March 2025

Honoring Women’s History Month: A Conversation with Taylor Jackson, A Visionary Leader in the Arts

What better way to honor Women’s History Month than by highlighting a trailblazer who has dedicated her career to uplifting the arts and empowering creative communities? In this exclusive interview, we delve into the inspiring journey of Taylor Jackson, a dynamic leader whose passion for advocacy, culture, and artistic expression has made a profound impact on Houston’s creative landscape.

From her early beginnings in Arkansas, where she witnessed firsthand the transformative power of the arts through her mother’s advocacy, to her new role as CEO and Director of Grants at the Houston Arts Alliance, Taylor has remained steadfast in her mission to champion the voices of artists, cultural organizations, and creatives. Her commitment to fostering collaboration, securing resources, and strengthening the artistic community has cemented her as a driving force in arts leadership.

Join us as we explore Taylor’s vision for the future of arts funding, her insights on the intersection of history, humanities, and advocacy, and her unwavering belief in the power of mentorship and community-driven solutions. This is a story of resilience, leadership, and the boundless impact of the arts in shaping our society.

Can you share what inspired you to pursue a career in the arts and cultural sector, and how your journey began in Arkansas? 

The short answer is my mom. Growing up she taught high school and always advocated for arts to become a more integral educational tool for students. She founded arts-centered afterschool and summer programs and, of course, I was always a participant. And I loved it! I saw first-hand how arts programming enhanced my educational experience and when I was in a position to support that work in my career, I made sure to pay it forward.

As the incoming CEO and Director of Grants at the Houston Arts Alliance, what are your primary goals for supporting Houston's art organizations and creative individuals? 

You’ll hear this advocacy theme from me often because it’s fundamental to sustaining and expanding the impact of the arts and cultural sector. Right now, we’re in an exciting moment where there’s a collective push to strengthen advocacy efforts and secure more resources for the sector. I’m especially inspired by the work of HouArts in Action, a group that was formed to address a long-standing arts advocacy gap. Collaborating with organizations that are equally committed to the sustainability of arts groups and creative individuals is a major priority for me.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel or work in silos—there’s already incredible, impactful work happening across the city. Now is the time to come together and strategize as a sector on how we can build a stronger, thriving arts and cultural community. This includes everything from advocacy efforts to workshops and programs that help arts organizations and creatives sustain and grow their work.

How did your experience as Executive Director at Providence ¡CityArts! for Youth influence your leadership approach and your ability to align mission, vision, and values? 

That was my first experience being in a senior leadership position at an organization. I think being able to align mission, vision, and values is a foundational skill set required of a senior leader. That drives the work of the entire organization. It pushes you to be intentional and clear about every facet of the work. It’s also a way to facilitate overarching staff alignment ——if there is a collective understanding and by-in from staff, that makes it a lot easier to work as a team to accomplish organizational goals. This is particularly important to me as a leader. I’ve learned that my strength and effectiveness are directly tied to the strength of my team. It’s important to me that they feel a sense of ownership and investment in the organization’s work—that’s what truly drives impact.

What unique perspectives did your education in Public Humanities at Brown University and History at Rhodes College bring to your current work in the arts and grants field? 

It’s interesting looking back, I feel like those two programs were the perfect foundation for eventually stepping into the world of arts funding. Studying history helped me understand the importance of historical context in shaping the future. It encouraged me to reflect on what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s needed to build a stronger, more sustainable path forward.

My graduate studies in Public Humanities took that even further. It was an incredibly fluid and interdisciplinary approach to museum studies and nonprofit management, with a strong emphasis on both theory and hands-on experience. The program’s focus on practicums allowed me to gain real-world insight through internships in the arts and cultural sector while also applying the theoretical frameworks we explored in class.

There’s no question that this field is deeply intertwined with social, political, and economic factors. One of the most valuable lessons I took away from my studies was the importance of looking at the work happening across the field on a global scale. Engaging with thought leaders, artists, and change-makers is essential to strengthening the sector as a whole.

Can you discuss your role as a Curatorial Fellow at the Swearer Center of Public Service and how it prepared you for your leadership roles? 

This was a really cool opportunity to curate an exhibition for the Swearer Center, showcasing its history on Brown’s campus. Honestly, it was pretty much a solo project—I wasn’t working as part of a larger exhibition team—but I did collaborate closely with the Center’s staff to make sure the exhibit reflected a shared vision. We worked together to determine what elements of the organization’s history were most important to highlight and how to present them in a meaningful way.

Looking back, I think this experience really taught me how to listen, which is such a crucial skill for leadership. Sometimes, being an effective leader means knowing when to step back, create space for others, and take on the role of a listener and learner.

Your work involves governance, financial planning, and strategy. How do you balance the creative and administrative aspects of your roles? 

I think my overall approach to my administrative duties is inherently just creative. That’s how I keep things spicy! There really is an art to making sure all the organizational responsibilities fit together and make sense as a whole. Governance ultimately speaks to your ability to financially plan and strategize. It’s exciting to sit down and fit all these moving administrative pieces together like a puzzle. My ability to do that effectively is in a sense, my art practice. 

What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities for arts organizations in Houston, and how do you plan to address them? 

That’s a big question—mostly because the sector faces so many nuanced challenges and opportunities, and it’s hard to pinpoint just one that speaks for everyone. Historically, funding and resources have been a consistent concern, but that’s really just one piece of a much bigger picture.

As a leader, I’ve always been mindful not to assume I have all the answers or to speak on behalf of the arts and cultural community about its challenges. Instead, my approach is to bring people to the table and ask: What are the gaps? What’s missing? What’s needed? From there, I believe the best way forward is to center community-driven solutions that draw from a range of perspectives and expertise. That kind of collective buy-in is key to building a future that truly serves everyone.

As a fellow Google Next Gen member alongside Carlos Wallace, Sergio Selvera & Jane Taylor, how has joining this influential network shaped your career trajectory and leadership style? 

It’s definitely reinforced the importance of having a strong, supportive network. As someone who tends to be pretty independently driven, this group reminded me just how powerful community can be. We can’t do this work alone.

As a leader, it’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to tap into a peer’s expertise when something falls outside your scope but could add real value to your work. And it’s okay to lean on these relationships for emotional and mental support—because let’s be real, this work is hard. The reminder that we’re all in this together takes some of the pressure off—you don’t have to have it all together and have all the answers all the time.

Through Next Gen, I’ve built lifelong connections, which turned out to be one of the most unexpected and valuable parts of my leadership journey.

Reflecting on your time as a 2x American Mock Trial Association All-American and your involvement in student leadership, how have those experiences shaped your approach to problem-solving and advocacy? 

Those opportunities taught me the art of resilience. You’re not always going to win; you’re going to get a lot of no’s —- but that’s not even close to being a reason to stop working towards the wins and the yes’s. It’s an opportunity to re-strategize, to get more creative.

What advice would you offer to aspiring arts leaders who want to make an impact in their communities, especially in cities as dynamic and diverse as Houston? 

Be sure to center the community on everything that you do. Prioritize mechanisms that build trust and transparency with community members. Invite them to the table. Design policies and programs with their input at the forefront. Ensure that you’re inviting community representatives, that reflects the diversity of the arts and cultural landscape. It’s okay not to have all the answers because there is a expansive community of stakeholders out there that are willing to help—— that want to help. You don’t have to do this alone. 

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