Artists, musicians among recipients of more than $21 million in cultural grants

The city of Austin’s Economic Development Department has awarded over $21 million in Hotel Occupancy Tax-funded grants to 502 recipients across the city’s creative sector. This year’s grants, distributed through programs like the Austin Live Music Fund, and the Nexus, Thrive, and Elevate programs from the Cultural Arts Division, aimed to provide funding for individual artists, performers, organizations and businesses focused on arts and music. The Live Music Fund awarded $4.3 million to 17 live music venues, 105 musicians and 14 independent promoters at amounts ranging from $15,000 to $60,000. Nexus awards totaled $500,000 to 102 artists, businesses and creative nonprofits at $5,000 each. Thrive awards, awarded on a two-year cycle, totaled $7.7 million to 35 organizations. Elevate awards accounted for another $9.2 million to 125 nonprofit groups and 104 individual artists or creative businesses. The funding process heavily weighed equity and serving vulnerable populations. That shift, which began in 2017 to address ongoing disparities among arts groups, has resulted in ongoing debate and criticism from many legacy arts groups.