DEPARTMENT: Department for Culture and Creative Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Felix N. Padron
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
FY 2015 stART Place Grant Awards
SUMMARY:
This ordinance allocates $32,000.00 in Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) funds and authorizing contracts with Anna de Luna, Jim Mendiola, Elijiah Rios, Universal Style School, and Fabiola Ochoa Torralba for operating expenses.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
For over twenty five years, the Department for Culture and Creative Development (DCCD) has managed and implemented the City's arts funding process. The goal of the process is to invest in arts and cultural programs that deliver excellence, innovation and engage audiences in the unique experience of San Antonio. On May 8, 2014 City Council authorized Ordinance No. 2014-05-08-0323, approving and adopting revisions to the Arts Funding Guidelines to be effective for the Fiscal Year 2015 funding cycle.
The revised Arts Funding Guidelines designed five distinctive programs that support a wide range of arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, artist collectives and neighborhood groups to collectively animate the economic vitality of the arts for our diverse community. A new program, stART Place was created as part of this effort. All programs will adhere to a competitive process that established by an application, reviewed and scored by an independent panel of regional and local art experts, as well as staff and Cultural Arts Board (CAB) members.
The stART Place program provides one year grants to arts organizations, neighborhood associations, and local artists/artists collectives to support creative projects that provide meaningful community enrichment and transformation. The goal of stART Place is to create vibrant and energetic neighborhoods infused with culture and to showcase San Antonio as a center for creative activity.
In December 2014 staff announced the stART Place application process through its website, newsletter, media releases and advertisements. Staff also hosted two (2) application workshops during the month to educate and inform the public. DCCD opened the on-line stART Place applications on January 5, 2015 and host four (4) additional workshops.
The City received twenty one stART Place applications for FY 2015 TCA funding. In accordance with the stART Place Selection Procedures for the DCCD Funding Division, an evaluation committee was established to score and rank applications.
The applications were evaluated based on:
1. Artistic Excellence (50 points)
2. Impact to Neighborhood being served (30 points)
3. Program Operational Feasibility (20 points)
Evaluation Team members consisted of staff from the Department for Culture and Creative Development and local and regional arts experts. The following applications were recommended for award:
Applicant Name |
Average Score |
Recommended Award |
Elijiah Rios |
90 |
$ 7,029.90 |
Universal Style School |
90 |
$ 7,029.90 |
Jim Mendiola |
88 |
$ 6,873.68 |
Anna de Luna |
87 |
$ 6,795.57 |
Fabiola Ochoa Torralba |
87 |
$ 4,271.02 |
Total TCA Funds |
$32,000.00 |
ISSUE:
The Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) funds were awarded to the City of San Antonio for re-granting purposes. The award of funds to local cultural organizations, individual artists, artist collectives and neighborhood groups is critical to the success and vitality of San Antonio's creative and tourism economies. The allocation of $32,000.00 available in TCA stART Place Program funds requires City Council action due to the 1991 Esperanza and City of San Antonio Consent Decree.
ALTERNATIVES:
The allocation of stART Place Program funds requires City Council action. Council may choose to not allocate these funds; however, the TCA funds were awarded to the City for re-granting purposes. If this allocation is not approved, the City must initiation another application process. If these funds are not allocated, the City will lose the opportunity to provide the funds to support creative projects that provide meaningful community enrichment and transformation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance allocates $32,000.00 in Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) grant funds and authorizing contracts with Anna de Luna, Jim Mendiola, Elijiah Rios, Universal Style School, and Fabiola Ochoa Torralba for operating expenses. The Texas Commission on the Arts funds were provided to the City for re-granting purposes and included in the DCCD FY 2015 Adopted Budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff and the Cultural Arts Board recommend allocation of the TCA funds to this group of five artists and organizations so they may deliver excellence, innovation and engage audiences in the unique experience of San Antonio.