Mayor Sylvester Turner announces the awarding of grants totaling $375,000 to five Visit My Neighborhood recipients. Each is located in the City’s five Complete Communities neighborhoods.
Visit My Neighborhood is a pilot program through which Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) partners with community-based organizations to expand arts and cultural experiences for residents and visitors based on their knowledge and expertise in the local community.
“The City of Houston is deeply invested in fostering an environment in which art and culture can flourish for the sharing and benefit all residents and visitors,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “This grant puts the decisions in the hands of organizations that have chosen to locate and carry out their work in these communities.”
Through a series of brainstorming sessions and follow-up meetings, each community crafted its own project proposal geared toward identifying and elevating the rich cultural resources, artists and assets specific to their community.
Each community also identified a lead organization to apply for funding and each proposal was reviewed by Houston Arts Alliance and the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA).
For a year, the groups will developing arts and cultural experiences that highlight their community’s unique identity through a range of events, including visual and performing arts activities.
Houston Arts Alliance is working closely with the grant recipients by providing guidance and technical assistance throughout the process. The grant recipient lead organizations for each community are as follows:
Acres Homes Multi-Service Center Advisory Committee, Inc. (Acres Homes)
Culture of Health-Advancing Together (Gulfton)
East End Chamber of Commerce (Second Ward)
Avenue CDC (Near Northside)
The Third Ward Cloth Cooperative (Third Ward)
“We wanted to try something new by putting communities in the driver’s seat,” said Debbie McNulty, director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. “The Visit My Neighborhood initiative is ultimately about learning and I am delighted to have five new community partners to learn from and support in their work.”
Complete Communities is about improving neighborhoods so that all of Houston’s residents and business owners can have access to quality services and amenities. It’s about working closely with the residents of communities that haven’t reached their full potential, understanding their strengths and opportunities, and collaborating with partners across the city to strengthen them.
Funding for the grant program is provided by the City of Houston utilizing Hotel Occupancy Taxes.
To learn more about the Complete Communities cultural strategy and other City cultural programs visit, http://www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs and follow the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs on Facebook @HoustonMOCA.