dozens of musicians failed to complete necessary documentation. Staff attributed the stronger performance […]
Posted inCity Hall
Jobs and redevelopment take center stage in annual economic development report
The Economic Development Department says it supported more than 27,000 jobs and distributed over $54 million in community investments during fiscal year 2024, according to its recently released annual report. The report outlines the department’s evolving priorities, including the transfer of its cultural programs to a new Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment and […]
Posted inAustin
ACME previews grant updates, community plans at Music Commission meeting
The city’s newly formed Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) is moving forward with a restructuring of cultural funding programs, with plans to complete new grant guidelines by mid-summer, launch applications in August, and distribute funding by early next year. At Monday’s meeting of the Music Commission, assistant director Morgan Messick detailed the […]
Posted inCity Council
City pauses $10M in airport art over concerns local creatives were excluded
The city has paused three significant public art contracts intended for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion, in a move that may signal a reconsideration of how prominently the city should promote local artists in major public spaces. Three contract approvals totaling more than $10 million have been pulled from next week’s City Council agenda, following […]
Posted inCity Hall
City opens new office to address arts, music and cultural needs
The city has announced the creation of a new office that will consolidate the operations of the Music and Entertainment Division and the Cultural Arts Division, in a decision intended to improve support for the city’s creative industries. The new Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment will operate as a stand-alone entity led by […]