Good afternoon.

I'm uh Councilmember Dr.

Caroline Shabazz, Chair of the Arts and Culture Committee.

And it is now two, probably it's two p.m.

And I hereby call to order the meeting of the Arts and Culture Committee of the Houston City Council for Wednesday, July the 8th, 2026.

We are meeting today in the City Hall Council Chamber, 901 Bagby Street, second floor, Houston, Texas.

This meeting is open to the public and is being broadcast live on HTV, the City of Houston's municipal channel.

Presentation materials for today's meeting are available on the city's website.

Before we begin, I would like to recognize my colleagues who serve on the all, I don't think, yes, I do, on the Arts and Culture Committee, which uh I have Councilmember Sally Alcorn at large five who I can always depend on.

Sally for the city.

Okay.

Then we have representatives from, let's see.

Councilmember Mario Castillo, and then I have an intern here, right here.

Thank you for coming.

Someone uh representing Twilight Carter's office, someone representing Alejandra Salinas, someone representing Councilmember Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex Tatum, and we have someone representing at large, Councilmember Julian Ramirez.

And then to my right, I have Miss CC Scott.

One of my wonderful, wonderful blessings of being a city council member.

Okay, and another intern here.

But anyway, uh Vice Chair, Councilmember Mario Castillo is unable to join us today, and we certainly miss his presence.

I would also like to recognize I don't think we have any other members of council just yet.

As they come in, I will recognize them to our presenters, members of Houston Arts and Culture, Cultural Committee, nonprofit leaders, artists, community partners, residents joining us today.

Thank you for being here and for your continued commitment to strengthening Houston through the arts.

And I always have to recognize uh Mr.

Dwight Baxter.

Dwight Baxter is a former Broadway performer, and so he has been in the intricacies of the art world.

I went to New York twice in the last two weeks, and I certainly was able to see some wonderful shows.

But always glad that you are joining us.

Don't always get to return your phone call, but we have Corey Glenn who's ready, willing, and able to fill your phone call and your requests.

Okay.

Arts and culture are fundamental to Houston's identity and the quality of life enjoyed by our residents.

They preserve our history, celebrate our diversity, strengthen our neighborhoods, support local businesses, attract visitors from around the world, and contribute significantly to our economy.

Today's agenda highlights organizations that continue to expand opportunities for artists, invest in neighborhoods, create meaningful community partnerships, and strengthen Houston's cultural landscape.

I want to recognize a representative from Councilmember.

Tiffany D.

Thomas.

Okay.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws to a close, Houston has welcomed the world with extraordinary hospitality and cultural richness.

The legacy of this historic event will live on through investments in our communities, our artists, and our public spaces.

Just as a show of hands, how many people got the opportunity to not just watch it on TV?

Because I mean it was a party going on all around the city, scared me.

I went in restaurants, people screaming when somebody scored.

You know, I'm taking cover because you never know what's going on.

But did anybody get the chance to go to see in person, the World Cup games?

Okay, wonderful.

There was Impromptu Petrole on the Red Line.

There was what?

Impromptu PEPROS.

Your impromptu recording on the radio.

I'm telling you, people were so excited.

But certainly I'm glad that you all got that opportunity.

I hope others of you were able to at least maybe view it and maybe even got a little feedback to your cultural organizations.

And that's a wonderful thing, because that's what it's about because that's how we keep this moving.

And so we're gonna go to agenda item two.

And it's always a pleasure to have the director, Michelle Liao with us.

And we will go on, uh, she's with the mayor's art, um, mayor's office of the arts, and she will give us updates.

Thank you, Michelle.

Excuse me.

Thank you, Director Leo.

Oh, thank you so much.

Thank you so much, Chair Evan Shabazz.

And I really, now that you all are here and I'm here in person because I sadly was out on previously scheduled vacation when y'all passed the hot contract now.

I can properly thank both you and Councilmember Alcorn in person for all of those wonderful things that you all said about the arts and about my office.

So thank you very much.

Really appreciate your support.

Um, I I do want to share with the community that uh the hot contract, which is the contract set to begin in 2027.

The current contract expires at the end of this year, but um Houston Arts Alliance begins their work many months in advance in order to ensure that the funding keeps moving out to the community without delay or disruption.

And so uh in order to do that seamlessly, we needed to get this contract passed now that will begin in 2027.

It passed unanimously a couple of weeks ago, and it really was a reflection of the strong commitment of both Mayor Whitmeyer and his administration and Houston City Council to the Houston arts ecosystem, excuse me.

Um, and I think you you've said it very well, but really this this support reaffirms Houston's commitment to its creative economy and to attracting cultural tourism.

Um and as we noted in some of the earlier presentations, you know, the our arts ecosystem um counts over 13,000 jobs, and and for every dollar that we invest in the hot resources to the arts, we bring 28 dollars back to our city.

Um so it really is a win for Houston, and it has been really exciting this summer, especially to see Houston on the national stage in a lot of different ways and to be able to showcase some of what we have to offer.

So thank you for highlighting that.

Um I also want to share that the annual grant applications for next year for through Houston Arts Alliance for Hot Resources are currently open and close on July 24th.

And then there's an additional funding cycle for Let Creativity Happen and Cities Initiative grant funding that opens August 28th and closes September 26th.

Those are the final funding cycles that will be open this year, and then of course they'll reopen again next year.

Um, in addition to all of the exciting things we've had going on with FIFA, we've had uh Make Music Day recently in June, and um many of you may remember Gracie Chavez, she was the founding music officer here at the City of Houston, and um together with Fresh Arts Houston, one of our cultural districts, they put together a fantastic make music day, and I really want to congratulate them and recognize them and also to thank uh Vice Chair Castillo, I know he's not here today, but um, for being there and for representing the city of Houston at the event.

I know it was a huge success.

Um, and following that success, of course, my colleagues in the mayor's office of special events uh put together the mayor's freedom over Texas Fourth of July event, which was extra special this year being the 250th and featuring three major headliners.

And I know from talking to my colleagues that there was record attendance.

They broke records this year, and also was their longest fireworks show in history, and um, you know, outside of the success of the event and what a wonderful time I could see everyone was having.

I I those of us that come in and out of this building regularly get to see what goes into that and the logistics and the hard work and watch them set up for many weeks and plan for many many months, and so I just want to congratulate the Office of Special Events on their hard work as well.

Um and then one additional opportunity for Houston-based artists that I wanted to share, and I want to thank you, Chair Evan Shabazz and the District D office for calling this to my attention.

The Houston Parks Board has an open call right now for two uh site-specific works at McGregor Park, and um that one is an interior tennis center entry, and the other is the uh basketball pavilion exterior wall, and that closes on July twenty-eighth at 7 p.m.

And I have that request for qualifications, as does the district D office, and I'm happy to share it with anyone who is interested, but certainly encourage Houston artists to apply.

And that is all I have.

Are there any questions?

In the interest of time, do we have any questions for Director Leo?

So that she can she doesn't have to stay the entire meeting.

Thank you very much.

I really appreciate it.

And again, thank you, Council members, for your support of the arts and of the hot contract.

And I want to make sure that you all do get the presentations.

I don't know if you could hear her, but there's some opportunities for funding.

And I think you said it was some opportunity for there's a grant cycle currently open with Houston Arts Alliance, the annual grant cycle.

That's really important that you look into that and meet the guidelines so that you can get funding for your organizations.

Another one that's open, opening in late August, and then, of course, there's an open call right now, closing uh later this month for two projects at McGregor Park through the Houston Parks Board.

Okay, thank you.

Well, thank you so very much.

Really appreciate what you do.

Uh keeps us moving.

You know, it's not really my wheelhouse.

I just depend on people with the expertise.

So thank you so much.

All right.

Okay, now we're going to move on to item three, and I want to recognize executive director sixth toll.

Is it Wagan?

Wagon.

Wagon.

Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

Wagon.

Thank you so much.

Yes.

Thank you all so much.

And thank you for this time.

And thank you again for the support for the hot tax and and for those grants, because I think that so many other artists, so many of our organizations depend on that long-term and that funding.

And uh I am here in order to be talking about Houston and Color and our journey from Bipop Arts Nutberg and Fund over the past five years.

I'll share a bit of a story of why we started um what we learned and uh some of our strategies that have built an interconnected network of cultural hubs, creative catalysts, and community culture bearers.

Before I open the questions, I will also share an overview of Houston and Color's vision where artists uh arts leaders, creatives, and the cultural communities that they serve can build a thriving and vibrant future in and for the Greater Houston area.

So the Bipop Arts Not Breaking Fund, uh, which I will also refer to as BANF, began with a simple but powerful truth.

Communities of color have always been the backbone of Houston's cultural identity.

These communities and particularly the cultural institutions that anchor them.

They carry the layered histories, sustained traditions, build community power, and make the city more fully itself.

Our network includes Arte Publico Press, the oldest Latino publishing house in the US that changed the possibilities for Hispanic writers and Latino voices.

Here's Guy and Urban Souls dance company who are leveraging their 20 plus year legacy to build a stronger future for black artists and black communities through the BAMF supported black arts movement.

Islamic Arts Society, who recently received their first NEA grant, who also create avenues for dialogue and understanding about Muslim communities through the rich heritage of Islamic art.

Despite the shared histories, uh we have witnessed how these organizations have been consistently overlooked and underfunded.

These cultural anchors have carried the weight of cultural preservation and the community uh care with limited resources, recognition, and access to the systems that shape opportunity.

You said the slide and the data in the slide that shows this is disproportionate funding access for main street arts organizations nationally, 16 times greater than that of BIPOC serving organizations and 22 times greater in Houston.

In 2018, the median income for the top 20 BIPOC-serving organ institutions was just 290,000.

When we spoke with our first round of grantees, they uplifted conditions that continued to uh contributed to a feeling of marginalization, where primary audiences may not be primary English speechers or perhaps are from cultures where making and performing of culture are not recognized as performing professional careers.

Next slide, please.

The Bipop Arts Network and Fund is a community response developed to interrupt that pattern.

Banf began in a moment of crisis, yet we did not start with out uh start out with a vision of what do we need to fix to get back.

We stepped into the opportunity and focused on this guiding question.

What future do we want to build?

We deliberately chose to free ourselves from the confines of crisis and step into the place of creation of imagination, a place of dreaming.

In five years, BANF has grown from an urgent response into a national model for community-rooted place-based philanthropy.

Together we have resourced more than two 200 organizations and individual artists, some of whom are in the audience today.

We've also invested 10 million dollars in artists and arts organizations led by and serving Greater Houston's BIPOC communities.

We invested $1 million to transform the creative futures of 50 artists through the Artist Awards and a cohort experience.

$5 million and 11 Houston cultural treasures, honoring generational leadership and strengthening their resilience for the future.

We saw a gap, and we built the Cultural Treasures Accelerator, supporting 16 smaller and sometimes younger organizations with general operating support, a creative risk fund, and a peer network, and we strengthened arts education through peer-to-peer mentorship network, focused on long-term BIPOP student success.

We recently awarded over a quarter of a million dollars to 26 student impact projects that will unfold this summer and through the end of this year.

But the most important accomplishment is not a number, it is a shift in possibility.

Next slide, please.

Through flexible trust-based support, artists and organizations have strengthened internal systems, expanded their teams, built new programs, and clarified their visions for the future.

They gained room to breathe, to plan, and to dream.

They accumulated what we call dream capital, a connected series of supports around vision-oriented strategies that allow communities to move from survival to self-determination.

Dream Capital is not symbolic.

It is a collective infrastructure, and that is the heart of what Banff has built.

Banff's creative process can be described by four interconnected phases of work.

We connect by building networks of artists, leaders, and organizations across cultural, aesthetic, and geographic boundaries.

These relationships are not the byproduct of the work, they are the infrastructure.

We resource through flexible, unrestricted funding because communities know best what they need.

We pair dollars with knowledge, coaching, technical assistance, and access to multiple forms of capital.

We learn by piloting responsive programs that prioritize creativity, iteration, and adaptation.

And we invest in expanding skill sets with our community with our community storytellers that open pathways and change paradigms of success.

We create and reflect by testing initiatives against community needs involving and co-creating with our awardees.

We supported experimentation through creative risk funds and mini grants.

And this creative process to connect resource, learn, create and reflect is how BAMF has grown from a crisis response into a sustained community-rooted movement.

Banff began as a response to crisis, but has become something much more powerful.

A collective practice of imagining and building the future together.

Banff began as an experiment and trust-based philanthropy, one of nine regional initiatives catalyzed by the Ford Foundation.

And most of the other regions have taken the learnings, named their successes, and moved on.

Because of what we have built is rooted in this community and its histories, its cultural leadership, its distinct ways of working.

We are the only initiative of those nine that is still continuing.

Next slide, please.

Last month we announced a new name and shared the next chapter of our story.

We will continue supporting artists and organizations whose works preserves history, builds community power, and shapes Houston's cultural identity.

BAMF has shown that relationships are infrastructure, and we will continue to keep strengthening connective tissue that helps artists and organizations collaborate, share resources, and dream.

Thriving requires imagination.

We will continue to create in conditions, time, space, trust, and support that allow communities to envision futures beyond crisis.

And stories stories are the legacy and the inspiration.

We will continue to invest in sharing stories that connect the city's future to its histories.

We have seen how Dream Capital grows through relationships, imagination, intergenerational knowledge, and shared purpose.

And we know this work is just beginning.

We have been awarded a multi-year grant from Houston Endowment and are in discussion with other local and national foundations.

But part of our future is dependent on you and the long-term resources you have access to.

I am being asked, how are we building stronger pathways to resources for our network?

As foundation support cannot be a singular answer.

So part of my request is as you talked about, Chair, around the World Cup, around the camaraderie, the feeling of community, that sense of purpose and sense of hope.

If you felt that in a real-time moment, that is what our artists and our organizations actually do in a day-to-day, all across our city.

Organizations like NAMCE's Afrofest and FYP's Filipino Street Festival at Gather thousands annually.

It is that cohesion, that continued stewardship of community wellness that I'm asking you to keep investing in, to recognize as cultural infrastructure.

I'm not speaking just about cash, which is essential, but also by helping to break by brokering relationships, sharing expertise, and reducing barriers for our communities to gather, celebrate, and live fully.

Last slide, please.

Houston's arts and culture scene helps people feel even greater connection to and pride in the city that they already do.

It connects diverse communities to call Houston home and build a beautiful mosaic that shows its city to itself in vibrant color.

The arts are working civic private illuminated history.

It's commemorated, neighbors gather, and communities build power through creativity.

Every community in our diversity deserves to be seen, heard, and represented.

Art and culture have the power to do that and more.

Please invest in the network and the cultural hubs and creative leaders that we represent to help build an arts and culture landscape where history is alive, creativity is power, and connection speaks as many languages as people in this city.

Thank you.

Thank you so very much.

And while the screen is still up, if you need to get that information, make sure you get a screenshot of it so that you can make contact.

Certainly, we've been joined by a representative from Councilmember Fred Flickinger.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Oh, you were in the wrong seat.

Okay.

No, okay.

Well, he came in as flickinger and he's going out as council member Panzarella.

How about that?

I tell you, that's what you're doing on.

You can change it around.

I just want to tell you, this is one beautiful, colorful presentation, as well as very informative.

So thank you so very much for that.

Are there any questions?

Thank you, Sally, for the city.

Thank you, Chair.

And thank you so much for your presentation.

Um, really well done.

When did you start?

When did this organization start?

So uh we launched July of 20 uh 21.

Okay.

So uh it's been five years, and then at that anniversary, um, at our luncheon, we actually renamed as Houston in Color.

Great.

And love the work that you're doing, and you have foundation support, it sounds.

Have you applied for, do you get HAA money too?

Um, actually, uh I am a technical um technically an employee of HAA.

And um, and so you do get HAA money.

We actually bring money into HIA and it comes back out to me, so yes, in that space.

But I do think that uh we're trying to figure out ways in which that we are bringing in other resources and other ways the funding and organizations that organizations and artists don't have, and how are we making sure that we are not competing for those resources but continuing to build access and pathways for artists and organizations to have um a stronger future?

Great.

Well, really admire the work that you're doing, and thanks for introducing me to it.

Thank you, Councilman.

Thank you so very much.

So 2021, you're a little younger than us.

We have been here, we've been here since 2020, some of us.

At any rate, but thank you so very much for this wonderful presentation.

Okay, we're gonna move now to agenda item four, Art House Houston.

Um, and I want to recognize Director Maureen Magnamera.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Red button.

Okay, I got it.

Thank you so much to the Arts and Culture Committee of Houston City Council, and thank you to Director Lyelle for inviting me to join you today.

Um, some of you guys know that uh Art House Houston formed also uh in a time of crisis as friends of River Oaks Theater and helped to save the River Oaks Theater.

Now Art House Houston is uh has continued to operate but has pivoted to looking at a bigger picture of how to build a arts and film center for the city of Houston and for a thriving community.

Um with that we have uh stepped in front of a wrecking ball.

So um the Garden Oaks Theater, which is the sister theater, uh, in terms of uh it being a historic theater and it being designed by the same architect as the River Oaks Theater is at risk currently.

Uh there are demolition permits, but we have been allowed thanks actually to uh councilwoman at large, Alcorn, and uh also to Castillo for helping facilitate a uh meeting with the owner.

So we are now under contract to purchase the theater and redevelop it as an arts and film center for the city of Houston with beautiful exhibition space.

The theater is stunning, and I'm gonna show you some slides.

Everybody ready?

Next slide.

So as I said, we were founded in 2021 also coming right out of the pandemic in an emergency to help save the River Oaks Theater.

And the uh the organization has actually existed for much longer, but not in a formal way.

Um people came together in 2006 and uh to work to help save the Alabama Theater and the River Oaks Theater when they were at risk earlier, but we ended up stepping uh never forming a 501c3 until the pandemic when the theater was at risk, and we've continued to operate since then.

Next slide, please.

So the vision is that the Garden Oaks Theater will be recreated as a one-of-a-kind cultural arts film and uh art center.

So the theater, for those of you guys who don't know, um, has been a church for the last 20 years, and it was sold in a private sale, so nobody knew that it was sold in a private sale until uh the wrecking ball was literally at the door.

Um the theater is in a very dynamic neighborhood uh that is the fastest growing part of our city at the intersection of the heights, garden oaks, and independence heights, and the communities beyond.

Next slide, please.

So our vision is to unite artists and leading arts organizations to create diverse experiences in film, live performance, music, education, and more in our diverse and dynamic artistic community.

Next slide, please.

So I'm just gonna show you a few historic photos.

We're gonna go next slide, please.

Next slide, please.

So just to reiterate that there is an active demolition permit on the building, and that if we are not able to perform to close on the property at the end of this month, that the contract says that the building will be demolished as soon as that is clear.

So next slide, please.

So the overview of the property is that it's not just a historic theater, though the historic theater is a gem.

It's 2.3 acres of land very proximate to downtown.

And it has, as you can see in the drone footage, there are actually four buildings that make up the property, as well as 192 parking spaces.

It's dynamically located as you can see in the Google Maps outline.

The neighborhood is on the other side of North Shepherd, where this side of North Shepherd has warehouses and retail spaces that would actually uh allow for a buffer zone so that the uh neighbors could enjoy the property but not be disturbed by any live performance or other things.

So it's a uniquely wonderful place.

Next slide, please.

So uh to the this theater marquee is center, to the left of the theater, uh was a originally a pharmacy with a soda fountain.

One of the ideas is that there would be co-working space and an additional uh cinema space and exhibition space in the pharmacy space, but that we would also do like a retro community uh soda fountain at the front of the pharmacy space.

And then to the right of the theater, there was the building that was originally a post office and had a five and dime and some other retail spaces.

That space has been re-or reorganized in a way that it would make a perfect learning space and uh education space, maker space for the larger arts community.

Next slide, please.

This is kind of a dark slide, so I'm not sure why it came out so dark, but looking to the right-hand side of the slide, you can see the original grand lobby, and then the image of what the grand lobby looks like today.

Again, this is the auditorium, and it's mostly undisturbed, and there are very few uh exhibition spaces in the city of Houston that are this right-sized for uh arts exhibition and uh spaces.

There's a real need for this size uh space.

It seats uh approximately 700.

For example, the River Oaks Theater max is out at 245.

The um hobby center has the Zilka Hall, which is 500, and then the Cullen uh auditorium is at 1200.

So it's there's nothing quite this uh size, which is very appealing for premieres, very appealing for uh smaller live stage things from all sorts of uh arts exhibition organizations and a great stage.

Next slide.

So this space is the post office space I mentioned that has room for uh some workforce development through education, some residency programs for artists, stage uh sound stage spaces to uh help build our film uh maker community and uh as well as uh classrooms from young children all through uh children of all ages, I'll say.

So uh we can have sound studios, we can have editing studios, we can have uh art studios, art making studios for the neighborhood and the community at large.

So next slide, please.

Next slide, please.

So some of our partners, people who have already come in and said that they want to be part of the space, include performing arts.

Houston is interested in the education space and the performing space, his Houston Cinema Arts Society is interested in premieres, uh the film festival, captive studios is interested in using the space for they're the largest sound stage in the city of Houston now for filmmakers, and they're interested in doing some sound stage in the space.

Houston area producers is interested in doing residency programs.

The Latino Film Festival is interested in premieres and festival exhibition.

Swamp is interested in doing summer filmmaker camps.

Black Cinema Club is interested in doing programming in the Houston International Film Festival, is looking for a home.

Next slide, please.

The Capital Campaign, we believe is going to be around 14 million.

There are naming rights opportunities, there are two stages with the purchase of the building, as well as the second stage, which is restoration and renovation.

Next slide, please.

So it would be our intention, and we've already started even before we own the property.

We've uh started bringing together the community of preservationists, including preservation Houston, who's in the room, and the uh to have the theater qualified for historic tax credits, which would be critical for helping uh bring the theater back to life.

As you can see, there are these stunning murals all over the uh building in the historic historically, and we would bring in local artists to uh work on recreating murals and a lot of the historic uh details.

Next slide, please.

So the timeline is uh we have um gotten a couple of extensions and put down some large deposit money.

Uh the Houstonians who have done that are heroes because they're doing it without knowing for sure that we'll be able to uh close on the property, and we're rushing furiously toward the finish line, which is uh July 30th, is our mandatory closing date.

Many of you might know that uh Wes Anderson himself, Houston filmmaker and international academy award-winning filmmaker now lives in Paris and uh doesn't usually travel, but he'll be here next week in support of uh benefit that we're doing for toward uh the closing date.

We do need to uh we don't need to have the entire amount for closing uh and renovation in advance, but we do need to have uh two million dollar equity into the closing, and we need to have two million dollars into the restoration renovation uh plan.

So right now we are uh we have pledges for about 1.3 million in a very short period of time.

Some of you guys know that I was standing in front of you right after we signed this contract just a few months ago.

Uh next slide, please.

So our board is made up of a group of people who are both uh historically historically arts organization uh and um live arts or live performance organization owners, operators of multi-million dollar properties all over the United States, architects, uh historic uh preservationists, um, and filmmakers, artists as well.

Next slide, please.

And then I leave you with this uh last quote from uh Wes Anderson, our friend Wes Anderson, and a picture of the downtown majestic theater uh from 1923 in uh 1971, it became this beautiful parking lot as it still stands.

Thank you so much for giving me the time and uh does anybody have any questions?

Yes, yes, um I remember the majestic, and so certainly that that made me feel a little nostalgic to know that that could be the way of this theater.

Um, and I see you have made a 230,000 earnest money investment in it already.

Uh now are you saying that there's not gonna be an opportunity to extend, or they're gonna make you pay more money to extend, or it's over and it's gonna go to the wrecking ball.

Which what are you what are you saying?

What I'm saying is that uh we are working on a path to closing at the end of July.

Um that path is that we have to be able to give uh lender two million dollars at the end of July.

We have 1.3 million dollars right now in pledges and donations.

We um we have uh the contract allowed for two extensions, uh which we paid additional deposits for, and uh then we have asked for two additional extensions, and we have gotten those extensions from the seller who is a strip center developer.

That he's he's a land guy, but he works with strip center developers.

Um he has no intention of uh keeping the theater uh at all.

We tried to communicate with him that the uh we could we just keep the theater within the uh larger development, and he said, No, that's not what I do.

He does strip center clears land and sells that property to others.

So he is not a bad guy.

Sally's knows him just by crazy.

We discovered he's not a bad guy, and uh he is a businessman, and he has said, you know, basically what he said through the facilitation of the conversation was that look if the community cares so much about this property and if it's so valuable to the community, then pay me what I paid for it.

And so um that's where we sit right now.

Um there's we're trying, this is not worked out yet, and I'm a little hesitant to say it out loud, but there uh maybe somebody at the table can help.

Um there, we are in conversation with him about the possibility of doing some kind of uh friendly uh seller finance situation.

Um he has said that he's not gonna reduce the price uh that um but he's also offered some opportunities, still there's two million dollars that needs to be come up come up with right away.

Um there are some opportunities that uh right now the terms of the the any seller financing is too short, and uh the um interest rate is too high.

So those two things, um I don't know, Sally, maybe you can help me with that.

Um so anyway, that's that's where we are right now.

Um will he give us another extension uh to into a what would be a fifth extension?

Um we don't know, but he's dealing with carrying costs in between times.

We've secured the building and had roofers come over to make sure that everything is patched up and not uh there the theater's not in any kind of harm.

We're doing uh he's allowing us to do tours.

I would love to take you guys over to see the theater.

Um, and uh it really is photos cannot do it justice.

It's it's uh beautiful.

And um on Monday and Tuesday, I have of next week I do have uh showings scheduled at a long lunch time on Monday and a almost after work time from four to six on uh Tuesday.

And if you're interested, feel free to uh email me to RSVP, and we're joining first um at a neighbor's house who we're gonna review the business plan.

We have a five-year pro forma that shows that the property can be self-sustaining and rock for the city and for all of the communities around the theater.

Well, thank you, Director.

I'm gonna see if you could get Dwight Baxter to go dance and me to go sing, you could really raise that money, just like that.

But certainly I I pray that it all works out.

I mean, it's such a beautiful building, and um it would be just uh a real heartbreaker for to go uh to the demolition coup.

Um now I have questions uh from council member Alcoin.

Thank you, Chair.

And Maureen, thank you.

Man, you are just like so persistent on this.

And I think your pictures do do it justice.

It's beautiful in some of these pictures.

I need to get over there, and if my schedule allows, I'll definitely go on the Monday or Tuesday route.

Uh I want to be um, I do know the owner, he is a good guy, he is a businessman, and I think that the his willingness to extend and not just go right in with the wrecking ball um says a lot about him.

That um he does, but he's also a businessman, and you know, is uh and he does have a demo permit, and he already has, I mean he's he's significantly in to the demolition.

This the sign is gone, the air conditioners and the metals have been removed from the city.

Yeah, right, the sign is somewhere.

Yeah, we we uh found the sign and had it picked up, and it's at a uh the sign company that uh restored the River Oak sign for us.

We got it over there.

I'll be going to the River Ux Theater to see the invite tomorrow.

Uh cannot thank you and everybody involved for all your work on the River Oaks Theater.

It's a treasure.

Um I certainly want to do what I can to help.

I'm sick I'm gonna be gone when Wes Anderson's here, but um what a great thing that you're doing getting Wes Anderson to come and raise money for it.

Am I hearing you right that you just have to have two million by the end of the month?

Not the two million plus the two million.

Okay, two million.

So you're 700,000 short.

Um, well, some of the pledges are people who have pledged, like, oh, I will give a hundred thousand dollars for at 20,000 a year.

So I do have I need liquid two million.

Right.

How much are you hoping to raise with the Wes Anderson event?

Oh well, okay, so not just from tickets.

Uh it's it's basically like a gala, right?

So there's also an auction.

Um, and uh we're also uh calling people to possibly step in and do naming rights.

We're gonna put stars in front of the theater, so for the walk of fame.

I'm hoping that we can bring it home by the end of the day.

Okay, great.

I'm not psychic, of course.

And um on like the River Oaks Theater, there was a theater, I mean, a movie company that came in.

Are you talking to people like that that are in this business to that are might be interested in in making a new theater or interested in, you know, I mean, I love your vision for it, but if you had to, could somebody say, hey, I'll put a movie theater there or I'll do whatever with it that preserves the integrity of the building.

We um we have been working on two backup plans, um, and uh uh people who we've asked to come in with us uh who were like well, we're really not interested in um working with uh in a situation where we don't control the real estate and we're not sure it pencils unless you lease from us, so we'll be the backup plan.

So we do have a couple of, I mean it's not it's not in ink, but we do have a couple of uh possibilities for that.

So I'm trying to work every single angle I can think of.

So and the partners that you presented that are interested in the space that will obviously come with lease money, correct.

So through the so there'll be um uh I I like to say that it would be kind of a um it'd be kind of a uh if you can imagine the River Oaks marrying hobby center and the match, uh, and then adding in uh Glass L's ability to have classrooms and the residency programs, um, and then we just like uh some of those locations, we also have space for the restaurant spaces, which would be um both community spaces as well as uh rental income.

So the finance.

Could the restaurant be like a concession?

Somebody comes in.

No, actually, like the at the pharmacy, we would have a cafe on the post office side.

We could have a sidewalk bistro that opens up the space to um to like really feeling very Right, but who operates that?

So uh a tenant.

Right, like a concession.

Like somebody would come in, like a like a restaurant.

So yeah, so we're looking at um, you know, I've talked to several local restaurant okay owners, yeah.

Because that is a big growing area.

Obviously, if he bought it, he was planning on, you know, a lot of of uh you know uh, you know, what is it, retail is what is the word house rooftops, you know, rooftops are around, rooftops are good for retail or whatever the saying is in real estate, yeah.

Um so um anyway, thank you.

Uh you know, I'm certainly willing to have conversations with with the owner if you think it would be helpful.

Uh I um I I'm rooting for you.

I think uh you're doing a beautiful job and really uh I'm excited about the prospect of saving this theater.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Um, you know, and we have interns in District D, and they're under the leadership of Ms.

Ingram Mitchell over there.

And they actually engage in in real time and real work.

And because uh they are here today.

I have two that I want to recognize that that have questions.

And so first I'm going to recognize Madison Williams, who is sitting to my right, and she has a question.

Hi, Madison.

Hello.

Um actually I don't have a question.

It's more so a statement.

But yes, my name is Madison Williams.

I'm a fellow district D intern.

I just wanted to say I grew up in that area, passing near the church, yes.

So when I came home from college, I attend the illustrious Spelman College.

When I came home, and I noticed that it was boarded up and that there is a possibility of it being demolished.

I was a little sad.

So to come in and see that you have this bright idea of turning it into a building where it can be used and still be remodeled.

I I fully encourage it.

And not only that, I went to a fine arts high school, so I think that could be beneficial not only for the youth, but then also for adults who are into that type of career field.

So I fully support it, and I look forward to hopefully being able to see it in the future.

Oh, thank you so much.

Wonderful.

And then we have Kyla Murphy sitting in my seat.

It's great to meet you.

Nice to meet you as well.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

Uh, my question is given the city's investment in arts and culture, has our House Houston estimated the number of jobs or workforce opportunities, this remodeling project is expected to create for the Houston residents.

Well, thank you for asking that because it pulls together uh organizations from all over the city and gives them a place to work and collaborate as well.

Um there's there's both the the workforce that will be within the operating fabric of this you know 2.3 acre property.

There's also uh the workforce property workforce possibility building with the uh maker space and education space and residency space.

I think some of you guys probably know that Texas recently passed and then Houston passed again uh tax incentives for filmmaking in Houston.

So um that's part of our mission is to really help uh bring some uh strong education and stepping stone, and I think that's part of what Wes Anderson's investment is looking at this as an incubation uh space for artists, filmmakers.

So there's workforce in terms of filling jobs, but there's also this kind of paying it forward uh for creatives uh into the community, hopefully, for years to come.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

And it's no coincidence that they're so articulate and have and have great ideas.

They're also my Spelman sisters, number one HBCU for the last night.

Oh, sorry.

Last 19 years.

Anyway, okay.

We're gonna move on.

We have a question from the representative from council member Alexandra Say.

Thank you so much, Chair.

And thank you so much for your work and and uh presentation.

I was a small part of the effort attempting to preserve the Granada Theater in Northeast Houston.

And so I understand how much work goes into trying to stand in front of that wrecking ball.

Yes.

Um so you mentioned two, in my opinion, hometown heroes, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, which is 13 Oscar nominations and nearly a billion dollars of the box office between the both of them.

So they're a big deal.

Um you mentioned they're helping with the fundraiser or on the board, one on each.

Are they also some of the individuals?

I was just curious who have pledged or donated.

So that is an important question.

Wes has said that yes, he's going to, and he's gonna try to bring someone along with him.

We don't know what that looks like yet, but um, and uh Rick is donating something else that is a little bit uh less tangible, but yes, both of them are involved in helping.

Um, filmmakers are not as uh well off as we all fantasize that they are, they have huge investors.

Um I'm hoping that you know uh they might also be able to connect us with other people.

So that was a great great question.

Thank you.

Okay, I don't think we have any other questions, but so uh thank you so very much for this presentation.

Hopefully this message will go far and wide, and those that can help will help because the clock is certainly ticking.

Yes.

Uh July is moving fast.

Yes, and so many people are gonna be encouraged.

You're gonna be encouraged that it's gonna it's gonna work out.

Yeah, so thank you so very much.

Um, now I believe we still have uh is six dollars still here.

Thank you.

There was a question for you, and I actually um didn't see the person that had the question, and so now uh she's gonna ask her question.

I'm sorry, yes, representing council member Tiffany D.

Thomas.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh yes, it was just a really quick question.

I uh remember the inception of BAMF back in 2021, and uh really appreciative of all the work you all have done for the arts community and will continue to do.

I was just curious on what drove the name change and the renaming, if you could expand on that a little more.

So when we started in uh 2021 and launched the BIPOC Arts Nut Work and Fund, we actually didn't have any opportunity in order for the community to join in on naming on that aspect.

And it was actually uh created the name was created as a response to the Ford Foundation aspect, and it was actually came from a grant.

And what we actually wanted to do was as we were looking for it, and as we actually got the money in order to be able to launch into the beyond the five years, actually engage a conversation with community members in order to see how they could be part of it.

And we worked with the steering committee and our accountability and advisory council, and when we brought in a consultant talking about what these options were, we gave them three options.

We actually were able to come together around Houston in color within five minutes, which is actually not we don't come to a decision in five minutes about anything.

So it was great in order to be able to see that uh the opportunity and people actually the name resonating with them in this aspect.

It's also a lot easier to say than Bipop Arts Network and Fund.

Lovely, thank you.

Thank you so very much.

And um, um Director McNamara, I know that you did mention.

Um no, I'm sorry, I'm I'm done.

Thank you.

You did mention about naming rights.

Have any of the perhaps people who would be interested in that?

Are they able to maybe pay it forward?

In other words, um, say that they want it named after, you know, like Tilma Fatita or somebody just throwing it out there.

Uh, who would be willing to maybe give that money up front so that you could make that come to fruition.

Has that been a consideration or something that you all have attempted?

That is exactly what I'm hoping is to get us through the end of the month that we'll have somebody step forward and say, yes, I'm interested in naming rights of the grand hall or of the property itself.

Um as we all know, we're across the street from the hobby center that houses Zilka Hall, which is where Wes Anderson will be next week.

That also uh those are foundations.

We also know that there are some corporations that do naming rights things, but the um I think this is for this for an arts organization, it's probably gonna be a uh family foundation, but family foundations don't do emergency funds.

So we're starting conversations with Houston Endowment, but they're saying, and having conversations with others, but Houston Endowment has said, as soon as you close on the property, we can start a conversation.

So it's we're we're uh caught in a little bit of a chicken or the egg uh situation.

So, but every every single meeting that I go to, every day, something magical happens.

Somebody turns around and says to me, you know what?

I want to help, and or my second cousin twice removed, uh, has the ability and grew up, you know, going to the theater.

So um I I believe that uh I believe that magic happens, and I still have what is it, 20 days or something for that magic tab.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Okay, we're gonna go to agenda item five, the World Cup Host Committee sponsored community murals, uh, which is our final presentation, uh, which highlights one of the lasting legacies of Houston's role as a whole city uh for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Y'all look like musical cheers for a minute.

It's like do I get a do you I get a you get it?

Good afternoon.

Thank you everyone for having me today, and thank you, Director Leal for inviting me to speak about um this project, which is pretty much the culmination of my art career.

Um my name is Bethiri.

I am originally from Mexico, and I I call Houston home.

Uh I've been living here for almost 30 years.

So I will um uh present this project that um uh uh I'm very proud of, and now it's it's part of the uh East End.

So if we go to the next slide, um it will I will share more about um that's just my bio so Houston-based and um super proud also of uh uh having uh two bachelors from the University of Houston architecture and painting, and uh I had the opportunity to work with different um uh businesses, companies, uh brands, and uh also exhibited in three different uh World Cups before this one.

Uh so if we go to the next slide.

Uh after uh completing my bachelor's in architecture, I decided to do another mayor in painting, and this is where uh I discovered this uh concept in painting where I depict bodiless football players in motion.

Uh 2008-2009, I was um uh painting this, and in 2010, 11 I started selling this.

So I decided to pursue art professionally.

Uh it was a hard decision, but uh uh after 15 years it has been worth.

And if we go to the next slide, we'll see um the many different paintings that I've created around this style.

Uh soccer or football has been my main source of inspiration since then.

Um they both are art and football are both my passion since I was a child, so I'm very lucky and privileged to combine them both and now as a profession.

If we go to the next slide, um it's another uh concept uh where I drew these balls, different balls from different eras, uh having the baby inside like a boom uh kind of uh resembling the the importance of of life and and the importance of football for me.

Um if we go to the next slide, um I have also created around 38 murals in Houston before the the big one that I will be presenting today, all around the same concept, uh football uh inspired as well, and some of these have become uh just landmarks in different spaces in Houston.

If we go to the next slide, um and these are photos of uh of my experience in exhibiting the three different World Cups.

When I started as an artist painting football, I didn't know what path to take.

Well it's it's uncertain.

So I thought if I bring my paintings to the World Cups, I think that's the best way to present them to display them to the football fans.

So I did everything that I could to to do that in in Brazil, 2014, 2018 in Russia, and then 2022 in Qatar.

Uh all of them were very different experiences.

Uh bringing paintings to another country or to another space that I'd never uh I had never been there.

Uh it was completely um different for me.

But um it was it was a goal that I had uh in my in myself as an artist.

So uh once um I I knew that the walk was going to come to Houston, I prepared myself two years in advance to pretty much be a good host and and and showcase what Houston really offers uh to the to the world.

So if we go to the next slide, um I started with uh applying to grants uh Houston Arts Alliance.

I I received I was a recipient for the SASI um in last year, so I proposed to watch past work games, past World Cup games uh through films, different films.

So we watched uh uh all these films every third Monday of the month, bringing these films at different businesses in Houston, uh, and uh just reliving the World Cup and all these different World Cups.

Uh we did about 20 of these screenings, and then also partnered with different institutions and and organizations like the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, where we created uh workshops for underset communities and help different kids uh and kind of uh teaching them about this intersection between football and art.

Uh if we go to the next slide.

Then the Eastern Gateway Mural, this is a combination of my work, uh, everything pretty much came together very organically.

I live in the East End uh and I started attending these creative meetups with the East End.

Uh I offered my studio in 2025, so they were looking for an artist to do this big mural in the East End.

Uh they said the World Cup is coming, we want to have something for the World Cup, bring media attention and and make this more like a landmark.

Uh they shared the details of the wall.

It's a 230 feet wall by 20 next to a rail to the metro rail.

So that was uh that was the first challenge that I had in front of me with this project.

And they said, well, we have to do uh apprenticeship program for this project.

So you can have you can um uh you can have six artists or different artists from the East End helping you with this project.

Uh so that was very helpful, and um we started the project.

If we go to the next slide, please.

Um the the process of this mural, it was completely different from what I'm used to to do.

Uh it wasn't directly onto the wall, so we had to get uh polytap cloth, which is parachute cloth, it's very resistant, and um it becomes pretty much like a canvas.

And uh we we built these walls on this indoor space that we use in in MacPies and Peacocks on the in the Eastern space.

Um on the second floor, we use the entire space and we uh had panels after panel uh painting on the walls, then uh put the the panels onto the floor and building them like almost like a puzzle.

So uh the concept and the design of this mural was about um the nine teams that came to play to Houston and combining that into the Houston culture or or the Houston identity in the East End.

So the color palette is uh is all around the East End.

Um the nine teams in my bodily style are there, and then uh we integrated or incorporated different elements from different countries in between the players.

And then the design is connected through this kind of a DNA uh ribbon, uh that the ribbon is it's made out of uh uh the rail from the trains in in the east end and also the ship channel or the port of Houston, which are the two biggest industries that made uh the East End.

Uh then if we go to the next slide, the the on the next challenge was to install this this uh these panels onto the wall.

Uh we faced uh one more challenge with the weather in Houston.

We needed to have at least 48 hours in order uh for not raining in order to stick the the paint, I mean the panels into the wall.

But oh 72, I'm sorry, and it rained two days after, so some of the panels failed, but they went back and put them back uh up.

If we go to the next slide, um that's how it looked like from an aerial uh point of view.

Uh that's the pretty much nine teams, the ribbon, uh the almost all of the design in there.

And then the centerpiece um we had initially uh proposed to paint the trophy, but uh FIFA had uh requirements of not using the trophy because of trademark reasons.

So we decided to uh to have an astronaut, a gold astronaut in the center, which pretty much connects the entire design and it's reaching out to these Magnolia flowers and then spreading out to the sites.

Uh if we go to the next slide, it will it will show how uh it looks right next to it to a rail.

So what I love about this project is that uh we uh it it became like a community of artists working on this big project.

Uh it it was uh a big in terms of many different uh ways, the scale.

Um we had a um uh a timeline we had to complete it in two months, and then also uh now is it became uh kind of a destination for people that take the rail and they can see it in motion.

So uh if we go to the next slide, uh this is um the next uh activation that I did with my artwork as well and at the post.

So these big um or massive banners of the different teams as well.

They're at X Atrium.

If you go to the next slide, they will see in with much uh with more light.

And next week we're gonna end uh the last event of this World Cup activities uh with art uh at the post uh Wednesday 15.

Uh everybody's invited for 429, and we're gonna have a DJ and we're gonna give away some of these banners to the guests.

So um thank you so much for listening to my story.

Thank you.

Uh, you know, community murals celebrate our history, reflect the voices of our neighborhoods, inspire civic pride, and create lasting landmarks that future generations will enjoy.

And so I want to thank you, Batiri.

And um, you know, these mural murals will continue telling Houston's story long after this tournament concludes.

Yes, and so thank you so very much for your presentation.

Thank you.

Okay, uh, we're now uh oh, sorry, we have a couple of questions.

We have uh council member Alcore.

Not a question, just uh thank you.

Thank you so much for adding beauty to our city and uh your work is meaningful and impressive, and thanks for being here.

Thank you so much.

Okay, and then we have uh the representative of Council Member Evan Shabazz.

Okay, hi, thank you so much for your presentation.

If your work is extremely incredible, um the concepts and the artistry just amazing.

I was curious, is this mural proposal intended to just be unique to Houston?

Of course, but are you looking to expand to other host cities as well?

What was the last question?

I'm sorry.

Are you looking to expand this mural to other host cities as well?

That I don't know.

Um the idea is for this mural to stay at least 10 years here in the East End.

But hopefully, yeah, we can do something else in other cities.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, and then we have to my right, we have a question.

Hello, I just want to start off by saying that your pieces were beautiful.

I actually used to paint when I was younger, so it's great to see how influential it can be on the city.

My question for you is with so many legends retiring, it feels as though the soccer's golden era is coming to an end, which made me wonder which players are you thinking about painting to represent this new generation of the game.

Which places like which players are you thinking of like you know, doing for future murals and stuff?

So for me, my concept of not painting the faces and the bodies is so that uh the painting itself can transcend, and we don't uh I I think athletes are very important, uh, but for me, the the most important thing is to transcend with the artwork.

So uh I like to focus on the jersey and the colors of the teams, which is the essence of the sport.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Um it's now time for public comment.

Um, we will now open the floor, and please state your name and your organizational affiliation for the record and limit your remarks to two minutes.

So if we have any speakers, if you want to see, yeah.

Okay, come on.

They didn't give me the list.

But you know, you're a regular, so you know you can come right on the and thank you.

Well, I wanted to the um Carnox Theater.

Uh I'm Don Isaac.

I represent me, myself and I.

And I ride the 27.

Uh, and they also the 36 goes by there, and that's the problem.

And I've mentioned that it's a council meeting, is that once this theater goes online, uh, you know, when they put this on on the, you know, they needs to be put on the bottom.

If you can get here on public transportation, they're talking about the parking lot, but they weren't talking about people like myself who don't have a car.

And I think that, you know, I think most people in this room want people to take transit.

Put it on stuff.

Put it on stuff.

Call Metro and ask them what bus routes you come by.

Or ask me.

And the other thing though I'm concerned about.

Two things.

Number one, we've had a very joyous event with the World Cup.

Like I was on Metrorail to get to the uh as a to transfer to get to the American Recross because they asked the hand rate operators to be on standby at the American Recross in case they need emergency communication in case whatever happened.

You know, that's uh that's just the way the way life is.

Is to we have to be hurricane ready 24 7.

That's just that's just the way it is.

But my concern is for us to be and get into arts and to and to represent or respect people.

I think there's something more basic we and I think this council, this particular community should be part of, is manners.

To be when we start treating people like yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, basic manner.

I'm not talking about you know some stuff that you would find in upstairs, downstairs or downaby.

No.

Basic manners.

Well, each person respects the other.

When a person begins to be that type of going from a beastie type attitude to that of a lady or a gentleman, then that person is going to be more open to other people.

They're gonna be open to the fact that yes, to be a lady or a gentleman, uh you know, you will begin to appreciate the arts, no matter what uh how those arts or theater or pictures or whatever are.

And I think uh part of the thing is um, and maybe this community could be it, and I I will I think uh Willie Davis's pastoral council with that he has with the mayor.

I think we need to start being uh ladies and gentlemen with each other uh every day.

And I think with that, uh that motion, then we become more gentle people, and I think that will help everything else around.

That'll help, you know, reduce the stress of things.

People will be more less agitated when they're driving.

I you know, I think we're if we don't have that, we're gonna we're gonna our society's gonna just drop out, and I don't like I don't want to see that.

I really really don't.

In fact, when the nation was under the Great the Great Depressions, there was more than one economic event in the 1930s.

I'm just your time has expired, but I'm gonna let you more finish your thoughts.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, next person.

Just tell us who you are and what organization you represent.

Thank you so much.

My name's Catherine Noser.

I'm with the company on stage, uh community theater.

Since 1978, we have been dedicated to keeping the arts accessible and affordable and providing an opportunity for everyone in the community to get involved in all aspects of production.

I just wanted to take a minute today to um let you know about some things that are coming up at the company on stage and to invite you to join us.

Um we've got um a presentation of a play called Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, which is 30 plays in 60 minutes, uh that's happening July 23rd through 25th at our location at 5720 Bel Air Boulevard in the heart of District J.

Um we also have summer camp going on, and then on August 1st, we have our season announcement, um, which is an event called A Taste of the Season, which features both home and professional bakers that will be creating cakes inspired by the 10 shows in our upcoming season.

Um our 49th season features, like I said, 10 productions, five for teens and adults, and five for children.

And they include a world premiere by a local playwright, numerous female playwrights and playwrights of color, ensuring that we are continuing to be representative of the community we serve, and numerous literary adaptations.

The judges for the event include um uh a Michelin star chef, Felipe Riccio from March Restaurant and Rosie Cannonball, and the uh pastry arts uh program chair from uh Houston City College, uh Chef Katie Rangel.

Um so we're very excited about that event.

It is August 1st at the Bel Air Civic Center, and it is open to the public.

Um begins at 11 a.m.

Um also next season we are continuing our program called Library Days, which presents one free performance of each of our um young audience uh our young audience productions to ensure that money is never a um an object when it comes to allowing our youth the opportunity to engage with the arts.

So um I want to just again invite you all to attend.

I know uh Dr.

Evans Shabazz, you I believe you attended our production of N by Adrian Pender last season.

We'd love to see you in our audience again this coming season.

Um and um if you're interested at all um in what's coming up in our next season, I invite you to attend our season announcement event on August 1st, or um check out.

Could you get those announcements to us?

I absolutely and then we can make sure that that they are sent out.

Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Okay, our next speaker.

Trying to figure out how to work this, but I will get with it in about a time y'all all done.

Go ahead.

All right.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Uh, my name is Reason Amidas.

I am your Houston poet laureate until April 2027.

Um just wanted to give you some updates.

One, I have a poetry writing workshop this Saturday at Park Place Library, um, and then I have two more, my final two uh workshops this fall, one in September, one in October.

Um, and yeah, it's just been a busy summer teaching for me.

I just left, uh, got back from Kentucky teaching their youth, and now I'm back here, ready to teach again our Houston uh poets and writers.

Um, so uh just wanted to let you all know I'm going to begin my stages of my final project as Houston Poet Laureate.

Uh, as you may or may not know, I have to do eight workshops during my two-year tenure, and I have to do a final project.

My final project right now, it looks like it's going to be um a virtual anthology of Houston contemporary Houston Poets, which I think has never been done before.

Houston is I would say one of the greatest cities for poetry for literature, um, and it's about time we uh recognize that.

It's about time that we memorialize that in some way.

So right now I currently have funding to make a virtual anthology, but I'm also currently looking for funding uh to turn into a print book uh because one uh I think the city deserves that.

I think our poets deserve that, and I'm currently working with an independent press called Hub City Press.

They're one of the premier independent presses in the South.

Um they're based out of uh South Carolina.

Um they're great, they've worked with me before.

Um, and so yeah, that's just what I'm up to right now, just letting y'all know.

But either way, uh by the end of my tenure, you will at least know uh dozens and dozens of Houston poets if you don't already know.

So uh thank you so much.

Looking forward to next time.

Um but before I go, just want to leave you all with a piece of poetry um during these times that I think is important to know.

Um it's from William Carlos Williams.

He once said that you cannot get the news from poetry, but people die every day from lack of what is found there.

So um thank you.

Thank you so much.

Well, before you go, first of all, uh tell them your name again and tell them you're the poet laureate and tell them what you do.

Yeah, my name is Reyes Amidas.

I am the Houston Poet Laureate.

Uh in essence, what I am is I am uh a champion, a cheerleader, a supporter, um, a fan, first and foremost, of Houston's poetry and poets.

Um, and so one thing that I do, for example, is uh I run the social media for Houston Poet Laureate, and so if you subscribe uh to the Instagram, uh I actually share at least 10 poetry events that are happening every week in our city.

Um, and there's more than that.

I have to curate that.

The Instagram gives you a limit, so I have to I can only post so many events a week.

Um I do workshops throughout our uh public libraries or regional libraries, um, and so my last one was in the heights, I believe.

Uh before that I've been all over Third Word, the Alice McKean Young library.

Uh the next one's in Park Place, and the one after that, it's gonna be at Carnegie.

Um, and then also again do the final project.

Uh and again, other Poets Laureate have done their own uh final projects, and for me, um, it's interesting that again we have not had a collection of uh contemporary Houston poets because I can already name like 30 poets off the top of my head.

Uh I know there's tons and scores more, so that's essentially what I do.

I'm more than happy to come back and give a more formal uh kind of breakdown of what I've done and what I do, but it in essence it's I'm proud to be Houstonian, I'm proud to be a poet in Houston.

I wouldn't be writing anywhere else.

Um, and yeah, thank you so much.

We we may take you up on that.

And it's a two-year term, and you it ends in April of 2027.

Uh so mine ends April 2027.

I believe the next one uh probably applications probably open around December or something like that.

I'll be I I know I'll be serving on the committee to pick the next person, but okay.

Well, we may just invite you back.

Uh, you can let everybody know.

And then, you know, maybe somebody else can get the opportunity based on information that you will provide.

Absolutely.

Houston is full of some of the best poets in the world, and so uh I could have easily not have been poet laureate, and I would have been proud of whoever had it.

And I know that's been true for past poets laureate.

So thank you all so much.

Well, thank you.

Okay, and we have our final speaker.

Hi, my name is Shay Davis.

Um, I'm a local cultural strategist, um, community organizer, and I am a storyteller for BAMP BIPOC, now known as Houston and Color.

Um, I just wanted to talk a little bit about the storyteller program with Banff BIPOC and what we've done over the last few years.

Um, I've had the honor of serving as one of Banks community storytellers, now transitioning to Houston and Color.

And it's been about building actual ecosystems that stabilize the arts.

As storytellers, we help to gather interpret and reflect the live experience of artists and culture workers across the city.

That matters because what we've done is created an environment that allows artists to step out of their silos and work in an actual ecosystem.

They've allowed us the opportunity to speak to organizations we would have never met, to understand their story, to understand their needs, and to understand how they've made it as long as they have, inspiring artists like myself to continue on our journey.

One of the most important takeaways in this is with um BIPOC arts, we've had a trusted resource of building relationships with these historical treasures.

A lot of these organizations have been around since the 70s, black organizations that genuinely I can't even understand how they were able to form under the circumstances in which they existed, and that they still continue to exist under today.

So I just wanted to come up today and kind of give a little bit of backstory on what the storytellers were doing with BIPOC BAMF, as he said it's hard to say now, Houston and Color, and what we've done over the last few years, and having these conversations and watching these organizations grow and build ecosystems for themselves in order to remain stable even without support of funding, creating resources for themselves and other artists alike.

Um so again, just wanted to give a shout out to Houston and Color and thank you so much to Sixto for inviting me.

Well, thank you.

And I'm gonna say this to anybody.

If you have any announcements or anything that you want us to know about, certainly send that to my office so that we can make sure that we can disseminate it.

And maybe some of that could go into our newsletters as well, in a newsletter as well.

So thank you.

Okay, I think I I think I got it this time.

All right.

Well, I'm gonna say um, you know, I had a wonderful time, just a personal experience myself.

I went to the Miller Outdoor Theater on Juneteenth, and they had a wonderful performance by Shantae Moore and Mays.

Uh, this time featuring Christopher Williams.

Uh, just a wonderful opportunity.

If you get a chance to go to some of those concerts at the Miller Outdoor Theater, you know, they are they are free, but certainly any donations, they're just like any other uh arts organization.

There, they need funding as well.

And so I it's really kind of ironic.

Uh, the Wizard of Oz, who's been back there moving the uh the presentations, his name is also Christopher Williams, and he's a he's another intern from my office.

Uh, but he he attends Prayer View AM University, and uh Prayer View produces productive people, and certainly thank you so very much.

And just as a sidebar, you know, my history with Prayer View, my grandfather was the first president of Prayer View AM University.

So I'm quite proud of all of our interns.

And so thank you to my colleagues, uh today's presenters, our community partners, and everyone who attended today's meeting.

The presentation presentations we heard today remind us that investing in arts and culture is an investment in our neighborhoods, our economy, our history, our people, and our future.

And thank you for your partnership and your commitment to ensuring that the arts and culture continues to thrive across Houston.

And if there's no further business before this committee, this meeting of the Arts and Culture Committee is now adjourned at 327 p.m.

And thank you everyone for coming and have a wonderful afternoon.