[Arts & Culture Committee on October 14, 2026.]
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CAROLYN EVANS-SHABAZZ, CHAIR OF THE CITY COUNCIL ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE.
THE TIME IS NOW 2:07 PM, AND I HEREBY CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER THE 14TH, 2026, THE DAY AFTER MY BIRTHDAY.
UH, TODAY'S MEETING IS BEING HELD IN CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBER, 901 BAGRY STREET, SECOND FLOOR, HOUSTON, TEXAS.
THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND IT'S BEING BROADCAST ON HTV, THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S MUNICIPAL CHANNEL.
THE AGENDA AND PRESENTATION MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE WEBPAGE.
I FIRST WANT TO, AT THIS TIME, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MEMBERS OF THE ARTS AND, OR ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE.
UH, THEY ARE NOT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE, IS HERE.
UM, MARIO CASTILLO, WHO IS MY VICE CHAIR, IS NOT HERE TODAY.
UH, UM, TARSHA JACKSON, DISTRICT B, EDWARD POLLARD, DISTRICT J.
BUT WE DO HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ, THE AT LARGE POSITION ONE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN AT LARGE POSITION FIVE.
AND CERTAINLY, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE ANY MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL WHO MAY BE PRESENT, THEIR STAFF MEMBERS.
AND, UH, LET'S SEE, WE HAVE REPRESENTING COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON.
UM, REPRESENTATIVE FROM MARINAN HUFFMAN, REPRESENTATIVE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TIFFANY D.
I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER, I CAN'T READ THE SIGN UP THERE.
OKAY, UH, REPRESENTATIVE FROM MARIO CASTILLO, UM, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ALEJANDRA SALINAS, REPRESENTATIVE FROM AMY PECK.
AM I IN THE RIGHT SPOT? SIR? HELLO? MARTINEZ.
I CAN'T, LIKE I SAY, MY EYES WON'T LOOP AROUND TO THE OTHER SIDE.
AND CERTAINLY HERE, UH, REPRESENTING, UM, VICE M - NO, MAYOR PRO TEM, MARTHA KASTEX-TATUM.
AND SO PROCEEDING WITH TODAY'S, UM, PRESENTATIONS, I WANNA OFFER A FEW BRIEF REMARKS.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMITTEE IS TO PROVIDE A FORUM FOR REVIEWING MATTERS AFFECTING HOUSTON'S ART AND CULTURE COMMUNITY, RECEIVING INFORMATION FROM OUR PARTNERS AND IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN CULTURAL INVESTMENT, ACCESSIBILITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
TODAY'S AGENDA INCLUDES PRESENTATIONS ON THE IMPACT OF ARTS AND CULTURE, THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY, AND THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSTON'S FILM AND MEDIA INDUSTRY.
I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MAYOR JOHN WHITMEYER AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF THE ARTS FOR THEIR CONTINUED, CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH THIS COMMITTEE AND OUR CULTURAL PARTNERS.
WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK COLLABORATIVE- COLLABORATIVELY
I COULD, I SAID IT, I COULD HAVE SAID IT YESTERDAY, BUT I'M A DAY OLDER.
UH, AS HOUSTON'S ARTS AND CULTURAL RE- RESOURCES CONTINUE TO BENEFIT RESIDENTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO OUR CITY'S ECONOMIC VITALITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE, AND I THANK OUR PRESENTERS FOR BEING HERE AND LOOK FORWARD TO TODAY'S DISCUSSION.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MY, UH, COLLEAGUES AN OPPORTUNITY IF THEY HAVE A COMMENT THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE PRIOR TO THE MEETING.
THE NEXT ITEM BEFORE THE COMMITTEE IS ITEM TWO, THE HOUSTON ENDOWMENT ARTS IMPACT DATA PRESENTATION.
THIS PRESENTATION WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION REGARDING THE IMPACT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AND HELP INFORM OUR CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF CULTURAL INVESTMENT IN HOUSTON.
AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE MS. AMY GIBBS OF HOUSTON ENDOWMENT FOR HER PRESENTATION.
MS. GIBBS, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
YOU WANT ME TO RECOGNIZE IT? YES.
LET, LET ME ALSO RECOGNIZE THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR ARTS AND CULTURE GREEN SPACES, BEO LONG CHU.
UM, THA- THANK YOU FOR, UM, HAVING, UH, US HERE AT THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE TODAY.
THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, UH, UH, CO-CHAIR.
UM, WE APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY OF, OF JUST BEING A PART OF THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR HERE IN HOUSTON.
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ENDOWMENT IS TURNING 90 NEXT YEAR, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, UH, OUR INTEREST IN THE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IS, UM, UH, SERIOUS, PRONOUNCED, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE REALLY WANT TO, UH, PLAY A ROLE IN SHARING OUR RESOURCES TO BETTER THE SECTOR.SO, UH, WHAT I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU IS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR STRATEGY.
UM, WE HAVE A VISION OF A, A VIBRANT AND CREATIVE CITY WHERE RESIDENTS ARE INSPIRED TO CONNECT DEEPLY WITH EACH OTHER AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE GREATER HOUSTON TO BE THE MOST VIBRANT ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR IN THE UNITED STATES.
UM, AND TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TWO GOALS, STRENGTHEN ARTS AND CULTURE NONPROFITS.
UH, UNDER THAT GOAL, WE PROVIDE STRATEGIC CAPITAL SUPPORT WHEN ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS ARE READY TO TAKE A LEAP TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
AND THEN WE PROVIDE, UH, GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT YEAR OVER YEAR FOR A NUMBER OF MID-SIZE ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE STRATEGY OF BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR.
AND TODAY, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TWO OF THOSE STRATEGIES, FOSTERING COLLABORATION ACROSS THE SECTOR AND THEN ADDRESSING PUBLIC POLICY.
WE BELIEVE THAT THOSE CAN HELP US TO BUILD A FUTURE ARTS AND CULTURE SECTOR THAT CAN NARRATE ITS OWN IMPACT AND SHOW THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN GREATER HOUSTON.
WE WORK WITH A NUMBER OF GRANTEES, UH, PARTNERS AND PARTNERS THAT, UH, ARE NOT GRANTEES, BUT WE THINK ARE CRITICAL TO THE WORK, UM, INCLUDING SMU DATA ARTS, HUE ARTS AND ACTION, HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE, ARTS CONNECT HOUSTON, TEXANS FOR THE ARTS, THE TEXAS CULTURE TRUST, AND THE TWO AGENCIES THAT DEPLOY PUBLIC RESOURCES, TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS.
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS US IS SOME INCREDIBLE NUMBERS.
THE ARTS AND CULTURE INDUSTRY IN GREATER HOUSTON PRODUCES ONE, OVER ONE BILLION IN TAXABLE SALES WITH 10.6 MILLION IN LOCAL TAXES, UM, LOCAL SALES TAX GENERATED.
THAT, THAT LEVEL OF TAXABLE SALES IS ONE SEVENTH OF THE TOTAL FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND SO THAT'S $7.3 BILLION THAT GREATER HOUSTON IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE TEXAS ECONOMY, RIGHT? AND SO WE ARE HITTING ABOVE OUR WEIGHT SIZE, UH, IN CONTRIBUTION.
AND TO DO THIS WORK AND, UH, TO HAVE THESE, THESE, UH, NUMBERS THE WAY THAT THEY ARE, WE'RE NOT DOING IT ALONE.
THIS IS A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
THIS IS WORK THAT, UM, DEMANDS TRUE, UH, COLLABORATION, UH, AND INNOVATION.
AND SO, UH, I'LL LET MY COLLEAGUE, AMY, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THE DATA, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WORK.
UH, AS LONG MENTIONED, WE HAVE SEVERAL PARTNERS.
ONE OF OUR KEY PARTNERS IN THIS IS SMU DATA ARTS.
THEY ARE OUR PRIMARY RESEARCH PARTNER IN ALL OF OUR WORK.
AND SMU DATA ARTS, THEY ARE A NATIONAL, UH, SERVICE ORGANIZATION THAT COLLECTS FINANCIAL AND PROGRAMMATIC DATA ON ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
YOU HAVE SEEN CDP, UH, DATA ARTS, UH, DATA BEFORE BECAUSE, UH, CITY OF HOUSTON AND HAA USE THEIR PLATFORM AS PART OF THEIR GRANT MAKING PROCESS.
AND I GUESS IT WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO THAT WE STARTED INVESTING WITH, UH, DATA ARTS AND WE HAVE ACTUALLY ARE FUNDING A FELLOW THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED TO, UM, DOING RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS ON THE HOUSTON REGION ALONE AND PROVIDING A REALLY STRONG BACKBONE FOR US FOR A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING WITH THIS LARGE COHORT, UM, THAT WE HAVE IS OUR DATA, ARTS DATA ROUND TABLES.
UH, WE ARE MEETING WITH, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR.
THE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO COLLABORATE AND THINK THROUGH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AND RESEARCH NEEDS AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT DATA AND INFORMATION THAT IS NEEDED FOR THE CITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTION.
UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL INITIATIVES IN THE WORKS WITH THAT.
UM, ONE OF THEM IS A, UM, ARTS DATA HUB THAT WE'VE BEEN
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COLLABORATING WITH, UM, HAA ON, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU ALL SOON.IT'S AN ONLINE LIBRARY THAT HAS ACCESS TO DOZENS OF STUDIES AND RESEARCH R- RELATIVE TO THE ARTS THAT HAS ANY INCLUSION OF HOUSTON IN IT.
THE SECOND IS A MAPPING PROJECT THAT WILL MAP OUT WHERE DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE VENUES, MUSEUMS, OTHER CULTURAL ASSETS ARE.
IT WILL CREATE A HEAT MAP WHERE YOU CAN LOOK UP YOUR OWN ADDRESS AND SEE WHAT, WHAT VENUES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU WITHIN A 10-MINUTE WALK OR A 30-MINUTE DRIVE, AND YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THAT.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH THEM TO INCLUDE AN OVERLAY MAP THAT WILL INCLUDE THE DIFFERENT, UM, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
SO YOU AS COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO REALLY CLEARLY SEE WHICH, UM, ORGANIZATIONS, VENUES, UM, CULTURAL ASSETS ARE DIRECTLY IN YOUR, YOUR DISTRICT.
UH, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, IN ADDITION TO THE WORK THAT WE HAVE BEEN, BEEN DOING WITH THOSE ARTS PARTNERS, IS WE'VE BEEN FUNDING THE SEVEN CULTURAL DISTRICTS.
THROUGH THAT, UM, HUGH ARTS IN ACTION CAME ABOUT, UH, WHICH I KNOW YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH.
AND JUST THIS PAST MONDAY, UH, HUE ARTS, UH, HAA AND TEXANS FOR THE ARTS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HOBBY CENTER PRESENTED THE SECOND ANNUAL, UM, ARTS FORUM.
WE HAD ABOUT 300 FOLKS FROM ALL ACROSS THE ARTS COMMUNITY ATTENDING AND ENGAGING IN DIFFERENT SESSIONS, UH, FOCUSED ON HOW TO ADVOCATE, WHAT ARE THE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR THIS UPCOMING SESSION, UM, HOW TO USE DIFFERENT DATA AND SHARING SOME OF, SOME NEW DATA WITH THEM FOR FOLKS TO THINK THROUGH.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE ARE SNEAK PREVIEW.
ONE OF THE OTHER, UH, DATA PROJECTS THAT IS IN THE WORKS IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, SMU DATA ARTS AND SP - MORE IMPORTANTLY, FRESH ARTS, WHICH IS OUR LOCAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS.
AND THEY HAVE, UM, DONE A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF THE, UM, INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS COMMUNITY.
OUR INITIAL GOAL WITH THAT WAS TO COLLECT AT LEAST 500 SURVEY RESPONSES.
WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED OVER A THOUSAND RESPONSES, WHICH ACTUALLY REPRESENTS ABOUT A SIXTH OF THE ENTIRE CULTURAL WORKFORCE IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
UM, THAT DATA IS IN THE FINAL STAGES RIGHT NOW, AND I KNOW FRESH ARTS WILL BE SHARING THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT LATER THIS WINTER.
AND, YOU KNOW, BEHIND EVERY DATA POINT, UH, EVERY POLICY RECOMMENDATION AND EVERY FUNDING DECISION ARE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES ARE MADE RICHER, MORE MEANINGFUL, AND SOMETIMES SIMPLY MORE BEARABLE BECAUSE ART EXISTS.
AND SO WE, WE, UM, ARE SO GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO THIS WORK ALONGSIDE LEADERS LIKE YOU AND THE GROUP OF LEADERS BEHIND US.
UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW HOUSTON ENDOWMENT APPROACHES ARTS AND CULTURE FUNDING.
AND I, I DO HAVE, UM, JUST A PACKET THAT HAS THE PRESENTATION AND, UM, SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE SHARED WITH YOU TODAY, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO SHARE MORE DATA AS THESE PROJECTS FINALIZE IN THE FUTURE.
WELL, THANK YOU BOTH, AND I APOLOGIZE.
UH, OUR TECHNOLOGY DID NOT CATCH UP WITH OUR CONVERSATION AND YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, I THINK IT'S SOME GLITCH IN THE BACK AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL FIGURE THAT OUT.
BUT CERTAINLY, UH, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION, AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AT LARGE WILLIE DAVIS' STAFF HAS JOINED US TODAY.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UM, CERTAINLY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ BEING A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NOT A QUESTION, BUT JUST APPRECIATION FOR, UH, THE EFFORTS THAT YOU GUYS PUT IN.
THESE ARE NOT THE EASIEST OF TIMES, UH, FOR THE ARTS COMMUNITY, BUT WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL ADD TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN, ANY COMMENTS? SAME.
WELL, THANK YOU, UM, MS. GIBBS AND MR. CHU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, UH, UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON, UH, TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY.
ITEM THREE ON TODAY'S AGENDA IS A PRESENTATION FROM THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY.
THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY CONTRIBUTES TO HOUSTON'S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC ART, EDUCATION, AND CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING.
AS ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE CITIES IN THE COUNTRY, HOUSTON BENEFITS FROM ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS TO EXPERIENCE
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AND APPRECIATE THE ARTISTIC TRADITIONS REPRESENTED THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITIES.AND SO AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE...
I DON'T SEE MR. UM, WELL, MR. SHAHIN RAHA - RA- RAHMAN, BOARD PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY, AND I DON'T SEE THAT HE'S HERE.
THANK YOU FOR, UM, BEING HERE TODAY, AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UM, SO WE ARE A 501 NONPROFIT, AND HOW DO I CHANGE THE SLIDE? BUT JUST BY...
I WANTED TO JUST SET THE BACKDROP, UM, WITH SOME NUMBERS.
UH, MUSLIMS F - HAVE FELT MISREPRESENTED AND MISUNDERSTOOD FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, THEY ARE NEGATIVELY FRAMED IN THE MEDIA, AND, UM, THAT'S THE BACKDROP THAT, UH, BROUGHT US TO ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY.
ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY WAS FORMED IN 2014 AS A WAY TO CELEBRATE THE, UM, VERY DIVERSE MUSLIM DIASPORA IN THIS CITY.
MUSLIMS COME FROM A VARIED, UH, COME FROM VARIED BACKGROUNDS, UH, ALL THE WAY FROM CHINA TO SOUTH ASIA, TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, TO EUROPE AND FURTHER OUT WEST.
AND SO, BY NO MEANS ARE WE MONOLITHIC.
WE SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, WE EAT DIFFERENT FOOD.
WE DO HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON, AND THAT'S OUR ART.
WITHIN THAT ART, THERE ARE SOME FURTHER COMPONENTS THAT ARE COMMON, AND THAT INCLUDE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY, GEOMETRIC PATTERNS, BIOMORPHIC DESIGNS.
AND SO, OUR MISSION IS TO BASICALLY CELEBRATE THIS RICH AND VARIED HERITAGE THROUGH ISLAMIC ART AND BRING THAT TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY.
THAT'S OUR WAY TO EXPRESS OUR OWN NARRATIVE AND TELL THE STORY OURSELVES.
WE JUST HAPPEN TO BE DOING IT THROUGH THE LENS OF THE ARTS.
WE ARE MADE UP OF SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS, AND AS OF THIS YEAR, WE HAVE FOUR PART-TIME STAFF ON BOARD.
SO, WHAT IS ISLAMIC ART? I THINK I WENT OVER THAT A LITTLE BIT, UM, IN, IN WAITING FOR THE SLIDES TO CHANGE.
UH, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO POINT OUT THAT NOT ALL ISLAMIC ART IS RELIGIOUS.
IT CONSISTS OF BOTH, UH, SECULAR AND, UM, SACRED WORKS.
UM, ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY IS VERY ACTIVE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, WE CARRY OUT MULTIPLE PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO REACH THE BROADER COMMUNITY.
THESE INCLUDE PROGRAMS AT LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS.
ACCESSIBILITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
SO, BY HAVING THESE PROGRAMS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES, THEY'RE OPEN FOR ANYBODY TO ENJOY.
WE PARTNER, UH, WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY, AND THESE PARTNERSHIPS INCLUDE, UH, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON, CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON, ASIA SOCIETY, UH, AND UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON.
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, UH, HAS HAD A LONGSTANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH US.
WE NOW HAVE A SCHOLARSHIP THAT SUPPORTS GRADUATE STUDIES IN, UH, FIELD OF ISLAMIC ARTS, AS WELL AS AN INTERN THAT, AN UNDERGRADUATE INTERN THAT WE GET EVERY SEMESTER, UM, FROM THE WORLD CULTURES AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT.
SO, AND THROUGH THAT INTERNSHIP, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PUBLISH A BOOK CALLED ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND HISTORY OF MOSQUES IN HOUSTON.
THAT'S A, THAT'S WORK THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DONE, AND,
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UH, ONE OF THE INTERNS HELPED US DO THAT.UM, WE OFFER WORKSHOPS OF VARIOUS ISLAMIC ART FORMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
EVERY SUMMER, WE DO ART CLASSES, UH, FOR, UM, K THROUGH 12, AS WELL AS ADULTS.
UM, WE STARTED SIX YEARS AGO A GLOBAL ART CONTEST THAT WAS IN RESPONSE TO THE DANISH CARTOONS, UM, THAT HAD COME OUT THAT WERE DEROGATORY IN NATURE TOWARDS PROPHET MUHAMMAD, PEACE BE UPON HIM.
THIS GLOBAL CONTEST THIS YEAR DREW T - OVER 1,200 ENTRIES FROM FIVE DIFFERENT CONTINENTS.
THIS IS OUR WAY TO RESPOND TO SOMETHING NEGATIVE LIKE THAT.
UH, MUSLIMS REVERE THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD, AND, UH, THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE HIS LIFE, UM, AND HIS EXAMPLE IN RESPONSE TO THESE CARTOONS THAT HAD COME OUT.
IN THE CENTER OF THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE OUR SIGNATURE EVENT, WHICH IS THE ANNUAL FESTIVAL.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
WE HAVE EXPERIENCED TREMENDOUS GROWTH OVER THE LAST, UH, 13 YEARS, AND HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO BE AWARDED GRANTS FROM A VARIETY OF INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING HOUSTON ENDOWMENT, MID-AMERICA ARTS ALLIANCE THAT'S, UH, ALSO PRESENT HERE TODAY.
UM, IN 2026 ALONE, WE HAVE HAD OVER 45 EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, INCLUDING OUR PARTICIPATION AT THE U ART SUMMIT, UM, EARLIER THIS WEEK.
UH, OVER 10,000 ATTENDEES HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER.
WE HAVE OVER 100 VOLUNTEERS THAT HELP US WITH OUR PROGRAMMING AND OUR EVENTS.
UH, A- AND THIS IS OUR 13TH YEAR OF PUTTING ON OUR SIGNATURE ISLAMIC ARTS FESTIVAL.
UH, WE HAVE OVER 50 ARTISTS THAT PARTICIPATE IN OUR PROGRAMS. MOST OF THEM ARE LOCAL.
HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE ARTISTS THAT COME TO HOUSTON FROM OTHER TEXAS CITIES, AS WELL AS FROM NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA, MICHIGAN, AND SO FORTH.
THAT BRINGS ME TO THE ISLAMIC ARTS FESTIVAL.
IN ITS 13TH YEAR, IT, UH, OFTEN DRAWS OVER 5,000 PEOPLE OVER THE TWO DAYS THAT IT'S HELD.
THE, THE FESTIVAL IS MADE UP OF SEVERAL COMPONENTS, INCLUDING A VISUAL ARTS DISPLAY BY THESE 50 ARTISTS.
WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF ISLAMIC ART ON DISPLAY, WHICH IS FOR SALE.
IT'S A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME OUT AND ENGAGE WITH THE ARTISTS THAT HAVE CREATED THIS ARTWORK TO FIND OUT THEIR STORY, TO FIND OUT WHAT THAT ART MEANS TO THEM, AND WHAT SIGNIFICANCE IT HAS IN OUR ISLAMIC ART AND CULTURE COMMUNITY.
UH, WE DO OFFER CHILDREN'S ART THROUGH OUR PARTNERS, LIKE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, CHILDREN'S MUSEUM AND ASIA SOCIETY.
UH, THESE ARE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE FREE, UH, FOR FAMILIES TO ENJOY, AND CHILDREN CAN CREATE PIECES OF ISLAMIC ART THAT THEY CAN TAKE HOME WITH THEM.
WE DO OFFER WORKSHOPS AT THE FESTIVAL THAT ARE PRESENTED BY SEASONED ARTISTS.
AGAIN, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BROADER COMMUNITY TO COME AND EXPERIENCE SOME OF THOSE ART FORMS, LIKE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY OR CREATING A GEOMETRIC PATTERN.
WE OFFER LIVE ART DEMONSTRATIONS OF ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY AND PAPER MARBLING.
UH, SO IF YOU ARE CURIOUS ABOUT FINDING OUT WHAT DOES YOUR NAME LOOK LIKE IN ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY, OUR ARTISTS ARE HAPPY TO WRITE THAT OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE.
UM, WE ALSO OFFER PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS DURING THE FESTIVAL.
THESE INCLUDE STORYTELLING, POETRY, UH, MUSIC.
WE DO AN ACADEMIC PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE DO, UM, A, A MUSIC AND CONCERT, UH, IN THE EVENING.
THE, THE CONCERTS IN THE EVENING ARE THE ONLY TICKETED EVENTS FOR THE ENTIRE FESTIVAL.
THE FESTIVAL IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE ENTIRE HOUSTON COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.
THIS YEAR, WE ARE SO PROUD TO SAY THAT WE HAVE BEEN THE RECIPIENTS OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENTS OF THE ARTS, UH, GRANT AWARD.
THIS GRANT IS SPECIFICALLY AWARDED TO US FOR THE WORK THAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING THROUGH
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OUR FESTIVAL.IT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE DEDICATION OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS, OUR ARTISTS, OUR STAFF, AND OUR VOLUNTEERS TO BE ABLE TO BRING THIS U - THESE UNIQUE ART FORMS TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY, AND IN THE PROCESS, CREATE SPACES WHERE WE CAN, UH, HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF EACH OTHER AND FIND THOSE MOMENTS OF MUTUAL RESPECT AND COMMONALITY.
THIS YEAR, THE 13TH ANNUAL ISLAMIC ARTS FESTIVAL IS BEING HELD AT THE SMILEY CENTER ON NOVEMBER 21ST AND 22ND FROM 10:30 TO 5:30 AM.
THESE ARE, UH, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, UM, AND YOU'LL SEE, UH, LOGOS OF SOME OF THE PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE HELPING US WITH THIS FESTIVAL, EITHER PROMOTING US, UM, AND HELPING US SPREAD THE WORD.
AND WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ALL OF YOU TO PLEASE COME AND JOIN US AT THE FESTIVAL.
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN OPENING CEREMONY ON NOVEMBER 21ST AT 12 O'CLOCK, AND YOU ALL WILL BE GETTING OFFICIAL INVITATIONS TO THAT.
I HOPE YOU CAN COME AND HELP US SPREAD THE WORD, UM, OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO YOUR COMMUNITIES, TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
I WILL ALSO INVITE ZAKIA TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
I'M ONE OF THE FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER.
I DID NOT KNOW I WANNA SPEAK, BUT YES, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING US THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, WE ARE CREATING, UH, BONDS BETWEEN THE COMMUNITIES THROUGH ART, AND THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DO IT AND BRING, BRINGING THE POSITIVE FACE OF ISLAM.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ALL OF YOU TO PLEASE JOIN US ON THE ISLAMIC ARTS FESTIVAL ON NOVEMBER 21ST AND 22ND.
THIS WILL BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE ARTISTS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEE YOU THERE.
I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, AND I WANNA APOLOGIZE FOR STUMBLING AT THE BEGINNING.
SOMEBODY PUT A TYPO AND THEY SAID, "MR." AND I'M LIKE, "I DON'T THINK SO.
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN STANDING BEFORE ME," BUT I SAID, "I WANNA BE POLITICALLY CORRECT." AND SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND NOW I WILL RECOGNIZE MEMBERS OF THE, OF THE COMMITTEE AND MY COLLEAGUES FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
AND I SEE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN IS IN THE QUEUE.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND FOR ALL OF YOU D - THAT YOU DO.
I'VE BEEN TO A COUPLE OF YOUR FESTIVALS AND THEY'RE WONDERFUL.
I'VE SAT THROUGH KIND OF LECTURES.
AND I THINK HAVING IT AT THE SMILEY CENTER, WOW, IT'S GONNA BE BIG THIS TIME.
WHAT A GREAT BACKDROP FOR THE, FOR THE FESTIVAL.
BUT JUST THANKS FOR WHAT YOU DO IN T - IN HOUSTON TO ENRICH ALL OF US.
UM, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEA AWARD.
THAT'S A BIG DEAL AND, UH, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.
AND, AND COUNCILWOMAN ALCORN LIVES VERY CLOSE, SO SHE'LL PROBABLY WALK OVER THERE, RIGHT?
UH, NEXT WE'LL RECOGNIZE, UM, THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS'S OFFICE.
THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU SAID, UM, PAINTINGS ARE SOLD AT THE ANNUAL FEST.
COULD YOU TELL, EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THAT GOES? DO ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY? Y'ALL SET THE PRICE AS A FIFTY FIFTY CUT OR HOW DID THAT WORK? IT'S A CURATED ART EXHIBIT.
UM, YOU'LL FEEL LIKE YOU'RE JUST WALKED INTO AN ART GALLERY.
UM, ALL THE ART THAT YOU WILL SEE WILL FALL UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF ISLAMIC ART.
SO YOU WILL SEE ARABIC CALLIGRAPHY, YOU WILL SEE GEOMETRIC PATTERNS, YOU WILL SEE PAPER MARBLING, UM, UH, BIOMORPHIC DESIGNS IN ALL DIFFERENT MEDIUMS, CANVAS, WOOD, GLASS, UH, TEXTILES, PAPER.
AND ALL OF THE, UH, ITEMS THAT ARE DISPLAYED WILL HAVE, UH, A PRICE ON THEM.
THE ARTISTS ARE RIGHT THERE AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PURCHASE IT RIGHT THERE.
BUT I'M ASKING, DOES THE ARTIST GET THE MONEY OR DO THE ART ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY GET THE PROCEEDS AT A - I SEE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
SO, UM, THE ARTISTS GET TO KEEP THE, THE ENTIRE PROCEEDS EXCEPT FOR 20%.
THE 20% GOES TO ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY AND IT HELPS US, UM, RUN SOME OF THIS PROGRAMMING AND PAY FOR THE FESTIVAL.
IT'S ACTUALLY GIVING A PLATFORM TO ALL THESE LOCAL, UH, ARTISTS TO COME UP IN ONE PLACE AND, AND SELL THEIR ART.
[00:30:01]
YOU KNOW, SHOWCASE THEIR TALENTS THERE.SO THIS IS GIVING THE, UH, LOCAL ARTISTS A PLATFORM.
I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
AND THANK, THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND, UH, SHAHIN, UM, YOU GUYS HAVE EXPERIENCED A LOT OF GROWTH SINCE YOU STARTED IN 2014.
CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA OF, UH, HOW MUCH THE, THE FESTIVAL HAS GROWN? YES.
WE S - UH, UH, OUR BEGINNINGS ARE VERY HUMBLE.
UM, A GROUP OF FOUR OR FIVE INDIVIDUALS CAME TOGETHER AT A LIBRARY EXHIBIT, UH, WITH SOME ISLAMIC BOOKS AND ISLAMIC ART.
AND FROM THAT, THEY DECIDED THAT THEY HAD THIS IN COMMON.
EVERYBODY HAD DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS.
ALL OUR BOARD MEMBERS WERE PROFESSIONALS, WE ARE DOCTORS, ENGINEERS.
UM, AND SO THEY HAD ONE THING IN COMMON, WHICH WAS THEIR LOVE OF ISLAMIC ART.
FROM THAT SPURRED THE VERY FIRST FESTIVAL WITH MAYBE ABOUT 11 ARTISTS DISPLAYING THEIR ARTWORK IN THE CHAMPIONS MOSQUE LOCATED IN SPRING, TEXAS.
IT WAS, UH, UH, THE MOSQUE HAS A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT GYMNASIUM THAT FOR THE TWO DAYS WAS TURNED INTO ART SPACE.
AND SO, UM, FROM 2014 TO, UM, UH, THE FIRST - FOR 10 YEARS.
FOR 10 YEARS, WE WERE IN THAT SPACE.
AND EVERY YEAR WE COULD SEE THAT, UM, WE WERE JUST EXPANDING AT A RATE THAT, THAT, THAT SPACE FELT VERY TIGHT.
UM, WE WERE HAVING, UM, NOT ONLY NEW VISITORS EVERY YEAR, BUT ALSO ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
OUR WORK IS STRICTLY US BASED, AND SO ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY WERE REACHING OUT TO US WANTING TO PARTICIPATE.
AND SO WE WERE RUNNING OUT OF SPACE.
AND SO WE DECIDED TO THEN MOVE THE FESTIVAL FROM THAT LOCATION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON.
IT WAS, UM, A GREAT PARTNERSHIP.
AND, UM, THEN THE, UM, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON IS HA - CELEBRATING ITS CENTENNIAL NEXT YEAR.
AND SO THERE WAS SOME CONSTRUCTION ON CAMPUS.
AND SO, UH, THE TIMING OF THE OPENING OF THE ISMAIL, UH, CENTER WAS JUST PERFECT FOR US.
UH, SO THAT'S HOW WE HAVE NOW COME TO THE ISMAELI CENTER.
WE HAVE GONE FROM HAVING 11 ARTISTS IN THE BEGINNING TO NOW HAVING 50.
UM, AND NOW, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE OVER FOUR, 5,000 PEOPLE WHO ATTEND THE FESTIVAL OVER THE TWO DAYS.
WE'RE EXPECTING A LOT MORE THIS YEAR.
I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT THERE'S FOOD AT THE FESTIVAL.
YOU MENTIONED, YOU MENTIONED MUSIC AS WELL.
WILL THAT BE AT THE ISMAILI CENTER? YES.
WELL, YOU COULDN'T HAVE PICKED A BETTER SPACE AND, UH, I'M SURE YOU'LL HAVE ALL THE ROOM YOU NEED.
AND ALTHOUGH I AM UPSET THAT IT'S NOT IN THE DISTRICT OF DESTINATION AT UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, I THINK THIS IS GONNA BE A GREAT MOVE AND, AND A GREAT SUCCESS.
IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, WE WILL, UH, MOVE, WE THANK YOU FOR THE WORK OF THE ISLAMIC ART SOCIETY AS WELL.
AND WE WILL NOW PROCEED TO ITEM FOUR.
I, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT MY NAME IS ACTUALLY GENDER NEUTRAL, SO...
I MEAN, BUT IT SAYS - SO THAT'S OKAY.
IT SAYS MR. AND I, I WAS LIKE, "I DON'T THINK SO."
SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR INDULGING ME ON THAT.
AGENDA ITEM FOUR, SPOTLIGHT ON HOUSTON FILM AND MEDIA.
AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY SMALL OR LARGE PARTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, ITEM FOUR IS SPOTLIGHT ON HOUSTON FILM AND MEDIA FESTIVALS, CONFERENCES AND FILMMAKER DEVELOPMENT.
HOUSTON'S FILM AND MEDIA INDUSTRY REPRESENTS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF OUR CREATIVE ECONOMY.
IN ADDITION TO SUPPORTING ARTISTIC EXPRESSION, THIS INDUSTRY PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, LOCAL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION, TOURISM, AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.
TODAY'S PRESENTATIONS WILL HIGHLIGHT TWO INITIATIVES CONTRIBUTING TO THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSTON'S FILM AND MEDIA COMMUNITY.
WE WILL BEGIN WITH THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL.
AND SO I WANNA RECOGNIZE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL AND YOU CAN INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AND YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
I WAS GONNA SAY, COUNCILWOMAN, DON'T, DON'T, UH, I'LL VOLUNTOLD
[00:35:01]
YOU IN FIVE MINUTES YOU'LL HAVE A PART IN MY NEXT FILM.WELL, I'M GONNA BE LOOKING FOR A JOB AFTER JANUARY 2028, SO KEEP ME IN MIND.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SOUTHWEST ALTERNATE MEDIA PROJECT.
WE CAN ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
HI, I'M, UH, KATIE CREGAN-RIOS.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY.
I'M ALSO THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL.
TOGETHER WITH RANDY, WE CO-FOUNDED THE HOUSTON MEDIA CONFERENCE, WHICH JUST COMPLETED ITS FOURTH ITERATION, AND WE WILL BE PRESENTING ABOUT BOTH EVENTS HERE TODAY.
SOUTHWEST ALTERNATE MEDIA PROJECT IS APPROACHING 50 YEARS OLD.
WE ARE TEXAS'S OLDEST MEDIA ARTS NONPROFIT.
AND FOR 50 YEARS, WE'VE BEEN LEADING FILMMAKER EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY, AS WELL AS EMPOWERING FILMMAKERS WITH RESOURCES.
THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY WAS FOUNDED ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO TO SPEARHEAD HOUSTON'S FILM CULTURE, AND WE NOW RUN THE LARGEST INDEPENDENT AND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE ACT AS A SERVICE ORGANIZATION TO CONNECT BOTH LOCAL FILMMAKERS AND OTHER FILM ORGANIZATIONS IN TOWN TO EDUCATION AND EXHIB- EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES.
I RECOGNIZE THE GENTLEMAN ON THERE.
WHEN WE STARTED WORKING TOGETHER FIVE YEARS AGO TO FOUND THE HOUSTON MEDIA CONFERENCE, WE RECOGNIZED THAT HOUSTON HAD A LARGE FILM AND MEDIA TALENT POOL, BUT THAT ENTITIES WERE SILOED AND NOT COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER.
SO WE WORKED TO CREATE A CENTRAL HUB FOR RESOURCES, NETWORKING, SHARING IDEAS, AND FINDING COLLABORATE - COLLABORATORS.
AND WE ALSO SAW THAT MUCH OF OUR LOCAL TALENTED WAS BEING EXPORTED OUT TO ATLANTA, TO NEW YORK, TO LA, AND WE WANTED VERY MUCH FOR THAT TO STOP.
SO WE THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED THE HOUSTON MEDIA CONFERENCE TO CREATE A CENTRAL CONVE- CONVENING FOR OUR LOCAL FILM AND MEDIA TALENT.
THE CONFERENCE HOSTS AN ACTIVE VENDOR FLOOR, AND WITH THE, WITH THE LATEST IN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY, GEAR, APPS, AND EDUCATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS FROM BOTH LOCAL STUDIOS AND NATIONAL BRANDS, AS WELL AS TABLES FEATURING HOUSTON'S, UH, ADVOCACY AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, WE HAD A VIRTUAL WALL ON THE VENDOR FLOOR AND A PANTHER CAR THIS YEAR, AND YOU GOT TO PLAY WITH IT.
WE ALSO PROGRAM OVER 75 PANELS AND HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS ON TOPICS RANGING FROM ENTERING THE WORKFORCE, PRE AND POST-PRODUCTION SKILLS, FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, ADVERTISING, PR, AND BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE MEDIA ECOSYSTEM RIGHT HERE IN HOUSTON.
OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKERS THIS YEAR FEATURED MANY DIFFERENT, UM, DISCIPLINES AND ALSO STAGES OF A CAREER IN MEDIA, NOT JUST FILMMAKERS, BUT ACROSS THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE.
ELIZABETH AVION, THE FOUNDER OF TROUBLEMAKER STUDIOS, THE PRODUCER OF THE SPY KIDS MOVIES, UH, STEPHANIE WHITTLE'S WAX, WHO IS FROM HERE IN HOUSTON, WHO FOUNDED BOTH REC ROOM ARTS THEATER HERE IN HOUSTON, AS WELL AS THE PODCAST COMPANY, LAMINATA MEDIA, A BRILLIANT DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER FROM RIGHT HERE IN HOUSTON, ALEXANDRIA STAPLETON, AND HOUSTON NATIVE, FORMER NFL PLAYER AND FOOD NETWORK STAR, CHEF EDDIE JACKSON, WERE ALL AMONG OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKERS THIS YEAR.
WE WERE ALSO THRILLED TO HOST THE ENTIRE TIER FAMILY, FILMMAKER NELL TIER, HER BIG BROTHER, HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY SEAN TIER, AND THEIR SISTER, HANNAH TEER YOUNG, TO DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF STORYTELLING AND HOW THEIR DEVOTION TO THE STORIES THAT SHAPE COMMUNITIES HAS IMPACTED THEIR CAREERS.
ALSO, I DO HOPE THAT, UH, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY IS OKAY WITH THE FACT THAT I PUT THIS ADORABLE CHILDHOOD PHOTO ON THE SCREEN IN HERE TODAY.
IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE THE LITTLE TEARS.
WE ALSO FEATURED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A CURATED PITCH SESSION DESIGNED TO PILOT A LARGER PITCH COMPETITION.
WE WERE VERY PROUD TO GIVE SIX HOUSTON PROJECTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO PITCH TO LOCAL INVESTORS FROM THE TECH AND VENTURE CAPITAL SPACE.
THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAVE YIELD, YIELDED REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR PITCHERS, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO, FINGERS CROSSED, BE ANNOUNCING SOME GOOD NEWS VERY SOON FROM THAT.
BUT IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL AND WE WILL HAVE A FULL, UM, PITCH COMPETITION AS PART OF NEXT YEAR'S CONFERENCE.
UP ON THE SCREEN NOW IS ALL OF THE PARTICIPATING VENDORS FROM BOTH 2025 AND 2026.
WE WANNA THANK OUR HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOR EMBRACING THIS EVENT AND ALSO CELEBRATE THE NATIONAL BRANDS THAT ARE RECOGNIZING HOUSTON AS A HUB FOR INNOVATIVE FILM AND MEDIA.
A LOT OF NATIONAL BRANDS THAT WE'VE SEEN COME THROUGH ARE NOW INCLUDING THE HOUSTON MEDIA CONFERENCE IN THEIR YEAR-ROUND SCHEDULES FOR DEMOS AND EVENTS, UM, UP RIGHT ALONGSIDE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, THE NAB CONFERENCE IN VEGAS.
WE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE, UM, RIGHT THERE IN LINE WITH THOSE EVENTS.
WE'RE VERY, VERY PROUD AND VERY GRATEFUL.
[00:40:01]
UM, SO, UH...I WANNA THANK THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE BECAUSE THE HOUSTON MEDIA CONFERENCE WAS FOUNDED IN Y- YEAR ONE WITH A $10,000 HOUS- HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE CITIES INITIATIVE GRANT, AND IT HAS GROWN YEAR OVER YEAR, AND ALSO WITH THANKS TO THE HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION AND HOUSTON FILM COMMISSION BECAUSE WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THEIR CONTINUED INVESTMENT AND SUPPORT.
AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN FALL OF 2027.
RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF THE HOUSTON MEDIA CONFERENCE, LITERALLY ONE WEEK LATER, WE WERE PROUD TO HOST THE 18TH ANNUAL HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL, WHICH TOOK PLACE THIS YEAR FROM OCTOBER 1ST THROUGH THE 11TH.
THIS WAS DECIDEDLY OUR MOST HOUSTON EDITION OF THE FESTIVAL YET, WITH INCREDIBLE TALENT FEATURED ACROSS ALL 11 DAYS.
CAN YOU PLEASE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? AS OUR LEAD FESTIVAL PROGRAMMER, MICHAEL D.
ROBINSON SAID, "THROUGH THE FESTIVAL, WE ARE REFLECTING HOUSTON TO THE WORLD AND THE WORLD RIGHT BACK TO HOUSTON." OUR OPENING NIGHT FILM, YOUR MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE DIRECTED BY HOUSTON NATIVE BASAM TARIQ AND PRODUCED BY AMAZON MGM STUDIOS.
THIS FILM IS CURRENTLY IN THEATERS AND RECEIVING CRITICAL ACCLAIM.
I HOPE YOU ALL MAKE A PLAN TO SEE IT AT THE RIVER OAKS THEATER, SUPPORTING BOTH A LOCAL FILMMAKER AND A LOCAL ART HOUSE THEATER.
OTHER CENTERPIECES OF THE FESTIVAL INCLUDED THE BRITNEY GRINER STORY DIRECTED BY HOUSTON NATIVE ALEXANDRIA STAPLETON, A SCREENING OF THE SEA IS WITHIN ME, WHICH WAS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNTITLED ART FAIR AND FEATURING ARTIST LIDA ALBUQUERQUE, AS WELL AS OVER 80 FILMS AND OVER 50 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
ONE OF THE PARTNERSHIPS WE'RE MOST PROUD OF IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WHO KILLED THE FOURTH WARD.
THIS WAS A MULTI-ORGANIZATION COLLABORATIVE EVENT FUNDED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON THROUGH A HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE CITIES INITIATIVE GRANT.
THE COLLABORATION WAS HELMED BY HOUSTON ARTS, HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY, THE CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON, HOUSTON FRIEDMANS TOWN CONSERVANCY, AND SOUTHWEST ALTERNATE MEDIA PROJECT.
THIS FILM WAS DIRECTED AND PRODUCED 50 YEARS AGO BY SWAMP'S VISIONARY FOUNDERS, JAMES BLUE, BRIAN HUBERMAN, AND ED HUGITZ.
THESE MEN WERE, UH, 50 YEARS AHEAD OF THEIR TIME TALKING ABOUT CITIZEN FILMMAKERS AND WATCHING THE FILM AGAIN AT MOUNT HORUB REMINDED US OF THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY ADVOCACY AND THE ARTS AND HOW MANY OF THE SAME FIGHTS ARE STILL ONGOING.
IT WAS INCREDIBLE TO WATCH THE FILM 50 YEARS LATER IN MOUNT HORA BAPTIST CHURCH IN THE FOURTH WARD WITH THE SAME PASTOR WHO WAS THE PASTOR THERE 50 YEARS AGO.
IT WAS JUST AN INCREDIBLY SPECIAL EVENT AND WE'RE VERY, VERY GRATEFUL TO THE FOURTH WARD FOR EMBRACING US AND WORKING WITH US ON THAT.
UM, CAN YOU PLEASE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE? ANOTHER EVENT WE WERE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF, UH, WAS THE DOCUMENTARY ZENA, FEATURING HOUSTON ICON ZENA GARRISON AND DIRECTED BY HOUSTON FILMMAKER VICKI WHITE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO COUNCIL MEMBER EVAN SHABAZZ FOR, UM, HONORING US WITH A CITY PROCLAMATION OF ZENA GARRISON DAY DURING THE FESTIVAL.
UM, IT WAS, UH, INCREDIBLY MEANINGFUL.
ZENA WAS SO, SO GRATEFUL AND I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE WHO'S MORE DESERVING OF, OF SUCH AN HONOR.
SHE WAS VERY MOVED AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME.
UM, THE EVENT WAS ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD, AND THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD IS WORKING ON A PLAN TO HONOR ZENA GARRISON IN THE REMODEL OF MCGREGOR PARK THAT I KNOW THEY'RE PLANNING TO ANNOUNCE SOMETIME NEXT MONTH.
THANK YOU ALSO TO COUNCIL MEMBER.
NO, ACTUALLY, THAT WAS PHENOMENAL.
UM, THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE THAT PROCLAMATION TO ZENA, WHO I'VE KNOWN FOREVER.
I THINK I TOLD YOU SHE AND MY YOUNGER SISTER ARE VERY GOOD FRIENDS.
AND THEN MY OLDER BROTHER IS, UH, GOOD FRIENDS WITH HER, HER OLDER BROTHER.
I MEAN, SHE WAS JUST SURPRISED AND JUST SO GRACIOUS IN ACCEPTING THAT PROCLAMATION.
AND, YOU KNOW, BOTH OF US GOT A LITTLE TEARY, BUT CERTAINLY IT WAS MY, UM, PLEASURE.
AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ELKORN WAS...
I KNOW SHE WAS THERE AS WELL, UH, FOR THAT, UM, FILM AND FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND IT WAS MY PERSONAL GREAT HONOR TO SPEND THE DAY WITH ZENA GARRISON AND VICKI WHITE AND HUNDREDS OF HOUSTON'S HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM YES PREP EAST END, YES PREP FIFTH WARD, SHARPSTOWN IB, AND SPRING BRANCH ISD.
WE SHOWED THEM, UH, THE SHORT FILM AND THEY PARTICIPATED IN A Q&A WITH ZENA GARRISON, WHO WAS NOT ONLY A VERY THOUGHTFUL AUNTIE OFFERING EXCELLENT ADVICE, BUT ALSO SIGNED EVERYTHING, TOOK PHOTOS, AND REALLY INSPIRED THE NEXT GENERATION OF YOUNG HOUS- HOUSTONIANS IN MANY, MANY WAYS.
THIS WAS ALSO A BANNER YEAR FOR CRITICAL RECOGNITION OF BOTH THE FESTIVAL, BUT ALSO FILM
[00:45:01]
IN HOUSTON OVERALL.EARLIER THIS YEAR, MOVIE MAKER MAGAZINE HONORED HOUSTON AS ONE OF THE TOP 10 BEST PLACES TO LIVE AND WORK AS A MOVIE MAKER, CITING DIVERSITY, LOW COST OF LIVING, AND LOCAL FESTIVALS.
WE ALSO RECENTLY JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF MOVIE MAKER MAGAZINE IS GOING TO ANNOUNCE THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL AS ONE OF THE TOP 25 COOLEST FILM FESTIVALS IN THE WORLD.
UM, AS ALISON MEDLEY SAID IN PAPER CITY, HOUSTON IS BEGINNING TO LOOK LESS LIKE A CITY THAT OCCASIONALLY PRODUCES GREAT FILMMAKERS AND MORE LIKE A FILM CITY.
ALL OF THESE EVENTS AND INITIATIVES ARE PART OF A WHOLE.
WE HAVE BEEN THOUGHTFULLY BUILDING A PIPELINE FOR FILM HERE IN HOUSTON, GROWING AND SUPPORTING LOCAL ARTIST COMMUNITIES AND INVESTING IN LOCAL ARTISTS.
THIS YIELDS A SUSTAINABLE, CREATIVE ECONOMY THAT BENEFITS THE WHOLE CITY.
WHEN I WAS A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON EARNING MY BFA, I WAS TOLD THAT IF I WAS SERIOUS ABOUT HAVING A CAREER IN THE ARTS, THAT I HAD TO MOVE AWAY, THAT HOUSTON WAS NEVER GOING TO GIVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED AS AN ARTIST.
TO THAT END, I SEE THE CITY EXPORTING CREATIVE TALENT TO THE COAST AT AN ALARMING RATE.
I STARTED THIS WORK BECAUSE I WAS SICK OF MY FRIENDS MOVING AWAY.
UH, PROJECTS LIKE THE MEDIA CONFERENCE AND THE FESTIVAL MAKE HOUSTON MORE APPEALING TO YOUNG CREATIVES LOOKING TO FIND A HOME HERE FOR THEIR CAREERS.
SO SWAMP HAS A 50-YEAR LEGACY OF PROMOTING AND PRODUCING INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS LIKE RICHARD LINKLATER, WES ANDERSON, UM, THE GREAT EAGLE PINNELL.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M VERY PROUD OF IS OUR YOUNG TEEN FILMMAKER BOOTCAMP HAS EIGHT KIDS CURRENTLY IN FILM SCHOOL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ALL OF WHOM COME BACK AND SERVE AS TEACHING ASSISTANTS IN OUR CURRENT SUMMER CAMP, AND ALL OF WHOM INTEND TO COME HOME AND MAKE HOUSTON THEIR CREATIVE BASE.
THAT'S THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
I CERTAINLY WANNA SPEND 2027 HONORING THE VISIONARIES WHO BROUGHT US HERE, BUT I ALSO WANNA SPEND 2027 WITH SWAMP LOOKING FORWARD AT WHAT GREAT THINGS ARE YET TO COME.
WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE ANY OF THIS WORK WITHOUT THE STEAD PA - STEADFAST SUPPORT OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE, AND HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION.
WE'RE ASKING YOU TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING FILM IN HOUSTON BY GIVING OUR ORGANIZATIONS A SEAT AT THE TABLE IN DECISIONS THAT IMPACT ARTS FUNDING AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE RECEIVE INTRODUCTIONS TO ANY LOCAL ENTITIES, BUSINESSES, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FILM ECONOMY HERE IN HOUSTON.
WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE INITIATIVES THAT ARE GOING ON, THE INCENTIVES, THE PLAN TO BUILD STUDIOS, BUT I'M GONNA TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS KEY.
WE CAN BUILD BUILDINGS, WE CAN HAVE INCENTIVES, BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE A TRAINED LOCAL CREW BASE, WE ARE GONNA LOSE THIS IN THIS INDUSTRY THE SAME WAY THAT OR - UH, OKLAHOMA AND ATLANTA DID.
BUILDING A ROOTS AND SHOOTS INVESTMENT IN OUR LOCAL ARTISTS IS A SUSTAINABLE CREATIVE ECONOMY THAT WILL BRING BENEFIT TO THE ENTIRE CITY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND, UM, THAT'S THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION.
WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE OTHER NIGHT YOU NAVIGATED ME TO THE ROOM.
AND IT WAS A LITTLE DARK OUT THERE, BUT WE WORKED IT OUT AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I WAS ABLE TO, TO COME THERE TO, UM, GIVE THAT PROCLAMATION.
AND CERTAINLY WE WILL LOOK AT, UH, YOUR ASK AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE CAN FACILITATE IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S THE FIRST STEP.
YOU, YOU ASK AND YOU'RE VERY CLEAR IN YOUR OBJECTIVES AND, UH, PERHAPS THERE'S, UM, AN ENTITY OR THE CITY OR SOME CORPORATION THAT CAN STEP FORWARD BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A TRAVESTY TO LOSE THAT ART IN THIS CITY.
AND SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED ADVOCACY AS WELL.
AND, UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER OR COMMENT FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU, AND YOU GUYS ARE JUST A DYNAMIC DUO.
I MEAN, YOU'VE REALLY ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH, AND I'M SORRY I MISSED THE MEDIA CONFERENCES HERE.
I'M GLAD TO SEE IT WAS ANOTHER BIG SUCCESS.
I THINK THAT'S SO KEY, GETTING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR SILOS, GETTING THEM, GETTING PEOPLE TOGETHER, UM, BUILDING OUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE NEED TO, TO MAKE THIS A REAL FILM CITY.
AND THE CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S SO...
IT LOOKS SO GLAMOROUS AND FUN, BUT I KNOW IT'S SO MUCH WORK.
IT IS SO MUCH WORK TO PUT ALL THIS TOGETHER.
87 FILMS. I MEAN, I WAS ABLE TO MAKE A FEW THINGS, AND THEY WERE OUTSTANDING.
UM, THAT, THE ZENA GARRISON, VILLAG JEAN KING NIGHT WAS JUST AMAZING, JUST REALLY A PACKED HOUSE AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS AND A GREAT NIGHT FOR ZENA GARRISON WHO WORKS.
SHE RUNS OUR T- TENNIS PROGRAMS, AND WE'RE ALL SO PROUD OF HER.
UH, I MADE IT TO THE, THE, UM, JULIANNE
[00:50:01]
MOORE FILM I CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT.I MEAN, RUN TO THAT MOVIE, EVERYBODY.
ON THE WORKFORCE PIECE, I GET, I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, LIKE IN, LIKE, LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO DO IN AEROSPACE NOW AND, AND ALL THE KIND OF GROWING, BURGEONING ECONOMIES.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE MACHINISTS AND THE, E- EVERYBODY THAT DOES EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH THIS, AND YOU HAVE TO...
WHAT STEPS HAVE YOU TAKEN AND WHERE...
WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO? ARE YOU TALKING TO GULF COAST WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD? ARE YOU WORKING WITH HOUSTON FOR...
JUST WANNA KNOW KIND OF WHERE WE CAN PLUG IN.
I HAVE NOT LAUGHED THAT HARD IN A MOVIE THEATER IN A VERY LONG TIME.
SO I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE ALL TO GO SEE IT.
BUT, UM, I HAD A MEETING LAST YEAR WITH THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION RIGHT AFTER SB 22, THE STATE FILM INCENTIVE BILL PASSED BECAUSE THERE IS A PROVISION IN THAT BILL FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FUNDING TO GO TO THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION - OKAY.
TO BE ALLOCATED SPECIFICALLY FOR WORKFORCE INITIATIVES AS THEY RELATE TO FILM ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, WHEN I MET WITH THE TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, A LOT OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAD WERE ABOUT THE DISCONNECT IN THE DATABASE THAT THE STATE RUNS FOR HIGH SKILLED, HIGH NEEDS POSITIONS, THE, THE POSITIONS THAT THEY PRIORITIZE FUNDING FOR, AND THE TITLES OF THOSE SAME POSITIONS IN FILM OR CREATIVE, NOT JUST FILM, BUT ALL CREATIVE, UM, WORKFORCE BUSINESSES, ORGANIZATIONS, UM, WHERE THEY MIGHT CALL IT AN AV SPECIALIST AT SOME OTHER BUSINESS.
THEY CALL IT SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN A FILM STUDIO.
BUT HOW DO WE START TO KIND OF BREAK DOWN THOSE BARRIERS OF VOCABULARY - OKAY.
SO THAT THE STATE PROCESSES CATCH UP WITH THE WORKFORCE NEEDS OF A FILM COMMUNITY.
I'M IN VERY EARLY RESEARCH, UH, AND CONVERSATIONS ON THIS.
I KNOW THAT MARCY DALLAS WITH HEWARTS HAS ALSO DONE QUITE A BIT OF THIS WORK.
THEY DID A REALLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM IN THE EAST END TRAINING, UH, PROJECTIONISTS, UM, TO WORK AT SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND THEATERS IN THE EAST END.
SO THEY'RE HAPPENING THE, ALL OVER THE PLACE IN VERY EARLY STAGES.
I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES WE HAVE IS THAT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN FILM DOESN'T LOOK THE WAY THAT IT DOES IN WELDING - YEAH.
OR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING OR ANYTHING ELSE.
THE PLACE THAT YOU TEACH FILM CREWS IS ON INDEPENDENT FILM SETS.
IF I'M RUNNING A $50 MILLION SET, I DON'T WANNA TRAIN PEOPLE.
THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY TO RISK.
IF I'M RUNNING A $250,000 SET, I'M WILLING TO TAKE THAT SECOND ASSISTANT CAMERA AND LET THEM HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA.
THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE GET MID-CAREER PROFESSIONALS.
WE HAD A GREAT FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA HERE, BEST I'VE EVER WORKED WITH, AND I WORKED 12 YEARS IN LA.
HE WASN'T GETTING ENOUGH CONSISTENT WORK HERE, AND THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAD, AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN, AN EXAMPLE, IS OKLAHOMA.
TULSA KING SHOT SEASON ONE IN OKLAHOMA, BUT THEY HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE FINDING LOCAL CREW.
THEY DON'T SHOOT IN OKLAHOMA ANYMORE.
THEY BARELY SHOOT B-ROLL THERE.
IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT, UM, WHAT WAS IT? 9-1-1, ONE OF THE RYAN MURPHY'S, THE FIRE, WHATEVER, THAT WAS AUSTIN, THEY SHOT B-ROLL IN AUSTIN.
THEY DIDN'T SHOOT IN AN AUSTIN STUDIO.
IF WE DON'T HAVE THE DEVELOPED WORKFORCE TO SUSTAIN THAT, THAT'S THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE GONNA GET INTO.
THERE'S BEEN A 65% DECLINE IN STUDIO USAGE IN ATLANTA.
INCENTIVES CHASERS WILL CHASE INCENTIVE.
WE HAD A GREAT CASE STUDY AT THE CONFERENCE WHERE THESE, THESE PEOPLE WROTE A FILM TO BE SHOT IN TEXAS, BUT GOT BETTER INCENTIVES IN CANADA.
THEY'RE CURRENTLY SHOOTING IN SPAIN AND TRYING TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE NEW JERSEY BECAUSE THERE'S BETTER INCENTIVES.
IF YOU DON'T GROW AN ORGANIC ARTIST BASE HERE THAT WANNA MAKE THEIR WORK HERE THAT CAN SUSTAIN US, ARTIST CHASERS ARE LIKE CHEATERS IN THE 50S, RIGHT? YOU'RE GONNA LOSE THEM THE WAY YOU GOT 'EM.
INVESTING IN OUR LOCAL ARTISTS AND THEIR WORK WILL CREATE A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY.
A- AND ARE THE SCHOOLS LIKE HCC, U OF H, TSU, RISE, ARE THERE - YEAH.
TSU IS INVESTING IN THEIR PROGRAM RIGHT NOW.
UM, I KNOW THAT HCC IS CONSIDERED A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, BUT I KNOW THAT THAT LANGUAGE HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, SO THERE'S SOME, SOME ISSUES THERE.
BUT HCC ALSO ONLY HAS THEIR PROGRAM AT THE ALIEF CAMPUS.
IF YOU LIVE IN, IN THE EAST END OR YOU LIVE IN SHARPSTOWN AND YOU DON'T, YOU KNOW, YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF SHARPSTOWN ALIEF AREA AND YOU DON'T HAVE A CAR, GETTING TO THAT CAMPUS IS DIFFICULT ON A GOOD DAY.
AND I KNOW BECAUSE I TEACH THERE AND I HAVE THOSE STUDENTS WHO SHOW UP AFTER TRAVELING TWO HOURS FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN.
RANDY, UH, AND SWAMP ARE WORKING ON, IN THE EARLY SPRING, HOSTING ANOTHER PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE WORKSHOP - YEAH.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY TRAINING THE LOCAL PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS TO TEACH THAT WORKSHOP THEMSELVES.
SO WE CAN START TO GROW WHO IS, WHO IS AVAILABLE AND HOW
[00:55:01]
THAT HANDS-ON TRAINING IS RECEIVED, AS WELL AS AN AC WORKSHOP.UM, WE'RE IN CONVERSATION WITH THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION TO MAKE SURE THAT ANYONE WHO GOES THROUGH THOSE WORKSHOPS WITH SOUTHWEST ALTERNATE MEDIA PROJECT IS LISTED ON THE FILM COMMISSION.
THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION WEBSITE IS AVAILABLE FOR WORK AND CERTIFIED IN THOSE SKILLS.
UM, THAT'S A, I THINK A CRITICAL FIRST STEP, BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST GETTING PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS, WHICH IS YOUR FIRST LEVEL IN THE DOOR.
HOW DO YOU GET SOMEONE FROM BEING A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT INTO THE CAMERA DEPARTMENT OR INTO, UM, A, A HIGHER ROLE? GENIE.
WE'VE BEEN DOING GRIP AND ELECTRIC WORKSHOPS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
UM, THOSE AREAS ARE DEEPLY UNDERREPRESENTED BY WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN DOING WORKSHOPS TARGETED AT THAT.
THE BEST PLACE TO LEARN - YEAH.
SO, SO ONCE PEOPLE LEARN THESE SKILLS, THEY'RE IN THIS DIRECTORY THAT EVERYBODY MAKING A FILM CAN - YES.
PEOPLE ARE GONNA WANNA STUDY IT IF THEY THINK THERE'S WORK, YOU KNOW? YEAH, EXACTLY.
SO, SO IF YOU STUDY IT, THERE'S WORK, RIGHT? YES.
SO WHAT HCC CAMPUS IS IT AGAIN? ALEAF.
WHICH IS A GREAT CAMPUS, GREAT PROGRAM.
I'VE TAUGHT THERE ON AND OFF FOR 17 YEARS.
IT'S JUST REALLY ONE OF THE HARDEST HCC CAMPUSES TO GET TO.
AND TSU HAS AN EXCELLENT PROGRAM AS WELL.
I WAS GONNA SAY TEXAS SOUTHERN HAS ONE AS WELL.
I HAVE A FRIEND THAT'S WORKING ON A SHORT FILM RIGHT NOW THAT'S, UH, GETTING HER MASTER'S THERE.
A GREAT EXAMPLE, UM, OUT OF THE TEXAS SOUTHERN PROGRAM IS THAT, UH, THE TEXAS FILM COMMISSION LAST YEAR IDENTIFIED ONE OF THE BIGGEST HIGH NEEDS POSITIONS IN TEXAS TO BE PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANTS, THAT ANY BIG BUDGET PROJECTS THAT COME INTO TEXAS ARE USUALLY HIRING PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANTS FROM NEW YORK OR LA TO WORK ON THE FILM.
SO PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANTS IN LA ARE TRYING TO LEARN HOW TEXAS INCENTIVES WORK SO THAT THEY CAN WORK ON FILMS HERE.
TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY IS THE ONLY PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING CERTIFICATION AT A UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
IT'S AN EX- EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT PROGRAM.
WE HAD, UH, THEIR LEAD INSTRUCTOR AT THE CONFERENCE TEACHING A BASICS CLASS.
MY FRIEND ACTUALLY ASKED ME TO BE IN HER SHORT, SHORT FILM.
I'M JUST SUPPOSED TO DRESS IN COSTUME, BUT I THINK THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE COST OF THE CINEMATOGRAPHER THAT SHE CAN'T, UH, AFFORD.
SO THERE WILL BE NO SPEAKING PARTS.
BUT I WANNA THANK YOU, AND I DO HAVE SOME, UH, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM COUNCILWOMAN SALINAS.
EXCITED TO SEE YOU ON THE BIG SCREEN ONE DAY.
UM, SO AS WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A DIRECT PIPELINE OF CONTENT CREATORS BECOMING FILM AND TV STARS, WHETHER THAT'S YOUTUBERS TURNED BOX OFFICE HITS LIKE CURRY BARKER OF OBSESSION, OR TIKTOKERS TURNING INTO CAST MEMBERS OF SNL LIKE GRACE RYDER, UM, I'M CURIOUS HOW Y'ALL ARE APPROACHING, EMBRACING, AND DEVELOPING CONTENT CREATORS, SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATORS, OR OTHER SHORT FORM MEDIA PRODUCERS.
WE INCLUDE AN ENTIRE TRACK FOR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATORS AT THE CONFERENCE.
WE ALSO WORK WITH THEM TO NETWORK WITH EACH OTHER, AND QUITE FRANKLY, IMPROVE THEIR LIGHTING BECAUSE THERE'S A COUPLE IN TOWN WHO I DEEPLY LOVE.
SHORT-FORM CONTENT IS ALSO BECOMING MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT IN, UM, MARKETING AND COMMERCIAL FILM PRODUCTION AS WELL.
UM, WHEN YOU WORK ON A NIKE COMMERCIAL OR A COCA-COLA COMMERCIAL, YOU'RE MAKING THE LONG FORM ONE THAT'S SEEN ON TV, BUT YOU'RE ALSO MAKING ALL OF THOSE CLIPS THAT GO ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THAT BRAND AS WELL.
SO UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WORK IN A VERTICAL MEDIUM IS MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE.
AND WE'RE EMBRACING THAT IN AS MUCH AS WE...
LOOK, PEOPLE DIDN'T THINK SHAKESPEARE WAS ART WHEN IT WAS MADE.
I'M CONVINCED THAT SHORT FORM MEDIA CAN BE ART.
WE JUST HAVE TO DO IT REALLY WELL.
TH - RANDY AND KATIE, THANK YOU SO BOTH, UM, B - FOR THE, UH, PRESENTATION.
KICKING MYSELF THAT I DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE, UH, FILM FESTIVAL.
I WANTED TO SEE THE DOCUMENTARY ON THE FOURTH WARD, BUT, UH, MAYBE ANOTHER TIME, BUT, UM, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL DO.
AND WE - IT'S AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE.
WE HAVE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT, UM, GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT THAT THERE'S A LOT OF TALENT HERE IN HOUSTON, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO ATLANTA OR LA, YOU KNOW, TO, TO FIND SOMEBODY GOOD.
HOW, HOW DO WE GET THAT MESSAGE OUT? UH, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
UM, IT'S SO GREAT TO HAVE YOUR SUPPORT, AND WE LOVE SEEING YOU AT OUR EVENTS WHENEVER YOU'RE ABLE TO MAKE IT, WE KNOW HOW BUSY YOU ARE.
UM, THE HOUSTON FILM COMMISSION DOES HAVE A REGISTRY OF, OF LOCAL TALENT.
IT NEEDS A LITTLE BIT OF UPDATING, AND, UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON THAT AS WELL.
AND THE HOUSTON FIRST AND HOUSTON FILM COMMISSION RUN MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
ALFRED CERVANTES GOES TO, UH, LOCATION MANAGER EVENTS IN LA TO TALK ABOUT BRINGING LOCATION SCOUTS
[01:00:01]
HERE TO SEE HOUSTON LOCATIONS AND, AND MORE PROGRAMS JUST LIKE THAT.BUT THERE'S ALWAYS MORE TO BE DONE.
BUT I, I WILL SAY THIS, AND WE WILL BE ANNOUNCING A HOUSTON SPECIFIC STORY LAB THAT WE'RE LAUNCHING IN THE SPRING, AND WE'LL GET THE DETAILS ON THAT.
I THINK THE OTHER THING IS AMPLIFYING HOUSTON STORIES.
YO MOTHER, YO MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER WAS WRITTEN BY BASAM TARIQ IN COFFEE SHOPS ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, VICKI WHITE'S FILM, THE BODY IS WATER, WAS SHOT HERE AND IN IRELAND.
AND THEN JOURNEY BY THE BRIONIS BROTHERS ALSO PREMIERED LAST WEEK.
SO THOSE ARE THREE VERY UNIQUE HOUSTON STORIES, BUT VERY SPECIFIC TO OUR COMMUNITY AND ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP THAT.
BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO, HOUSTON NEEDS TO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO BRAG ON OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT.
WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME BEING LIKE, OH, WE'RE GREAT.
YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, I'VE LIVED HERE NOW OVER 20 YEARS.
I CONSIDER MYSELF A HOUSTONIAN.
MY KIDS WERE BORN HERE AND RAISED HERE.
THERE'S NO PLACE I'D RATHER LIVE, HONESTLY.
AND IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE FOOD, IT'S BECAUSE OF OUR VIBRANT ART SCENE.
THE FOOD IS BETTER THAN THE SPORTS THIS WEEK, THAT'S FOR SURE.
WELL, LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT THAT.
I THINK THAT AS WE INCREASE THE NARRATIVES THAT COME OUT OF HOUSTON THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THIS COMMUNITY, WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE ZEITGEIST WHEN IT COMES TO WHO HOUSTON IS.
WHEN I LIVED OVERSEAS FOR FIVE YEARS IN KUWAIT, UM, PEOPLE THOUGHT EVERYONE HERE STILL WORE COWBOY HATS.
AND THEY WERE LIKE, "YEAH, BUT HOU-..." AND, AND LITERALLY HAD A CONVERSATION WITH A FILMMAKER WHO SAID, "WE CAN'T SHOOT IN HOUSTON.
IT'S TOO RURAL." AND I THOUGH, HAS THAT PERSON EVER BEEN TO HOUSTON? TOO RURAL.
'CAUSE I SPEND MY LIFE ON A SPAGHETTI STRING OF LIKE FREEWAYS EVERY DAY.
SO I THINK PEOPLE HAVE AN OUTDATED NOTION OF US AND IT'S UP TO US TO, YOU KNOW, HUMBLE BRAG A LITTLE BIT.
AND ALSO THIS ARTS BRANDING PROJECT WILL DO IT.
AND FILMS LIKE YOUR MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER, YOUR MOTHER ARE GONNA GO OUT THERE AND CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE VIEW US.
I MEAN, WE ALL KNOW WHAT LA AND NEW YORK LOOK LIKE BECAUSE SO MUCH MEDIA IS PRODUCED THERE AND SHOWN TO US THAT SHOWS US THOSE REGIONS.
UM, WHEN FOLKS COME IN AND TRY TO TELL A STORY ABOUT HOUSTON OR TEXAS THAT AREN'T FROM HERE, THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW TEXTURED OUR COMMUNITIES ARE, IT FALLS FLAT.
AND IT'S NOT, IT, IT'S NOT ENTERTAINING, IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL.
IT DOESN'T SPEAK TO ANY PIECE OF OUR CULTURE.
UM, FILMMAKERS LIKE BASAM TARIQ, LIKE ALEXANDRIA STAPLETON, LIKE VICKY WHITE - YEAH.
AND THE BRIONIS BROTHERS ARE REALLY HELPING US CHANGE THAT SO THAT PEOPLE SEE HOUSTON ON THE BIG SCREEN AND HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE HERE.
UM, YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT PROGRAMS AT U OF H AND HCC AND TSU.
UH, WHAT ABOUT, FOR INSTANCE, LONE STAR AND SAN JACINTO COLLEGE? SO - IS THERE ANYTHING GOING THERE? SAM HOUSTON HAS AN EXCELLENT MEDIA ARTS PROGRAM AND WE ARE PROUD.
IN FACT, OUR, AT OUR HOUSTON FILMMAKER SHOWCASE, WHICH HAPPENS ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH AT RIVER OAKS, SAM HOUSTON, WE HAVE A SAM HOUSTON ALUMNI FILM IN THERE.
LUCID IS PLAYING THIS, THIS MONTH.
UM, AND LONE STAR HAS A PROGRAM.
UH, I KNOW THE LONE STAR CY-FAIR PROGRAM IS, UM, IS PRETTY ROBUST AND, AND TRAINS A LOT OF GREAT FOLKS.
AND DID YOU MENTION SAN JACINTO OR SAM HOUSTON? NO, I MENTIONED SAM HOUSTON STATE.
SAN JACINTO, I AM UNAWARE OF A SIGNIFICANT PROGRAM THERE.
WELL, THEY HAVE A LOT OF, UM, GREAT PROGRAMS THERE.
MAYBE, MAYBE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU THERE.
I DON'T THINK THERE ARE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS.
UH, AND SO I WANNA THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING TO REPRESENT YOUR ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THE INFORMATION YOU SHARED WITH THE COMMITTEE UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORTING HOUSTON'S CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS AND STRENGTHENING OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE FILM AND MEDIA INDUSTRIES.
AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR PARTICIPATION.
AND NOW WE WILL PROCEED TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, WE WILL NOW PROCEED TO ITEM FIVE.
AND AT THIS TIME, THE COMMITTEE WILL RECEIVE COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
AND IT SAYS WHO REGISTERED TO SPEAK IT.
I DON'T THINK ANYONE DID, BUT CERTAINLY IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AND, AND GIVE A PUBLIC COMMENT, I WILL ALLOW THAT AT THIS TIME.
AND SO, UM, THE TIME LIMIT I THINK IS HOW MANY MINUTES? TWO OR THREE? TWO.
UH, OF COURSE, WE'LL EXTEND IT, UM, AT SOME POINT IF YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR COMMENT.
BUT CERTAINLY IF THERE'S ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO COME FORWARD AND SPEAK, PLEASE STEP TO THE PODIUM.
THAT LOOKED LIKE TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES.
YOU MEMBERS LIKE, "I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GONNA GET UP, BUT I'M GONNA GET UP." BUT THANK YOU.
[01:05:01]
YOUR HOUSTON POET LAUREATE.I HAVE ABOUT SIX MONTHS LEFT IN MY TERM, AND I'LL TELL YOU THUS FAR THIS YEAR, UH, UP TO OCTOBER, UH, I'VE DONE OVER 50 EVENTS, UM, WHICH INCLUDES PANELS, INTERVIEWS, READINGS, WORKSHOPS.
UM, I'VE READ FROM A CHURCH, UH, DOWNTOWN TO, UH, A RESTAURANT TO A LIBRARY TO A WAREHOUSE.
AND I, I TELL YOU ALL THAT, WHICH IS TO SAY THAT POETRY EXISTS EVERYWHERE THR- THROUGHOUT AND WITHIN HOUSTON.
UM, AS MY TERM COMES TO AN END IN SIX MONTHS, UM, I'LL BE DOING A SPECIAL PROJECT.
I WILL GLADLY DO A SPECIAL PRESENTATION IF YOU'D LIKE ON IT, UM, BECAUSE IT DOES INVOLVE HOUSTON, UH, HOUSTON'S POETRY, HOUSTON'S POETS.
AND I'LL SAY THAT AGAIN, LIKE, IN TERMS OF BRAGGING ABOUT HOUSTON, UH, I'M NEVER AFRAID TO BRAG THAT HOUSTON IS ONE OF THE GREATEST CITIES IN THE WORLD FOR POETRY.
UH, THAT'S BECAUSE I CAN NAME, UH, OVER 100 POETS WORKING IN HOUSTON TODAY, UM, THAT DON'T GET THE DUE RECOGNITION THAT THEY DESERVE.
UH, BUT IS THE ROLE LIKE THE HOUSTON POET LAUREATE THAT ALLOWS SOMEWHAT OF A RECOGNITION THAT, UM, IS ALWAYS MORE THAN WELL DESERVED.
UM, I ALSO WANNA TELL Y'ALL THAT I HAVE SOME EVENTS COMING UP TOMORROW.
THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, UH, HAS AN EVENT AT TALENTO BELINGUE DE HOUSTON, UH, IN HONOR OF LORENZO, UH, LORENZO ARAJO SELGADO.
UM, THE 16TH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON IS THE HERNADO DE POECIA, WHERE I HAD THE HONOR OF SERVING ON A PANEL, UH, TO SELECT HOUSTON YOU - HOUSTON'S YOUTH POETRY FOR AN ANTHOLOGY, UH, IN BOTH, UH, WELL, RATHER IN THE YOUTH WERE WELCOME TO WRITE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, SPANGLISH, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
UH, 17TH, I WILL BE DOING A READING AT TEXT FEST, HOUSTON TEXT FEST.
UH, OCTOBER 31ST, I WILL BE DOING A WORKSHOP AT THE HEIGHTS LIBRARY.
UH, WE'LL BE DOING PERSONA POEMS. SO NOT, NO COSTUMES, BUT MAYBE COSTUMES THROUGH VOICE AND POETRY.
NOVEMBER 7TH, I HAVE A WORKSHOP AT PHOTO FEST THROUGH ALMA, WHERE WE'LL BE WRITING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY THROUGH POETRY.
NOVEMBER 10TH AT BOHEMIOS, I'LL BE DOING A BEER AND POETRY WORKSHOP, HOW TO WRITE POETRY INSPIRED BY BEER.
NOVEMBER 11TH, I WILL BE READING, UH, AT THE VETERANS DAY PARADE.
UM, AND YEAH, THAT'S IT FOR NOW.
UM, IF YOU ALWAYS WANT AN IDEA OF HOW ROBUST AND DIVERSE HOUSTON'S POETRY SCENE IS, PLEASE FOLLOW MY, UH, INSTAGRAM PAGE, HUGH POETLAUREATE, UH, WHERE YOU'LL GET AT LEAST 20 EVENTS A WEEK THAT ARE HAPPENING THROUGHOUT HOUSTON, UM, THAT FEATURES HOUSTON'S POETRY SCENE.
UH, SO YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH AS ALWAYS.
UM, I GUESS BEFORE I GO, I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH, UH, MAYBE SOME POETRY THAT, THAT ALWAYS INSPIRES ME.
UM, OCTAVIA BUTLER ONCE WROTE THAT BELIEF INITIATES OR GUIDES ACTION OR IT DOES NOTHING.
COULD, COULD YOU STATE YOUR NAME AGAIN? AND YOU'RE THE POET LAUREATE FOR, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE THAT MAY NOT KNOW.
COULD YOU KIND OF TELL US WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT ENTAILS? ABSOLUTELY.
MY NAME'S VEIS - I MEAN, I KNOW IT'S MORE THAN HAVING BEER WORKSHOPS AND POETRY.
I AM THE HOUSTON POET LAUREATE UNTIL APRIL 2027.
I FOLLOW A LINE OF VERY AMAZING HOUSTON POETS.
THE IMMEDIATE PAST ONE WAS ERIS KEON, UH, BEFORE HER IS OUTSPOKEN BEAN, BEFORE THEN, UH, MANY OTHERS.
UM, SO THE HOUSTON POET LAUREATE IS PRETTY MUCH THE POETIC REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, THOUGH HOUSTON I - HAS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITHIN IT WITH DIFFERENT, UM, IDEAS OF LANGUAGE, DIFFERENT HISTORIES, DIFFERENT CULTURES, DIFFERENT DIASPORAS, DIFFERENT EN- ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGES.
UM, THE HOUSTON POET LAUREATE TO ME IS A SMALL WAY TO CAPTURE, UH, OH, UH, WHETHER HOW SMALL OR HOW LARGE A SEGMENT OF THAT POETRY.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE BEAUTY AND THE, AND THE DAUNTING TASK OF BEING A POET LAUREATE.
HOW DO YOU REPRESENT A CITY SO GRAND, UM, AND IMAGINATIVE AS HOUSTON? AND WHAT IS ANY POET TO DO BUT TRY? AND SO FOR ME, WHAT I DO IS I SHOW UP TO AS MANY EVENTS AS POSSIBLE.
I HOST WORKSHOPS, UH, THAT ARE FREE FOR HOUSTONIANS TO ATTEND TO LEARN POETRY IN MY CRAFT.
UM, I ALSO WORK ON A FINAL PROJECT, WHICH AGAIN, AS I SAID, UH, I'M CURRENTLY WORKING ON, UH, WHICH IS A ANTHOLOGY OF HOUSTON POETS.
I DON'T THINK IT'S BEEN DONE, CONTEMPORARY HOUSTON POETS.
AND SO, UH, THE BEAUTY OF IT AGAIN IS THAT IN SIX MONTHS I'LL BE HANDING IT OVER TO THE NEXT HOUSTON POET LAUREATE, UH, WHICH MEANS THEY'LL GET TO SPEAK TO WHOLE OTHER COMMUNITIES AND REVISIT SOME OF THE SAME LOCATIONS OR VISIT ENTIRELY NEW LOCATIONS AND COMMUNITIES.
BUT, UM, THE WORK IS NEVER DONE AND IT NEVER WILL BE.
AND FOR THOSE THAT WANNA KEEP UP WITH YOU, DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE OR A CITY WEBSITE THAT YOU COULD SHARE
[01:10:01]
SO THAT THEY COULD SEE SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES AND PERHAPS ENGAGE? ABSOLUTELY.SO, UH, FOR ME PERSONALLY, YOU CAN VISIT HUGH POET LAUREATE AT, UH, IN THE INSTAGRAM.
SO JUST LOOK UP HOUSTON POET LAUREATE, UM, AND YOU'LL SEE ME THERE.
I'LL PO - THAT'S WHERE I POST EVENTS, WORKSHOPS, UH, NOT JUST MY OWN, BUT OTHERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND THEN, UH, I BELIEVE THE PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED, UH, IN CERTAIN PARTS THROUGH THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF THE ARTS.
WELL, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, AND THANK YOU FOR REPRESENTING US SO WELL.
AND YEAH, IF YOU WANNA KEEP UP WITH HIM, YOU CAN JUST WANDER OVER TO OUR OFFICES AS WELL.
HE'S, HE'S, UH, THE ATLARGE ONE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, UH, AS OF A FEW WEEKS AGO AND HAS DEFINITELY HELPED, HELPED ME STEP UP THE COMMUNICATIONS GAME, SO APPRECIATE THAT.
AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, YOU RIFF NOT ONLY ON BEER, BUT ON POZOLE AND ANY NUMBER OF OTHER TOP- TOPICS, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY.
I GOT, UM, HIS- HISTORICAL LATINX FIGURES.
SO I GOT A EDDIE GUERRERO POEM.
WELL, IN HONOR OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, LET'S SEE.
RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU KNOW ROSEMARY CASALS.
UH, HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW BILLIE JEAN KING? RAISE YOUR HAND.
IT'S THAT ROSEMARY CASSALZ IS A SALVADORAN AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER, UH, WHO IS ALSO PROTESTING FOR EQUAL PAY, UH, FOR WOMEN ATHLETES DURING THE SAME TIME AS BILLIE JEAN KING.
IN FACT, ROSEMARY CASALS IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST PAID, IF NOT THE HIGHEST PAID FEMALE ATHLETE OF HER TIME, BUT WE SELDOM KNOW ABOUT HER OR TALK ABOUT HER.
SO, UH, I HAVE A SERIES OF POEMS THAT EXPLORE HISTORICAL LATINX FIGURES.
AND SO MANY, MANY THINGS I WRITE ABOUT, BUT YES, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, MY BOSS, AND ALSO NO RELATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK BRIEFLY? COME RIGHT AHEAD.
GIVE US YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSTON PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS ASSOCIATION.
WE'RE THE LABOR ORGANIZATION UNDER THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS, REPRESENTING OVER A THOUSAND PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS HERE IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
I WANNA THANK, UH, MAYOR WHITMEYER AND CITY OF HOUSTON AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR ESTABLISHING THIS ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE.
THIS IS MY FIRST TIME ATTENDING THE, THIS MEETING AND GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, AND I ECHO THE, UH, THE COMMENTS MADE BY, BY THOSE PRESENT HERE TODAY OF SUPPORTING THE, THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORTING HOUSTON ARTISTS.
AND SO I WILL SPECIFY THAT WITH SUPPORTING HOUSTON MUSICIANS.
UM, IT IS FRUSTRATING TO SEE WHEN, UH, JUST LIKE BE IT WITH ACTORS OR, OR FILMMAKERS WHEN TALENT IS, UM, OUTSOURCED OUTSIDE OF HOUSTON, WHEN THERE IS SUCH A WEALTH OF TALENT HERE IN HOUSTON.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY COMMENT ON THE, UH, THE THREE SPEAKERS TODAY, THE HOUSTON ENDOWMENT.
THANK YOU FOR, FOR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF, UH, OF HOUSTON MUSICIANS AND OUR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, AND I'M SURE THIS IS THE CASE, BUT I JUST WANT TO, UM, CHALLENGE THE ENDOWMENT AND MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THOSE GENEROUS GIFTS AND, UM, INITIATIVES REACH, DO IN FACT REACH OUR MUSICIANS AND DO NOT JUST STAY AT THE, UH, MANAGEMENT LEVEL.
UM, MOVING ON TO THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY, UH, I'M JUST A COUPLE BLOCKS AWAY FROM, UH, FROM THE CENTER, AND IT'S VERY EXCITING TO SEE THE, UH, THE INITIATIVES AND THE FESTIVAL THAT THEY'RE PRODUCING.
UM, ALSO AT HPMA, WE PRODUCE A NUMBER OF FESTIVALS, SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CONNECTING WITH THEM AND SEEING HOW WE MAY OFFER OUR SUPPORT, UH, MUSICAL SUPPORT AND WHAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING WITH OUR POOL OF MUSICIANS.
AND WITH THE HOUSTON FILM AND MEDIA, UH, SPEAKERS AND GUESTS TODAY, UM, I MYSELF ACTUALLY LIVED IN LOS ANGELES FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
I'M A NATIVE OF HOUSTON, OF, OF ALEAF, UH, DISTRICT F.
UM, BUT, UH, AND THEN DID MY, UH, GRADUATE STUDIES AT NYU FOR FILM SCORING, AND I KNOW THAT THERE IS A, A STRONG POOL OF MUSICIANS HERE THAT, UH, COMPOSE AND RECORD AND WRITE FOR FILM AND FOR MEDIA, UH, BE IT EVEN SHORT MEDIA, UM, AND ALSO A LOT OF ORIGINAL ARTISTS THAT WOULD LOVE TO BE INVOLVED WITH LOCAL PROJECTS HERE IN FILMED, UH, PRODUCED AND FILMED HERE IN HOUSTON AND, UH, AGAIN, PUSHING LOCAL STORIES.
SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF AND, UH, OFFER MY SUPPORT TO EVERYONE THAT, UH, SPOKE TODAY, AND THANKS AGAIN, COMMITTEE.
[01:15:01]
THERE, UH, NO FURTHER COMMENTS AND ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UH, THIS IS MY SECOND TIME COMING TO A ARTS AND CULTURE COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT MY FIRST TIME TO SPEAK UP.
UM, I ENJOYED HEARING THE REPORTS FROM HOUSTON ENDOWMENT, THE ISLAMIC ARTS SOCIETY, AND ALSO HOUSTON FILM AND MEDIA.
UM, I'M HERE FROM A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ANGLE OF THE ARTS IN HOUSTON.
UM, I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE HOUSTON CHORAL SOCIETY, AND WE ARE A 100-VOICED, UM, CHOIR, UH, NONPROFIT PERFORMING ARTS ORGANIZATION BRINGING HIGH QUALITY CHORAL MUSIC TO THE WHOLE GREATER HOUSTON AREA.
WE PROVIDE A CREATIVE OUTLET TO MANY WHO LIVE IN HOUSTON.
OUR MEMBERS COME FROM ALL OVER, SPRING, SUGAR LAND, JERSEY VILLAGE, IDO, CYPRESS, THE HEIGHTS, MEMORIAL, MEMORIAL CITY, JUST TO NAME A FEW.
UH, WE ALL FIGHT THE HOUSTON TRAFFIC TO MAKE IT TO OUR MONDAY NIGHT REHEARSALS.
OUR MEMBERS RANGE FROM MUSIC EDUCATORS TO LAWYERS, MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, PEOPLE IN THE ENERGY SECTOR.
OUR AGES ALSO RANGE FROM RECENT GRADUATES TO YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO RETIREES.
OUR PATRONS ARE ALSO JUST AS WIDE RANGED.
WE ARE A TESTAMENT THAT OUR SERVICES ARE NEEDED IN HOUSTON, AS IT IS OUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON THIS YEAR.
WE ARE CELEBRATING ALL YEAR LONG, STARTING WITH A COLLABORATIVE CONCERT THIS FRIDAY WITH ECHO ORCHESTRA, THAT'S ENERGY CORRIDOR OF HOUSTON ORCHESTRA, AND THE HCU SCOLA CANTORUM, THAT'S THE HOUSTON CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TOP CHOIR.
OUR CELEBRATION CULMINATES IN MAY WITH A COMMISSIONED WORK FROM WORLD-RENOWNED CHORAL COMPOSER, DAN FORREST, AND IT'S NOT OUR FIRST COMMISSIONED WORK.
WE'VE ACTUALLY, THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, ABOUT EVERY TWO YEARS OR SO, COMMISSIONED A NEW WORK FROM A COMPOSER.
WE ALSO HOST A CHORAL COMPOSITION COMPETITION FOR ASPIRING COMPOSERS, AND FOR THREE YEARS, WE'VE BEEN PREMIERING A WORK BY A NEW COMPOSER.
LASTLY, WE HAVE REPRESENTED OUR GREAT CITY ON TOURS TO ITALY, IRELAND, GERMANY, AUSTRIA.
A HIGHLIGHT FOR ME WAS SINGING MASS AT THE VATICAN IN ROME.
AND JUST LAST NOVEMBER, WE WERE INVITED BY COMPOSER HEATHER SORENSON OF DALLAS TO SING HER NEWLY COMPOSED REQUIEM AT CARNEGIE HALL, ALTHOUGH WE SANG IT HERE IN HOUSTON FIRST.
WE ARE PROUD TO BE A PART OF HOUSTON'S VIBRANT ARTS COMMUNITY, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL OF YOU THIS FRIDAY AT THE DURHAM THEATER AT HCU AS WE PERFORM BRAHMS REQUIEM.
ACTUALLY, IN OUR 40-YEAR HISTORY, THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TIME THAT WE'VE DONE BRONZE REQUIEM.
WE DID IT FIRST IN 1999, AND THEN AGAIN IN 2009, SHOWING THAT THE HOUSTON COMMUNITY, EACH GENERATION, WANTS TO FORM THESE GREAT MASTERWORKS.
AND I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
WELL, FOR THE RECORD, COULD YOU GIVE US YOUR NAME AND WHETHER YOU REPRESENT AN ORGANIZATION? YES.
MY NAME IS JOAN MARCELLI, AND I'M ON THE BOARD OF THE HOUSTON CHORAL SOCIETY.
THANK YOU SO - AND I SING WITH THEM.
WELL, THEN YOU WANNA GIVE US...
SHOW OF HANDS, ARE THERE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? OKAY, COME ON.
GIVE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.
I WORK WITH HUGH ARTS AND WITH HOUSTON'S CULTURAL DISTRICTS.
I JUST WANNA GIVE TWO QUICK UPDATES ON THINGS THAT YOU ALL MAY BE INTERESTED IN.
ONE IS THAT ONE THING THAT HOUSTON ENDOWMENT DIDN'T MENTION WAS THAT THEY HAD AN ACTIVATION AT TRIPFEST THIS YEAR, WHICH WAS TWO WEEKS AGO, TWO WEEKS AGO, I THINK, UM, IN, IN AUSTIN.
AND, UM, THEIR NEW CEO SPOKE ON A PANEL ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT THE ARTS MAKE AND SPECIFICALLY POINTED OUT THE IMPACT THAT THE ARTS IN HOUSTON MAKE.
UM, AND THEY, AND SHE SPOKE ON A PANEL WITH THE NEW HEAD OF AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS WHO FLEW DOWN FROM WASHINGTON DC TO BE ON THAT PANEL WITH HER.
SO IT WAS GREAT, UM, REPRESENTATION OF THE HOUSTON ARTS SECTOR.
HOUSTON ENDOWMENT'S DOING A REALLY NICE JOB TRYING TO GET THE ARTS SECTOR OUT THERE, ESPECIALLY EVEN AT THE STATE LEVEL, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, HUGH ARTS WAS ALSO BROUGHT IN TO DO AN ACTIVATION AT TRIPFEST, AND WE ASKED PEOPLE WHY THE ARTS MATTER TO THEM
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AND HAD HUNDREDS OF POSTCARDS FILLED OUT THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING TO ARTS ADVOCACY DAY IN FEBRUARY THAT TEXANS FOR THE ARTS PUTS TOGETHER, WHICH IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT BRINGS ABOUT $5 MILLION FROM STATE, FROM THE STATE FOR FUNDING, UM, TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.SO WE'LL BRING A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO ARTS ADVOCACY DAY IN FEBRUARY TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT, UH, FUNDING IS PROTECTED AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I'LL JUST GIVE A QUICK UPDATE ON IS RANDY MENTIONED THE INITIATIVE THAT BLACK SHEEP IS DOING WITH THE CULTURAL DISTRICTS TO LOOK AT A, A NEW BRAND FOR THE ARTS SECTOR IN HOUSTON.
IF YOU REMEMBER, RAND MITCHELL AND I CAME TO SPEAK TO YOU A FEW MONTHS AGO WHENEVER WE WERE STARTING THAT INITIATIVE, AND WE HOPE TO BRING AN UPDATE TO YOU BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT, UH, WHERE THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL OF GOING, SO THANKS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? GOING, GOING.
UM, HEARING NONE, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF TODAY'S MEETING IS NOW CLOSED.
BUT BEFORE WE ADJOURN, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION AND CERTAINLY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE VARIOUS OFFICES AND TODAY'S PRESENTERS FOR THE INFORMATION SHARED WITH THIS COMMITTEE.
I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE WORK OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF THE ARTS AND CULTURAL PARTNERS.
WE HAVE WITH US MICHELLE LIAL TODAY, WHO SAT THROUGH THE WHOLE MEETING, AND WHICH IS VERY, VERY GOOD BECAUSE SHE'S A PERSON WHO MAY BE ABLE TO FACILITATE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, ARE BEING ASKED IN THIS COMMITTEE.
THE PRESENTATIONS TODAY HAVE PROVIDED VALUABLE INFORMATION REGARDING THE IMPACT OF ARTS AND CULTURE, THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL REPRESENTATION, AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN HOUSTON'S FILM AND MEDIA INDUSTRIES.
THE COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND CULTURAL STAKEHOLDERS TO SUPPORT INFORMED DECISION MAKING AND EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT HOUSTON.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED, AND THIS MEETING IS HEREBY ADJOURNED AT 3:29 PM.
THANK YOU ALL, AND YOU ALL HAVE A VERY SAFE AFTERNOON.