Houston’s vibrant arts scene is the beating heart of the city. It connects all of us to Houston, to one another, and to seeds of inspiration. With artistic innovation around every corner, the city offers vibrant public spaces, thriving artistic venues, and exciting opportunities to enjoy and create art.
Whether you’re an aspiring or working artist, a community leader, or simply enjoy the colorful vibe of our city, it’s important to understand that all creative endeavors need support. Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) has administered public arts funding for 20 years. The City of Houston provides the funding, HAA manages the distinct programs that put those dollars back into the community—the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) contract and the Civic Art contract—each with its own funding source, purpose, and process.
Every time someone pays to stay in Houston—whether at a hotel or a short-term rental—a portion of the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) comes back to support the arts. State law requires it, and it's been connecting visitors to Houston's creative life for 49 years. HAA distributes those funds through competitive grants for the city's arts programs and local artists—from theater, dance, music, literary arts, and beyond.
Every public space has the chance to bring us together and enhance our quality of life—and in Houston, that's by design. When the City of Houston builds libraries, multi-service centers, airport expansions, or other public facilities, eligible projects have 1.75% of the cost set aside for public art. HAA stewards the City's Civic Art Collection that this investment creates—the sculptures, murals, and art installations you see in parks, libraries, airports, and throughout our diverse communities. Explore the collection near you at houcityart.org/map.
Whether you're visiting or you call yourself a proud Houstonian, these two contracts help power the arts and culture you experience here. The HOT contract sustains the people and organizations behind the creative work. The Civic Art contract weaves art into the shared spaces where we live, work, and gather. Two contracts, two funding sources, two purposes—and one shared mission: keeping Houston's creative life vibrant, free, and accessible.
The Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) was officially formed in 2006 through the merger of the Cultural Arts Council Houston/Harris County, the Municipal Art Commission, and the Civic Art Committee. This intentional consolidation created a unified entity designed to fund, advocate, preserve, and promote the arts across the Houston and Harris County region.From its inception, HAA was structured not simply as a service provider, but as the City's dedicated grantmaking and civic arts partner, centralizing functions that had previously been fragmented across multiple bodies into a single, coordinated system.
You are not alone — we are here to help you understand the process and find the information you need.
Contact us at info@haatx.com.
The Hotel Occupancy Tax is collected every time someone pays to stay the night in Houston—whether at a hotel or a short-term rental. State law requires that a portion of that revenue go to supporting the arts. HAA distributes those funds through competitive grants to arts organizations and artists across the city.
When the City of Houston builds a public facility—like libraries, multi-service centers, airport expansions—eligible projects set aside 1.75% for public art. HAA manages this process and stewards the Civic Art Collection it produces.
They are two separate contracts with distinct funding sources, purposes and processes. The HOT contract funds competitive grants that support arts organizations and artists. The Civic Art contract brings art into public spaces through the City’s construction projects. Both are administered by HAA, but they operate independently of each other.
The City of Houston provides public arts funding. HAA administers it. For 20 years, HAA has managed the programs that distribute those funds and connect communities with artists and cultural organizations—with clear guidelines and community input shaping how decisions are made. HAA’s work is conducted in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of the Arts.
HAA administers several competitive grant programs funded by HOT revenue. Support for Artists and Creative Individuals (SACI) provides up to $15,000 for individual artists and creatives. The Festival grant provides up to $10,000 for arts festivals or arts components of cultural festivals. Support for Organizations provides funding to 501(c)(3) nonprofits and fiscally sponsored organizations at multiple levels. Visit HoustonArtsAlliance.com/Grants for current opportunities and deadlines.
Individual artists and creative practitioners living within the City of Houston limits can apply for Support for Artists and Creative Individuals, Let Creativity Happen, City’s Initiative, and Festival grants. This includes musicians, visual artists, performing artists, textile artists, digital artists and creative entrepreneurs such as hairstylists, writers, photographers and arts administrators. Organizations must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits or fiscally sponsored programs headquartered within City of Houston limits and can apply for Support for Organizations, Let Creativity Happen, City’s Initiative, and Festival grants. Visit the [2026 Grant Guidelines] for full eligibility details.
HAA uses a competitive peer-review process—an established national practice that engages community representatives with arts expertise to evaluate applications. Independent panelists score and rank applications. HAA staff and board members do not serve as panelists and do not alter panel recommendations. The process is designed to keep decision-making in the hands of the community.
HAA manages open calls for Civic Art projects through a two-phase process. Artists submit their qualifications (RFQ), and selected semi-finalists are invited to submit full proposals (RFP) with renderings and budgets. Visit [Civic Art page URL] to learn more about current opportunities and the artist selection process.
The collection is all around you—in parks, libraries, multi-service centers, airports and neighborhoods across the city. You can explore it on the interactive map at houcityart.org/map to find artwork near you.
Start here. Whether you’re an artist exploring grant opportunities, a community member with questions or a city leader looking for reliable information on arts funding, HAA is your resource. Reach out to us at info@haatx.com.
