City of Houston Awards New Round of Grants to 22 Local Arts Projects

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) is happy to announce another group of recipients of Let Creativity Happen! competitive arts grants.

A total of $55,000 will support 22 creative and innovative projects throughout the City of Houston. The $2,500 grants were awarded to 13 artists, eight organizations and one group.

Funded by the portion of the City of Houston Occupancy Tax that is dedicated to the arts, Let Creativity Happen! is administered by MOCA with the Houston Arts Alliance.

“Since the launch of this grant program last year, the City has offered unique opportunities to risk-taking creative projects that presents the public with bold bodies of work,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “These projects have taken place throughout the City of Houston and have drawn visitors and Houstonians alike to engage with arts and cultural events created through local talent.”

“With the beginning of each cycle, it is always exciting to see how these group of recipients will continue to take a dynamic and fresh approach to engage with their communities, introduce new and unique art experiences, and involve the public in their creativity,” said MOCA Director Debbie McNulty.

“The projects culminate in a presentation where recipients talk about what they created, learned and have an opportunity to engage with other grant recipients,” she said. “I invite everyone to join me at the next 8×8, eight artists x eight minutes, on Thursday, Oct. 17 at The Print Museum (1324 W Clay St, Houston, TX 77019), 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.”

MOCA congratulates all award recipients as they embark on their projects and thank them for their dedication to the arts and cultural vitality of Houston.

To learn more about the Let Creativity Happen! Express Grant program visit: https://www.houstonartsalliance.com/opportunities/grants/let-creativity-happen-express-grants.

The next deadline for grant applications is 5:30 pm Nov. 1.

In photo below: Waterscapes with Buffalo Bayou Partnership by Carrie Schneider

Grant Recipients: Project Title Discipline
#Afro-LatinHTX #Afro-LatinHTX Literature, Radio and Podcast
Gbenga Ayeni Houston Open Canvas: Version 2.0 Painter
Chapman Dance Folding and Unfolding: a dance and visual art collaboration Dance
David Dove Down Time Music
Frame Dance Micro Dances Dance, Music and Film
Irraschenal Pictures Whistle Film Producer
JUICEBOX JUICEBOX Music
Brandon Kafarela BUSSANT Fashion Collective – Launch Fashion & Textiles
KRISTINA KOUTSOUDAS Dance of the Maghreb: A Taste of Culture Dance
Lynn Lane The Noctambulist Multi-media performance art
Melinda Laszcynski and John Forse You know what I could go for… Ceramics and digital
Deniz Lopez All Real Children’s Rising Programming Media and Electronic Arts
Anna Mayer We Are Not Only Everything Sculpture/Social Sculpture
Jesus Medel Journal Writing and Collective Memory Literature (Creative)
Mystery Loves Company Mystery Nights Music
Obsidian Theater Othello The Remix Theater
Reyes Ramierez The Three Masks of Iturbide Villalobos: A Reading and Wrestling Performance Literary, Performing Arts
BABA RUEROB Rue’s World Music/Film
Carrie Schneider Waterscapes with Buffalo Bayou Partnership Socially Engaged Art
Mich Stevenson A Lot A Land Multidisciplinary
Sarah Sudhoff Point of Origin Dance and Kinetic Sound Installation
Young Audiences Inc., of Houston HCJPD Youth Mural Project Visual Art