Arts contribute big to Texas economy
Political climate puts pressure on already anxious cultural leaders
A rts leaders who perennially defend the value of cultural programs to budget-cutting lawmakers and skeptical citizens are feeling increased pressure these days.
During Arts Advocacy Day at the Texas Legislature Thursday, the nonprofit Texas Cultural Trust came out with guns ablazing. Its ammo: The 2017 State of the Arts Report, which shows that arts and culture industries now generate $5.5 billion annually for the economy, up from $5.1 billion in the 2015 report and $4.3 billion in 2005. Arts industries, through 42 sectors, also contribute nearly $343 million in state sales tax revenues.
The report also made a strong case for increased school funding, citing findings that arts education increases passing rates, test scores and attendance; and that 99 percent of Texas parents want their children to have better access to the arts in schools.
On the federal level, the National Endowment for the Arts could face challenges from congress and the Trump administration, which has hinted that it might eliminate the agency as part of a broad cost-cutting measure.
The NEA received about $148 million last year, a barelyperceptible fraction of the $3.5 billion federal budget. About 80 percent was distributed in 2,400 grants that impacted nearly 16,000 communities, reaching every Congressional district in the U.S.
Arts leaders in Houston and across the country are debating how the loss of the NEA would impact them.
The NEA’s current Houston-area grants for the “fall 2017” funding cycle total more than $695,000. Two education-oriented groups — Writers in the Schools and Young Audiences of Houston’s Arts Access Initiative — each received $100,000 grants.
But NEA grants also helped support such high-profile projects as the Alley Theatre’s world premiere of the play “Syncing Ink,” which opened Super Bowl week; Houston Grand Opera’s recent staging of “Nixon in China;” the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s upcoming “Adios, Utopia” exhibition of Cuban art; and new Houston Ballet productions.
The arts don’t exist in a silo. Any significant drop in arts funding also could impact the state’s tourism industry. Travel spending in Texas surpassed $69 billion in 2015, when one in five visitors were “cultural tourists.” That’s one reason why the city of Houston, through the Mayor’s office of cultural affairs, has amped up its support of the arts.
The city expects to award more than $15.4 million in arts grants in 2017, primarily from Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues, to support thousands of programs by more than 250 local groups.
Still, especially in cities like Houston, the arts depend more on individual patronage than government funds for their survival. Individual philanthropy accounts for 70 percent of Houston arts and culture budgets. Foundations also are significant funders.
The Houston Endowment distributed almost $10 million in arts and culture grants in 2015. Dozens of additional arts projects were funded with more than $64 million the endowment awarded in other categories such as education, healthcare and green spaces.
This year’s political climate may be intense, but the challenges aren’t new, said Lisa Hall, the Houston Endowment’s vice president for programs. “There’s a lot of ambiguity and a lot of anxiousness in a lot of different areas. That’s been true for a while.”
Program officer Long Chu said the endowment wants to leverage the power of arts and culture as civic assets. He sees how they can be incorporated in programs that address myriad needs — even programs that make refugee and immigrants feel welcome.
“This kind of work needs multisector attention. It needs everyone on board,” Chu said. “It’s not philanthropy replacing bad government decisions.”