Sam Durant's installation, “We Are the People,” in 2003. Photo by Rick Lowe, Founder of Project Row Houses.
Houston is aware that more focus needs to be emphasized on its growing arts community. Minority communities such as the African American and Latino communities have received less grant funding in the last year, according to LA Times writer, Mike Boehm. In Latino and African American communities, box office receipts were lower than mainstream company revenues in 2013. The article speculates that these low-income organizations struggle the most with funding. Being in the know is a major key to receiving adequate funding for projects. Some organizations have found their funding through different routes.
Created By: Zondra Victor. A display of the box office revenues for African Americans and Latinos compared to other mainstream organizations in the U.S.
The Huffington Post has a sub site called HuffPost Black Voices. On April 20th, an article entitled How Artists Are Using Row Houses To Empower Citizens In Houston was posted from the Huffington Post’s Arts & Culture category.
Writer Priscilla Frank tells the history of the Project Row Houses located in Houston’s Third Ward. Rick Lowe is one of the founders of the 22-shot gun-house art project that began in 1993. In 2014, the artist won a MacArthur Foundation genius grant that gives recipients $625,000 over a five-year span. Despite all of the accolades, Lowe stays grounded in his commitment to keep Houston’s history alive in addition to showcasing the evolution of the world through the eclectic talents of the exhibited artists. Project Row Houses hold a special unspoken power within its sculptures and multimedia art.
The Project Row Houses Shattering the Concrete: Artists, Activists, and Instigators exhibit began its showing on March 26th. It will be available until June 19th. Project Row Houses is located at 2521 Holman St. and admission is free.
Certain schools are being proactive and taking initiative in order to fund arts programs such as the one at St. Agnes Academy. The all girls school is raising $20 million dollars to pay for the construction so that they could save their $12 million dollar grant money for programming. The expansion will create more parking spaces as well as studios and theaters for the student performers. St. Agnes Academy is now undergoing construction for their new facilities.
Houston Art Showcase is available for student artists and art professionals who need more knowledge about funding for arts programs. Angela Smith’s article, The Art Issue: How to Write a Proposal (& Get Funding) in the Arts, discusses what she learned at a workshop she attended with Fresh Arts. Smith shares tips on what to include in grant letters in order to receive the most sufficient grant awards possible for workspace. There are four main concepts that should be included in a grant letter: concept, budget, what artwork will be included, and whether it fits within the organization’s mission. To learn more about this school, visit www.st-agnes.org.