TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS APPROVES GRANTS TOTALING OVER $16.5M, DESIGNATES FOUR NEW CULTURAL DISTRICTS  

On September 4, TCA Commissioners approved funding of 1,099 grants in the first funding round for fiscal year 2026. The grants total over $16.5 million and will go to nonprofits and units of government in 133 Texas cities. These grants include the Arts Create program, which provides operational support to established arts organizations; the Cultural District Project program; the first of two funding rounds for the Arts Respond Project program; the quarterly Arts Respond Performance Support program; and the quarterly Commission Initiatives and Designated Funding program. TCA’s full list of fiscal year 2026 grants is here.

TCA Commissioners also approved the designation of four new cultural districts. Cultural districts are special zones that harness the power of cultural resources to stimulate economic development and community vitality. These districts can be focal points for generating business, attracting tourists, stimulating cultural development and fostering civic pride. The new cultural districts are the 5th Street Mexican American Heritage Corridor & Cultural District in Austin, the Govalle Cultural District in Austin, the Kerrville Cultural District, and the Odessa Arts District. These designations bring the total number of cultural districts in Texas to 57.

Arts Create grants provide year-round operational support to Texas arts organizations with budgets over $50,000. For fiscal year 2026, 475 Arts Create grants totaling over $6.8 million are allocated to 475 organizations in 89 Texas cities.

Arts Respond Cultural District Project grants provide support to projects that use the arts to diversify local economies, generate revenue, and attract visitors and investment. These grants are available to arts organizations and government entities verified as based in TCA-designated cultural districts. For fiscal year 2026, 118 applicants from 37 different cultural districts in 27 Texas cities will receive funding totaling over $7.6 million.

Arts Respond Project grants fund arts-based projects that address one of the priority areas of economic development, education, health and human services, natural resources and agriculture, or public safety and criminal justice. For the first round of these grants in fiscal year 2026, applications from 334 arts organizations in 72 cities will receive funding, for a total over $1.6 million.

Arts Respond Performance Support grants provide partial support to help applicants host an artist from the Texas Touring Roster in their community. The 130 grants for this quarter total $239,265 and will go to 110 organizations and units of government in 67 Texas cities.

The Designated Funding and Commission Initiatives program for this quarter distributed $135,000 received from the National Endowment for the Arts via one $25,000 grant to conduct the Poetry Out Loud high school competition in Texas, and one $35,000 grant to conduct folk arts apprenticeships and related programs and documentation. A third grant for $75,000 will provide art experiences to young patients and their families at hospitals in Houston and McAllen. NEA funding and additional State funding will be distributed in 38 grants of $1,776 each across Texas to celebrate America 250. Finally, a $25,000 grant will provide disaster recovery assistance to the Hill Country Arts Foundation, which sustained severe damage in Kerr County flooding on July 4.

The mission of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is to advance our state economically and culturally by investing in a creative Texas. TCA supports a diverse and innovative arts community in Texas, throughout the nation and internationally by providing resources to enhance economic development, arts education, cultural tourism and artist sustainability initiatives. For more information on TCA and its programs, please visit arts.texas.gov.