Cultural Affairs Office

Press and Communications

July 9, 2018 -- The Mayor is calling for Houston’s best ideas to endorse for the national Our Town grant program.

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town grant is interested in projects that bring arts and culture to impact community priorities such as public safety, health, blight and vacancy, environment, job creation, equity, local business development, civic participation and community cohesion. Successful projects will improve the livability of communities, create opportunities and empower residents.

“Houston successfully competed last year with Fifth Ward receiving an Our Town grant,” said The Mayor. “We believe in working across sectors to continue making Houston strong and are excited about artists bringing forth their best ideas for this opportunity.”

The Our Town grant program supports creative placemaking projects that help transform communities into lively, beautiful and resilient places with the arts at their core. Our Town requires partnerships between arts organizations, government, nonprofits and private entities to achieve livability goals for communities. This grant provides an opportunity to embrace the expanding role that culture plays in our community.

The National Endowment for the Arts limits the number of Our Town grant applicants per city and requires a letter of endorsement from The Mayor. Applications that respond to the City’s Arts and Cultural Plan will be most competitive for an endorsement.

For more about the Arts and Cultural Plan, visit: https://www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs/artsandculturalplan.html.

To be considered for endorsement, applicants should submit their concepts with confirmed artists and partners no later than July 23, 2018 to Cultural.Affairs@houstontx.gov. Applicants should consult the Our Town grant program website, which includes guidance and resources for developing successful projects: https://www.arts.gov/grants.

Successful applicants will receive endorsement notification this month for a final submission to the National Endowment for the Arts on August 21, 2018.

To learn more about the City’s cultural programs visit, https://www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs and follow The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs on Facebook and Instagram.