Houston’s arts industry is largest in Texas, with more than $1 billion in spending per year – Houston Public Media

Houston’s arts industry supported nearly 20,000 jobs and generated about $32 million in revenue for local governments, according to research by Americans for the Arts.

Randy Cohen is vice president of research for the group, which presented its findings to a City of Houston committee on Tuesday.

“These are local jobs,” Cohen said. “This is not an industry that’s going to be offshored. We need the curators in our museum hanging the art. We need the performers in our arts centers and the arts educators in the schools and the arts therapists in the hospitals.”

According to the group’s findings, Houston saw $1.3 billion in arts-related spending in 2022. Houston’s arts industry is the largest in Texas. Dallas had $854 million in arts-related spending, Fort Worth had $507 million and San Antonio had $295 million.

“We all appreciate how the arts create more livable communities,” Cohen said. “They make us feel creative and inspire us. But the fact is it’s an industry that supports jobs and generates government revenue.”

Attendees at arts events spent large sums of money, according to the findings, with an average of $41.09 per person per event. The largest share of spending went to food and drinks, which the average attendee spent about $18 on per event.

32% of attendees were from out of town, and 9.8% of them spent an average of $199 per person on lodging.

“That’s when the cash registers start ringing, and that’s what the arts do — heads in beds, cheeks in seats, derrieres in cafe chairs,” Cohen said. “So we’re doing all this great business for local businesses.”

As the Houston Landing reported, the City of Houston slashed funding for public art in July in an effort to address a budget deficit. Council reduced funding for the Houston Arts Alliance, which administers a grant program, from $25 million to $15 million.

On Tuesday, City Council Member Mario Castillo asked Cohen about the consequences of slashing $1 million in funding for the arts.

“The consequence of that $1 million cut has a ripple effect,” Cohen said. “If you were basically just to do all the math on that you’re looking at 272 fewer jobs and $474,000 in less local government revenue.”

As Castillo pointed out, arts-related spending supports businesses outside the industry.

“It’s really about the folks that work at the restaurants that these people go to when they go see a show, or the valet attendant who is taking the car to the parking lot while you’re going to see a show,” Castillo said. “Those are the folks that depend on this, and that’s where this investment really translates to the quality of life of the city”.

Council Member Joaquin Martinez said people should know the bulk of funding for arts comes from the city’s hotel occupancy tax.

“We were having this conversation a few months ago, and it was pretty contentious — ‘Don’t put this mural up, don’t put this art piece up. I’d rather have my ditches taken care of,'” Martinez said. “It’s two separate pots of money, two separate ways of how you spend them, and I think that is very important to make sure it’s clear across the board.”

The Houston Arts Alliance has awarded about $400,000 to dozens of artists and arts organizations over the past few months. The grants are funded by a portion of the hotel occupancy tax.