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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Houston City Council Arts and Culture Committee Meeting - October 14, 2026

Committees and Commissions — Wednesday, October 14, 2026

BodyHouston, Texas

SessionCommittees and Commissions

DateWednesday, October 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:22:12

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:14

Councilmember Dr.

0:15

Caroline Evan Shabbaz, Chair of the City Council Arts and Culture Committee.

0:20

The time is now 2.07 p.m.

0:24

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.

0:32

Oh, I'm sorry, I digress.

0:35

Today's meeting is being held in City Hall Council Chamber, 901 Bagre Street, second floor, Houston, Texas.

0:43

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

0:50

The agenda and presentation materials are available through the City Council Committee web page.

1:12

Mario Castillo, who is my vice chair, is not here today.

1:23

But we do have Councilmember Julian Ramirez, the at-large position one, and Councilmember Sally Alcorn at large position five.

1:33

And certainly I want to recognize any members of the City Council who may be present, they're staff members.

1:40

And let's see, we have representing Councilmember Tarsha Jackson.

Speaker 2

1:46

We have a representative.

1:48

Okay, thank you.

Speaker 1

1:49

Representative from Mary Nan Huffman.

2:09

Representative from Amy Peck.

2:13

Am I on the right spot?

2:15

Sir?

2:16

Hello.

Unassigned speaker

2:18

Martinez.

Speaker 1

2:19

Oh, Martinez, excuse me.

2:20

I can't, like I say, my eyes won't loop around to the other side.

2:24

And certainly here representing Vice Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castlex Tatum.

2:32

And so proceeding with today's presentations, I want to offer a few brief remarks.

2:38

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.

2:56

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.

3:33

As Houston's arts and cultural resources continue to benefit residents and contribute to our city's economic vitality and quality of life.

3:42

And I thank our presenters for being here and look forward to today's discussion.

3:48

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.

3:56

Okay, thank you.

3:58

The next item before the committee is item two, the Houston Endowment Arts Impact Data Presentation.

4:05

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.

4:17

At this time, I would like to recognize Ms.

4:19

Amy Gibbs of Houston Endowment for her presentation.

4:23

Ms.

4:24

Gibbs, you have the floor.

4:26

Thank

Unassigned speaker

4:26

you.

Unassigned speaker

4:30

You want me to get the case?

Speaker 1

4:31

Yes.

4:32

Let me also recognize the program director for arts and culture green spaces, Bayl Long Chu.

Speaker 3

4:39

Thank you very much.

Speaker 1

4:39

Thank you so very much.

Speaker 3

4:43

Thank you for having uh us here at the Arts and Culture Committee today.

4:47

Thank you to Council members and uh co-chair.

Unassigned speaker

4:51

Um we appreciate uh the opportunity of of just being a part of the arts and culture sector here in Houston.

Speaker 3

5:00

Houston Endowment is turning 90 next year.

5:04

And you know, from the very beginning, our interest in the arts and culture sector is serious, pronounced, and and uh you know, we we really want to uh play a role in sharing our resources to better the sector.

5:22

So uh what I want to share with you is a little bit about our strategy.

5:29

Um we have a vision of a vibrant and creative city where residents are inspired to connect deeply with each other and the world around them.

5:37

And our goal is to have Greater Houston to be the most vibrant arts and culture sector in the United States.

5:44

Um to do that, we have two goals strengthen arts and culture nonprofits.

5:50

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-sized organizations.

6:10

Um then we also have the strategy of building a sustainable arts and culture sector.

6:16

And today we're here to talk about two of those strategies, fostering collaboration across the sector, and then addressing public policy.

6:27

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.

6:42

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, Hugh Arts in 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 Arts and the Mayor's Office of Culture Affairs.

7:14

What the data shows us is some incredible numbers.

7:18

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.

7:32

That that level of taxable sales is one-seventh of the total for the state of Texas.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████49%

Film Industry Development██████████████████████████28%

Procedural████████9%

Workforce Development██████6%

Economic Development████4%

Community Engagement███3%

Hispanic Heritage Month█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Houston City Council Arts and Culture Committee Meeting - October 14, 2026

The Arts and Culture Committee of the Houston City Council met on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 2:07 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. Chaired by Councilmember Dr. Caroline Evan Shabbaz, the meeting featured presentations on arts impact data, the Islamic Arts Society, and Houston's film and media industry. Public comments were also heard. The meeting adjourned at 3:29 PM.

Public Comments & Testimony

Reyes Ramirez (Houston Poet Laureate): Reported completing over 50 events in 2026 so far, including panels, interviews, readings, and workshops across the city. Highlighted upcoming events and the breadth of Houston's poetry scene. Described his role as poetic representative for the city and noted his final project—an anthology of contemporary Houston poets.
Alex Navarro (President, Houston Professional Musicians Association): Thanked the city for establishing the Arts and Culture Committee. Challenged the Houston Endowment to ensure its grants reach individual musicians, not just management levels. Expressed support for the Islamic Arts Society and offered musical support. Emphasized the local pool of musicians for film and media projects.
Joan Marcelli (Board Member, Houston Choral Society): Introduced the 100-voice choir celebrating its 40th anniversary season. Described the organization's wide geographic reach, ages, and professions of members. Highlighted recent and upcoming events, including a commissioned work by Dan Forrest and tours to Italy, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Carnegie Hall.
Marcy Dallas (Hue Arts): Gave updates: Houston Endowment's activation at TribFest in Austin, where their new CEO spoke on a panel with the head of Americans for the Arts. Noted that Hue Arts collected hundreds of postcards about why arts matter, to be used at Arts Advocacy Day in February to protect state funding. Also updated on the arts branding initiative by Black Sheep with cultural districts, promising an update before year-end.

Discussion Items

Houston Endowment Arts Impact Data Presentation

Amy Gibbs and Bayl Long Chu (Houston Endowment) presented data showing the arts and culture industry in Greater Houston produces over $1 billion in taxable sales, generating $10.6 million in local sales tax, and contributes $7.3 billion to the Texas economy—one-seventh of the state total. They outlined strategies: strengthening arts nonprofits through strategic capital and general operating support, and building a sustainable sector through collaboration and public policy. Partners include SMU Data Arts, Hue Arts, Houston Arts Alliance, and others. Initiatives include an arts data hub, a mapping project of cultural assets (with 10-minute walk/30-minute drive heat maps and council district overlays), and a survey of individual artists that received over 1,000 responses. Councilmembers expressed appreciation; no formal questions.

Islamic Arts Society Presentation

Shaheen Rahman (Board President) and Zaki Alani (founding board member) presented the Islamic Arts Society, formed in 2014 to celebrate the diverse Muslim diaspora through Islamic art (Arabic calligraphy, geometric patterns, biomorphic designs). The organization has 7 board members and 4 part-time staff. In 2026 alone, they held over 45 events reaching over 10,000 attendees, with over 100 volunteers. The 13th annual Islamic Arts Festival will be held November 21–22, 2026 at the Smiley Center, drawing over 5,000 people. They received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Councilmember Alcorn praised the festival and noted the NEA award. A representative from Councilmember Davis asked about art sales; Rahman explained artists keep 80% of proceeds, with 20% going to the society. Councilmember Ramirez asked about growth: from 11 artists and a mosque gymnasium in 2014 to 50 artists and 4,000–5,000 attendees now.

Spotlight on Houston Film and Media

Randy Ramsey (Executive Director, Southwest Alternate Media Project) and Katie Krieg Rios (Executive Director, Houston Cinema Arts Society) presented two initiatives. The Houston Media Conference, now in its fourth year, features over 75 panels and workshops, a vendor floor, and a pitch session that yielded real opportunities for local projects. Keynotes included Elizabeth Avellan, Stephanie Whittles Wax, Alexandria Stapleton, and Chef Eddie Jackson. The Houston Cinema Arts Festival (18th annual, Oct 1–11, 2026) featured over 80 films, 50 community partnerships, and centerpieces like "Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother" (by Houston native Bassam Tariq) and a screening of "Who Killed the Fourth Ward" with a 50th-anniversary collaboration. They noted Movie Maker Magazine named Houston one of the top 10 places to live and work as a filmmaker and the festival one of the top 25 coolest film festivals. They emphasized the need for workforce development to retain local talent, mentioning that trained crews are critical for attracting productions. They asked for a seat at the table in arts funding and infrastructure decisions and for introductions to entities interested in building a sustainable film economy. Councilmember Alcorn asked about workforce development efforts; they discussed partnerships with Texas Workforce Commission, HCC (Alief campus), TSU (production accounting certification), and planned workshops. Councilmember Ramirez asked about promoting local talent; they cited the Houston Film Commission registry and upcoming story lab. Councilmember Salinas's representative asked about embracing content creators; they noted a social media track at the conference.

Key Outcomes

The committee received information from all presentations and expressed appreciation.
No formal votes were taken.
Chair Shabbaz acknowledged the Mayor's Office of Culture Affairs (Michelle Liao) as a potential facilitator for requests.
The committee will continue to work with administration and stakeholders to support arts and culture.
Public comments highlighted the vibrancy of Houston's arts scene and called for continued support and equitable funding.
The Islamic Arts Festival was promoted, and the film representatives' request for a seat at the table was noted for further consideration.

Meeting Transcript

Councilmember Dr. Caroline Evan Shabbaz, Chair of the City Council Arts and Culture Committee. The time is now 2.07 p.m. 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. Oh, I'm sorry, I digress. Today's meeting is being held in City Hall Council Chamber, 901 Bagre 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 web page. Mario Castillo, who is my vice chair, is not here today. But we do have Councilmember Julian Ramirez, the at-large position one, and Councilmember Sally Alcorn at large position five. And certainly I want to recognize any members of the City Council who may be present, they're staff members. And let's see, we have representing Councilmember Tarsha Jackson. We have a representative. Okay, thank you. Representative from Mary Nan Huffman. Representative from Amy Peck. Am I on the right spot? Sir? Hello. Martinez. Oh, Martinez, excuse me. I can't, like I say, my eyes won't loop around to the other side. And certainly here representing Vice Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castlex Tatum. And so proceeding with today's presentations, I want to 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. As Houston's arts and cultural 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. Okay, thank you. 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. Thank you. You want me to get the case? Yes. Let me also recognize the program director for arts and culture green spaces, Bayl Long Chu. Thank you very much. Thank you so very much. Thank you for having uh us here at the Arts and Culture Committee today. Thank you to Council members and uh co-chair. Um we appreciate uh the opportunity of of just being a part of the arts and culture sector here in Houston. Houston Endowment is turning 90 next year. And you know, from the very beginning, our interest in the arts and culture sector is 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 vibrant and creative city where residents are inspired to connect deeply with each other and the world around them.

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