HOUSTON – Today, the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) announced that it is awarding $30,000 in grants to 12 individuals and nonprofit organizations who’ve imagined their work in the digital realm utilizing streaming services, virtual reality, and digital curation to deliver manifested live concerts, theatre performances, and literary concepts; all in online-only platforms.
“I congratulate all the grantees and wish them well on their projects,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner. “I am proud of the talent diversity our grantees have and their willingness to share their talents with Houstonians and the world.”
The funds are awarded through “Let Creativity Happen”, a competitive grant program that is administered by Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) and funded by a portion of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT). The program ran four times in 2022 and offered grants for arts and cultural programming that used technology to connect audiences beyond the physical boundaries of space.
The digital focus of the grant program provides an opportunity for innovation that opens Houston’s vibrant arts and cultural community to a global audience. Additionally, the online-only platforms breaks down accessibility barriers, increases interest among audiences, and invites experimentation on a large scale. More importantly, this digital focus facilitates the reimagination of these important cultural contributions beyond traditional structures.
“Let Creativity Happen” grantees will create the following work:
1. Well-Tempered Clavier 300th Anniversary Celebration
By ARS LYRICA HOUSTON
“Ars Lyrica Houston (ALH) requests funding for a public celebration on Sunday, January 15, 2023, for the completion of its Well-Tempered Clavier video recording project. The event will feature a live Zoom panel and the premiere of the complete Well-Tempered Clavier playlist, publicly available online, with a demonstration of the myriad of public resources available to the public through the project.”
2. Friends on Film (& other Creative Mischief)
By Friends of River Oaks Theatre
“The River Oaks Theater is reopening. With the help and partnership of community-based non-profit Friends of River Oaks Theatre, it will be able to operate as a cinema-centric Art House and community arts center. In addition to programming and marketing, Friends is also working on producing a virtual platform to present programs, panels, workshops, and monthly podcasts. The monthly podcast titled FRIENDS ON FILM, AND OTHER CREATIVE MISCHIEF will have program-related guests, arts program announcements, reviews, cinema History, interviews, and readings.”
3. Kidnapping the Muse
By Hispanic Alliance For Performing And Audiovisual Arts
“The project is based on 8 sessions of online webinars where participants will be trained in the basic technique of script writing and creating the structure of storytelling. Each session is 2 hours, starting with the creation of the character, timeline, analyzing and identifying each of the parts that make the structure of the script; establishing the differences between the literary script and the technical script and its particularities for the different practical fields and ending with the actantial diagram, and character relationship scheme.” |