DEPARTMENT: Department for Culture and Creative Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Debbie Racca-Sittre
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
SUBJECT:
FY 2016 and FY2017 stART Place Grant Awards
SUMMARY:
An ordinance allocating $61,000.00 in Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) funds and authorizing the execution of eight contracts for FY2016 and six contracts for FY2017 subject to grant receipt and acceptance of funding from TCA.
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 starting with 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. Funding for stART comes from a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA). All programs adhere to a competitive process that established by an application, reviewed and scored by an independent panel of regional and local art experts, members of the San Antonio Arts Commission-Arts Funding Committee, and DCCD staff.
The stART Place program provides one time 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 March 2016, 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.
The City received fourteen stART Place applications for FY 2016 TCA funding and ten applications for FY 2017 TCA funding. TCA operates under the state of Texas Fiscal Year which is September 1st through August 31st. In accordance with the stART Place Selection Procedures, 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 regional and local art experts, members of the San Antonio Arts Commission-Arts Funding Committee and DCCD staff. The following applications were recommended for award:
|
|
FY2016 |
|
|
|
Applicant Name |
Project Name |
District |
Amount |
|
The AM Project |
The AM Project Bass Bus |
1 |
$ 2,845 |
|
Carolina Storyteller |
Curanderiando |
1 |
$ 2,730 |
|
Fabiola Torralba |
Dance.Community.Engagement |
1, 5 |
$ 6,000 |
|
Deborah Keller-Rihn |
Lighten Up |
1 |
$ 4,950 |
|
Ole Flamenco Studios |
El Feugo del Flamenco |
3 |
$ 4,400 |
|
Kathleen Pittman |
Printing in the Park |
1 |
$ 3,250 |
|
Martinez Street Women’s Center |
Murals |
2, 3 |
$ 4,200 |
|
Blunt US Road Tennis Association |
Paddles for Change |
1, 5, 7 |
$ 2,125 |
|
Total TCA Funds |
|
$30,500 |
|
|
FY2017 |
|
|
|
Applicant Name |
Project Name |
District |
Amount |
|
Veronica Castillo |
Honrando a la Vida y Obra d Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz |
3 |
$ 7,000 |
|
Dreamland Collective |
Peace in the Park |
1 |
$ 3,900 |
|
Forward Progress A&E Center |
Grandmas - A stage play |
2 |
$ 5,400 |
|
House of Trees |
Words Around Town |
1 |
$ 4,400 |
|
JES Production |
Chips & Salsa |
1,2,4,5,6 |
$ 6,000 |
|
SA Storytellers Association |
Story Tellabration!TM |
3 |
$ 3,800 |
|
Total TCA Funds |
|
$30,500 |
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 funds available in TCA stART Place Program requires City Council action as stated in the Art Funding Division Funding Guidelines, adopted in May 2015. In accordance with the 1991 Esperanza and City of San Antonio Consent Decree, the Guidelines must be strictly enforced.
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 will lose its FY2016 TCA Funding. Additionally, City Council could chose not to authorize the FY 2017 contracts in order to review at a later date; however, the solicitation process is complete and staff would not be able to move forward quickly on these grants. FY 2017 is the final year of this five year TCA grant.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This ordinance allocates $30,500.00 in FY 2016 Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) grant funds and authorizes eight contracts. The TCA funds were provided to the City for re-granting purposes and included in the DCCD FY 2016 Adopted Budget.
This ordinance allocates $30,500.00 in FY 2017 TCA grant funds subject to adoption of the City’s budget and acceptance of said grant funds and authorizes six contracts.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff and the San Antonio Arts Commission recommend allocation of the TCA funds to this group of artists and organizations so they may deliver excellence, innovation and engage audiences in the unique experience of San Antonio.