The Odessa Spire is the tallest lighted public art structure in Texas, and serves as the "inspiring" gateway piece for the eastern entrance to the newly-designated Odessa Cultural District. Read more about this new cultural district below! Photo: Steve Goff.

On September 4, TCA Commissioners approved funding of 1,099 grants in the first funding round for fiscal year 2026. The grants total over $16.5 million and will go to nonprofits and units of government in 133 Texas cities. These grants include the Arts Create program, which provides operational support to established arts organizations; the Cultural District Project program; the first of two funding rounds for the Arts Respond Project program; the quarterly Arts Respond Performance Support program; and the quarterly Designated Funding and Commission Initiatives program. TCA's full list of fiscal year 2026 grants is here.

TCA Commissioners also approved the designation of four new cultural districts. Cultural districts are special zones that harness the power of cultural resources to stimulate economic development and community vitality. These districts can be focal points for generating business, attracting tourists, stimulating cultural development and fostering civic pride. The new cultural districts are the 5th Street Mexican American Heritage Corridor & Cultural District in Austin, the Govalle Cultural District in Austin, the Kerrville Cultural District, and the Odessa Arts District. Please see below for more information on the Odessa Cultural District. We’ll profile the other new cultural districts in future newsletters. These designations bring the total number of cultural districts in Texas to 57.

Arts Create grants provide year-round operational support to Texas arts organizations with budgets over $50,000. For fiscal year 2026, 475 Arts Create grants totaling over $6.8 million are allocated to 475 organizations in 89 Texas cities.

Arts Respond Cultural District Project grants provide support to projects that use the arts to diversify local economies, generate revenue, and attract visitors and investment. These grants are available to arts organizations and government entities verified as based in TCA-designated cultural districts. For fiscal year 2026, 118 applicants from 37 different cultural districts in 27 Texas cities will receive funding totaling over $7.6 million.

Arts Respond Project grants fund arts-based projects that address one of the priority areas of economic development, education, health and human services, natural resources and agriculture, or public safety and criminal justice. For the first round of these grants in fiscal year 2026, applications from 334 arts organizations in 72 cities will receive funding, for a total over $1.6 million.

Arts Respond Performance Support grants provide partial support to help applicants host an artist from the Texas Touring Roster in their community. The 130 grants for this quarter total $239,265 and will go to 110 organizations and units of government in 67 Texas cities.

The Designated Funding and Commission Initiatives program for this quarter distributed $135,000 received from the National Endowment for the Arts via one $25,000 grant to conduct the Poetry Out Loud high school competition in Texas, and one $35,000 grant to conduct folk arts apprenticeships and related programs and documentation. A third grant for $75,000 will provide art experiences to young patients and their families at hospitals in Houston and McAllen. NEA funding and additional State funding will be distributed in 38 grants of $1,776 each across Texas to celebrate America 250. Finally, a $25,000 grant will provide disaster recovery assistance to the Hill Country Arts Foundation, which sustained severe damage in Kerr County flooding on July 4.

If your organization was approved to receive an Arts Create grant, a Cultural District Project grant, or an Arts Respond Project grant for fiscal year 2026 (September 1, 2025-August 31, 2026), you will have some paperwork to do before your new grant(s) can be paid.

Note that all forms and supporting materials should be completed and provided in TCA’s online grants system. This excludes direct deposit authorization forms, which must be faxed or mailed to protect sensitive information.

Revised Budgets

Each funded FY26 Arts Create, Cultural District Project, and Arts Respond Project grant will have a revised budget form that should be filled out and submitted online.

Grant Reports: Due September 30, 2025

Reports are due for grant activities that ended as TCA's prior fiscal year (September 1, 2024-August 31, 2025) concluded.

· Plan ahead—the September 30 deadline is firm and there are no extensions.

· Grant reports must be submitted, and successfully closed out by TCA staff, before new grants will be paid.

· To help ensure timely payment of your FY26 grants, submit your reports and supporting materials well before the deadline.

· Please note that the data collected from these reports is provided to the State of Texas and the National Endowment for the Arts as TCA's main funders. Receiving your complete report on time with appropriate supporting documentation helps TCA make a case for its grants budget.

Top five problems that prevent reports from being approved:

1.     Payments made outside of the period of the grant (check your TCA contract for dates)

2.     Missing data or typo in spreadsheet (check number, date, total amount of check, etc.)

3.     Amounts in expense categories do not match the grant budget page of the online report

4.     Check sequence variance--if you are using multiple checking accounts, include a note for staff

5.     Payments to people are included in categories other than administrative or artistic salaries, contracts, benefits categories.

If you have any questions, please contact our program staff for help (scroll to the bottom of this page to see artistic discipline assignments by staff member).

The Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Cultural Trust are accepting applications for the 2026 class of Young Masters, a joint initiative that provides exemplary Texas student artists in grades 8-11 with the financial help they need to pursue advanced study in the areas of visual arts, literary arts, music, theater, dance, musical theater, folk arts, and media arts.

The state’s most talented young artists will receive the title of “Young Master” and be awarded grants of $5,000 per year to further their studies in their respective disciplines. Students are eligible to receive the grant for two years, but they must submit a report and an update. The students selected for this program will represent the 13th class of Young Masters, which is generously supported by the Butler Texas Young Masters Endowment. To date, the Trust and TCA have given 431 grants to 199 Young Masters, awarding more than $1.3 million. “The Young Masters grant program was created as a way to recognize and support young people pursuing the dream of becoming prominent Texan artists of the next generation,” said TCA Executive Director Gary Gibbs. “We look forward to receiving applications from candidates who are already demonstrating outstanding artistic ability, talent and dedication to developing their knowledge in their chosen discipline.”

Applications, information and guidelines are available online at arts.texas.gov/initiatives/young-masters/. Applications and required supporting materials must be submitted by November 3, 2025. To be considered for the grant, students must be legal U.S. residents living in Texas and participating in a school-based program, a summer institute, or a specialized course of study or receiving private lessons from a qualified professional instructor. They must also maintain passing grades in all academic areas. The Young Masters will be selected by a panel of arts experts from across the state based on artistic excellence, level of commitment and quality of their proposed plan of study. The 2026 Young Masters recipients will be honored at a celebration in spring of 2026 in Austin.

“The Texas Cultural Trust is proud to invest in the next generation of Texas artists,” said Texas Cultural Trust Chief Executive Officer, Heidi Marquez Smith. “These Young Masters are not only advancing their creative education—they are building the foundation for Texas’ cultural future. For many, this grant makes possible the kind of training and opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. We are so grateful to the individuals and organizations that make these transformative opportunities available for young artists.”

TCA is proud to feature Ava Noble (seen here in her 2018 Young Masters headshot) as an example of a recent Young Master. Her rise from a promising young dancer in Dallas to a Broadway performer is a story of talent, tenacity, and transformation. A 2018 recipient of the prestigious Texas Young Masters award, Noble was recognized while attending the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Even then, her star was on the rise—she had already placed among the top 12 in the senior contemporary division at the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition. With support from the Young Masters grant, she pursued advanced training at Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco, laying the groundwork for a career that would soon leap onto the national stage.

After earning her BFA in dance and a minor in musical theater from USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in May 2023, Noble made her Broadway debut in the hit musical & Juliet. As a swing performer, she covered multiple roles including Titania, Lady Capulet, and Benvolio—showcasing her versatility and stamina.

In a whirlwind 24 hours, Noble not only stepped onto the Broadway stage but also performed at the 76th Annual Tony Awards, making both her Broadway and Tony debuts. She later sang a solo at the renowned 54 Below cabaret venue, further cementing her place in New York’s vibrant performing arts scene. Her final performance in & Juliet was on May 25, 2025, closing a chapter that began with a dream in Texas and unfolded under the bright lights of Broadway.

TCA’s chic black-and-silver State of the Arts minimalist design license plate is available to order at https://www.myplates.com/go/arts. This plate design can go on a passenger car, motorcycle, trailer, or private bus (attention, Texas bands!). TCA will receive a portion of the sales of the plate. Note that this plate is part of MyPlates’ “Lone Star Series,” but only the State of the Arts plate supports TCA. There is a price break for those ordering their plate for multiple years. Make a long-term commitment to the arts!  

Texas Commission on the Arts invites you to a free, optional convening titled Tourism as Economic Development with Travel Texas. This event is an opportunity to learn about the ways in which tourism ties in to the arts and culture industry, and how the work done by the Office of the Governor's Travel Texas staff can help you integrate tourism into your organization and community economic development plans. You'll also hear how to better identify, define, and attract new audiences to your events. Our speaker will discuss their work, the research they conduct, and the partnerships and resources that they help make available.

The virtual meeting will be on Wednesday, October 15 from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Central. It is open to arts nonprofits, artists, and members of the public.

TCA staff will be joined by Travel Texas’ Research Specialist, Spencer Zamora, with a wealth of information to share.

Spencer Zamora is the Research Specialist with the Office of the Governor, Economic Development & Tourism and has been a part of the team for six years. The Travel Texas program promotes the state as a premier travel destination in domestic and international markets through an integrated advertising, public relations and marketing program. In this role, she also supports the research program that serves as a foundation for the state’s tourism promotion and a resource for the travel industry and tourism development. Mrs. Zamora has a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Administration and Minor Art degree from Stephen F. Austin State University. She has been involved in the tourism industry since 2014, starting at Visit Austin. She is a member of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA), newly serving on the board for the TTRA CenStates Chapter, and currently working on her Tourism Executive certification with the Texas Travel Alliance.

Mark your calendar and register today! Please note: registration does not guarantee a spot in this event, as spaces are limited. Be quick to join us on the day-of to experience this conversation in real time.

TCA selected this topic using feedback from constituents, and we expect that future meetings in this series will continue addressing needs expressed by members of the Texas arts field.

As noted in the article above, TCA has approved the designation of the Odessa Cultural District as a new cultural district. At the northern end of the Odessa Arts District stands The Globe Theatre at Odessa College, a three-quarter-scale replica of Shakespeare’s original Globe. Odessa College also includes the Phillips-Goff Gallery, the Jack Rogers Fine Arts Building, and a newly constructed outdoor amphitheater. At the southern end of the district is the Historic Ector Theatre, a 1952 performance venue that was fully restored in 2018 and integrated into the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. The Ector hosts a diverse range of programming, including touring musicians, dance, comedy acts, local performances, and classic film nights. The district also includes several culturally and historically significant properties, such as the White-Pool House and the Gertrude Bruce House. The Sacrificial Needle, a tattoo studio that doubles as a contemporary art gallery, participates in the First Friday Art Trail, hosting live music, art sales, and promotional events. These are among the institutions creating a dynamic cultural ecosystem that blends performance, heritage, education, and innovation.

The cultural district will be officially designated on September 25th at Odessa Arts’ annual meeting, which will be held at Odessa College. Meeting events will include announcing Odessa Arts’ cultural tourism grants, installing new board members, and honoring local elected officials. TCA staff will present a proclamation marking the official designation.

“We are pleased to highlight the wonderful work the district is already doing to attract visitors to their community, and to enhance the quality of life in our great state,” said Gary Gibbs, executive director of TCA. “Their application to the designation process provided extensive information on their qualifications, and was considered through a highly rigorous review process. We congratulate them on this achievement.” For complete information on the Cultural Districts Designation Program, please visit https://www.arts.texas.gov/initiatives/cultural-districts/.

Photo by Steve Goff

Every fall, TCA staff spend many, many hours reviewing report forms that grantees submit as they close out their grants. These reports share arts organizations’ trials and tribulations, challenges and solutions. Many of these stories will resonate with others across our field, so we're sharing some of them through grantee spotlights.

This month, we focus on the Marfa Studio of Arts, which received an Arts Respond Project grant in the Public Safety and Criminal Justice priority area to support their tenth year of participation in the Summer Shake Up. A month-long collaboration between Marfa Studio of Arts, Ballroom Marfa, Chinati Foundation, and Marfa Live Arts, the Summer Shake Up is a free opportunity for economically disadvantaged and at-risk rural youth to participate in a summer of accessible, exciting, art camp activities. The program sees the organizations coming together with local artists and teachers to engage elementary aged youth in a variety of activities, which have included painting murals, learning animation, creating a conceptual space station structure, and more. By offering such a wide set of activities, the program provides a chance for youth to explore big ideas, build friendships, and create ambitious works of art under the guidance of professional artists who call Marfa home.

Each year, the program takes a new shape, offering workshops that stretch imaginations and skills. This year, the Marfa Studio of Arts led a four-week project called School of Forts, where kids worked together to design and construct a fort entirely out of recycled and donated materials. The project took place right in front of the Marfa Studio of Arts gallery on Highway 90, Marfa’s main thoroughfare, ensuring that the entire town could witness its progress as it was built over the course of a month. Each week, a different group of youth, each in a different age group, led the construction. Younger students laid the foundation, while older ones expanded and refined the structure, and everyone documented their progress through drawings, photographs, and written reflections. The documenting itself transformed and became part of the project as well, later being displayed in the gallery in an accompanying exhibition. By the time the project wrapped up, the fort stood 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide and became a bit of a local attraction. Parents, friends, locals, and visitors alike—including a TCA staff member—traveled to see the tower, and drivers on Highway 90 happily obliged a sign that invited them to “Honk if you like our fort!”

TCA is proud to be able to support Marfa Studio of Arts and the many other wonderful organizations across the state who make the arts accessible to our fellow Texans.

Texas Commission on the Arts

1801 Congress Avenue

Austin, TX 78701

512-463-5535

800-252-9415

arts.texas.gov