ACME previews grant updates, community plans at Music Commission meeting

The city’s newly formed Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) is moving forward with a restructuring of cultural funding programs, with plans to complete new grant guidelines by mid-summer, launch applications in August, and distribute funding by early next year.

At Monday’s meeting of the Music Commission, assistant director Morgan Messick detailed the early efforts to evaluate existing programs, form community working groups and update policies to improve access to grants for artists and organizations.

Programs currently under review include Elevate, Nexus, Thrive, the Austin Live Music Fund, the Creative Space Assistance Program, the Heritage Preservation Grant, and Art in Public Places.

Messick said the primary goals are to address underserved communities; encourage artistic sustainability; reflect Austin’s cultural richness and serve artists, organizations and the public equitably. Invitations to participate in working groups and focus sessions began going out earlier this month, with full formation of these groups expected shortly. A broader community engagement effort, including surveys and feedback sessions, will continue through the summer.

Draft versions of the new funding guidelines are expected to be completed in June, using feedback collected between 2020 and 2025 as well as new engagement sessions. Final guidelines are scheduled for City Council consideration in July. After approval, Messick said ACME plans to open applications in August and distribute funding through the Long Center for the Performing Arts starting in January.

The timeline also includes new language revisions to program guidelines to align with recent changes in state legislation impacting municipal arts funding.

Those efforts reflect the broader vision laid out by ACME director Angela Means, who took office in February following the city’s decision to consolidate arts, music, culture and entertainment programs from five different departments into a single centralized entity.

Speaking recently to the Tourism Commission, Means emphasized that ACME’s purpose is not only administrative efficiency, but also building a long-term strategic plan for Austin’s creative industries. Means said that plan will seek to expand access, reduce financial and geographic barriers, and encourage collaboration between artists, businesses, nonprofits, and educational institutions.

Internally, ACME is absorbing staff from departments including economic development, parks and recreation, development services, the Austin Public Library, and aviation to eliminate silos that have made it difficult for creatives to navigate city services. Consolidation work will continue through 2025, with the office planning to fully establish new internal operations and external-facing programs over the next year.

A major policy focus for ACME in the immediate future is the overhaul of cultural arts and live music grant programs. In response to public concern about past disruptions and funding cuts, Means and her team want to make the application and award process more transparent, accessible and sustainable.

ACME is also responding to City Council directives to improve the stewardship of city-owned public art, following controversy over the management of artworks during the redevelopment of the Austin Convention Center. Recent moves by ACME, such as withdrawing nonlocal airport art contracts for reassessment, have been cited as signs that the office is taking a more deliberate and community-responsive approach to cultural investments.

Budget challenges loom over ACME’s future planning, with the office currently heavily reliant on Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues.

Alternative funding models include tapping the city’s general fund for staff salaries, securing private partnerships and pursuing national grant opportunities. That approach would reserve hotel tax revenues exclusively for direct programming. City leaders and arts advocates have stressed that without a broader financial strategy, Austin’s cultural sector risks further instability at a time when organizations are already struggling with rising operational costs, declining donations and the likelihood of rollbacks in federal funding.

Means has said ACME is placing heavy emphasis on sustained outreach and transparency, with plans to update commissions and other bodies regularly as engagement efforts and policy development continue. A new public feedback portal is also expected to launch later this year to allow residents and stakeholders to track ACME’s progress in real time.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.