Opinion: The arts got you through the pandemic. Its time to support artists. – Houston Chronicle

What is getting you through the pandemic? Maybe its your favorite album. The familiarity of a movie youve seen countless times. A book that made you feel understood. The arts are essential to our lives, more so now than ever before. But at a time when there is a desperate need for creative expression, the livelihood of artists has never been more tenuous. This is especially true for artists in Houston, where so little relief funding has been directed.

Last month, we learned about Houstons share of the American Rescue Plan Act stimulus funding and how it might be used once the first half arrives on May 10: better pay for firefighters, preserving city services and adding police. We need to use this money to help our local creative community that has helped us all survive this difficult time.

Public funding for the arts in Houston largely comes from a percentage of Hotel Occupancy Taxes (HOT). Grants to artists and arts organizations are awarded based on HOT projections for the coming year, and not on existing income. Contracts for 2020 grants were signed prior to the pandemic using projections that were basically halved; artists expecting $15,000 received less than $9,000. For small organizations that employ many of our local artists? The cuts were even worse. This grant money keeps the lights on, pays wages and is a major source of income for the workers who receive it.

Though the city has approved allocating 63 percent of 2021 HOT funds to the 2020 grantee pool, the pandemic has exposed how deeply flawed our approach to public funding for the arts in our city is, and it must change. Even former Mayor Annise Parker acknowledged in the City of Houstons 2015 cultural plan that HOT tax funding is insufficient to support our arts community. Now, in order to prioritize everyones health and safety, Houstons cultural economy has come to a freeze, and an estimated 60 percent of cultural workers were furloughed or laid off nationally. At a time when it is nearly impossible for artists to find employment and most cultural organizations are still unable to safely operate, the city must do more.

Its unfortunate that despite our world-renowned reputation for performing and visual arts and diverse cultural offerings, Houston is not anywhere near the top of the list when it comes to public funding for the arts for major metropolitan cities nationwide. We are still severely underfunded, and Houston continues to trail its peer cities in this area. As of 2017 the City of Houston spent $6.70 per resident on arts and culture compared to Dallas $16.70 and Austins $22.90.

A Brookings study estimated that by July of 2020, Houstons creative workers were losing $1.3 billion in average monthly earnings. The city knows that artists are struggling and has thus far provided $5 million in CARES aid for artists and arts organizations, but its nowhere near enough. The Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs has told us that theyre using every available resource to help artists, and fortunately, we now have $600 million more in resources available from the new federal stimulus package.

The pandemic has exposed just how harmful and unsustainable Houstons approach to funding the arts is, and how urgent the need is for relief. If Houston continues to follow its current course of disaster-prone arts funding, we face a bleak future for our city. Small and mid-sized cultural organizations will close, artists will choose to leave, and the quality of life for all of us will suffer. But what if we re-imagine a future where our local government treated the creative community as essential partners in weathering this crisis? What if our city followed the lead of other cities that prioritize investing in the arts, despite having smaller populations and fewer resources than we do? With increased funding, new organizations could emerge, artist business owners could create and sell more work, and our creative economy would support the citys economy. If this vision for Houston moves you, stand with us by calling on the mayor and city council to provide significant relief and recovery funding from the new stimulus funds, and to restructure how Houston funds the arts.

Artists and cultural workers in Houston have come together to organize under the new collective, Arts Accountability Houston (AAH). AAH is building a movement to hold our local government accountable to provide short-term relief and long-term change. We have a unique window of opportunity to fundamentally change our city, and we need your help to make this a reality. Join us in making sure local artists get an equitable share of the stimulus funds coming on May 10 so that Houstons arts and culture ecosystem doesnt just survive the final stretch of this pandemic, but emerges stronger and more resilient.

Chong is a visual artist in Houston. Oliver is an organizer. Schlosberg is a Houston-based arts administrator. They are members of Arts Accountability Houston.

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Opinion: The arts got you through the pandemic. Its time to support artists. - Houston Chronicle