Message from the Chair
Wow! What a year 2013 is turning out to be! We at the Trust are still basking in the glow of another outstanding and successful Texas Medal of Arts Awards and so grateful to those of you who could join us to celebrate! We welcomed more than 1500 guests from across the state, grossed approximately $1.5 million, and received statewide media coverage raising the profile of the arts in Texas!
But we’re not resting on our laurels… The wrap up of the Awards brings the busy time of the 83rd Legislative Session, and the Texas Cultural Trust has an increasingly high profile and impactful presence up the street at the Capitol. Whether advocating for increased public funding of the arts through the Texas Commission on the Arts, or expanding the way the arts impact our state’s economic development through the use of Cultural Districts, we are ever busy reaching out, advocating and educating our elected officials on the importance of the arts for our state.
Earlier this year, we launched our new advocacy campaign: Invest in the Arts. The Arts Perform. Here are just some snippets from it, but you can view the whole campaign at http://www.txculturaltrust.org/programs/economic-development/
- $4.6 Billion in taxable sales generated by the Arts & Culture industry per year. More than it takes to run the City of Houston for a year.
- $290 million in state sales tax revenue generated by the Arts & Culture industry each year. More than $11 per person for every single person in Texas.
- $150 million in local and state revenue generated by Arts & Culture tourism each year. Equal to the revenue generated by all UT sports combined…including football.
- 1.5 million people attended Arts & Culture events in Dallas in 2010. Twice the population of San Francisco.
- 12,000 seats in Houston’s Theater District. Second only to New York City.
You can see why we were excited to roll out this message with the start of the Legislative Session, and are hopeful it will resonate with our legislators as they cast the important votes on how to prioritize the arts. We’re starting to see some traction already – Chairman Ryan Guillen, chair of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism, has filed HB 2718 making Cultural Districts in Texas eligible for existing state incentives.
We’re also watching closely as the Texas Commission on the Arts progresses through the Sunset process, and are grateful to Senator Joan Huffman and Representative Four Price for their leadership in carrying the legislation to continue the Commission for another 12 years.
Finally, we’re proud to have been a part of a fun and successful Arts Advocacy Day at the Capitol this spring. More than 100 arts advocates from across the state visited key legislators, sharing our message to Invest in the Arts. The Arts Perform.
As always, thank you for your interest and support of the Texas Cultural Trust and for the arts in Texas!
Warmly,
Karen R. Oswalt
Chair
2011-2013 Board of Directors
Chair — Karen Oswalt, Austin
Vice Chair – Charles W. Matthews, Dallas
Treasurer — Greg Davis, Dallas
Secretary — Judy Robison, El Paso
Immediate Past Chair — Wayne Fisher, Houston
Anita Arnold, Texarkana
Ray Benson, Austin
Kelli Blanton, Houston
Leslie Blanton, Houston
Marvin Blum, Fort Worth
Michelle Brock , Midland
Daniel H. Chapman, Dallas
Patricia Hamilton Dewhurst, Houston
Patsy Donosky, Dallas
George Farish, Brownsville
Linda Gibbons, Dallas
Sandra Gilliland, Amarillo
Anthony Hall, Houston
Carol Haynes, Abilene
Gayle Hunt, El Paso
Alexis Hunter, Corpus Christi
Gene Jones, Dallas
Milla Perry Jones, Dallas
Kathleen R. Kennedy, San Antonio
Carole Krist, Kemah
Linda La Mantia, Laredo
Dawn Leatherwood, Tyler
Nancy Loeffler, San Antonio
Brian McCall, Austin
Sharon McCullough, Dallas
Debbie Montford, San Antonio
Jesús Moroles, Rockport
Guillermo Nicolas, San Antonio
Kay Olson, Waco
Laura Street, Amarillo
Stephen Tipps, Houston
Leslie Ward, Austin
Donna Axum Whitworth, Fort Worth
Pam Willeford, Austin
Jocelyn Straus, Chair Emeritus
Texas Medal of Arts Awards, San Antonio
