The City of Houston and the Houston Arts Alliance (HAA), its arts program facilitator, announced the recipients of 2026 grants for five programs: Let Creativity Happen, City’s Initiative, Support for Organizations, Support for Artists and Creative Individuals, and Festival Grants.
The grants, funded by a portion of the City’s Hotel Occupancy Tax, will distribute more than $16 million to 418 artists and organizations throughout Houston.
Downtown Houston skyline
Organizational grants range from $62,500 to $1 million, depending on annual budget. Among the 142 recipients for 2026 are Asia Society Texas, Aurora Picture Show, BOX 13 ArtSpace, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, DiverseWorks, FLATS, FotoFest, Houston Black Heritage Music & Arts Fest, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and Project Row Houses.
A work by Emily Yong Beck on view in “The House of Pikachu: Art Anime, and Pop Culture” at Asia Society Texas
Recipients of individual artist grants include Keliy Anderson-Staley, Beatriz Bellorin, Amarie Cemone Gipson, Jeremy DePrez, Preston Gaines, Hillerbrand+Magsamen, Karen Navarro, and Cressandra Thibodeaux. A total of 105 artists and groups received grants of up to $15,000 for specific projects, in categories, including art and social practice, dance, film, multidisciplinary, music, performing arts, theater, and visual arts.
Festival Grantees include the Dia de los Muertos Festival, the Korean-American Society of Houston, PrintHouston 2026, Salsa De Mayo, and Zine Fest Houston, from among 23 organizations receiving grants of up to $10,000.
City’s Initiative grantees each receive between $5,000 and $10,000 for specific projects to be completed in 2026. Among the 30 organizations receiving grants are East End Houston Cultural District for The Beautiful Game: East End Murals, the Houston Center for Photography for Through Her Eyes: Houston’s Hidden Cultures, the Houston Latino Film Festival, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art for The Beer Can House, and the Xochipilli Collective for Milpa Móvil: An Indigenous Incubator for Climate Resilience.
Houston Latino Film Festival. Image courtesy of the City of Houston
Recipients of Let Creativity Happen grants, which total up to $2,500 for individual creatives and organizations to create arts experiences, include Anthony Almendárez, Carolina Borja, Natasha Bowdoin, Inés María Bravo, Sarah Sudhoff, and the Texas Women’s Caucus for Art.
In a press release, HAA explained that “demand for arts funding continues to outpace available funding growth,” with yearly increases in the number of applications received. Each category received more applications than last year, with a 4% increase in organization grants and a 58% increase of applications for individual artist grants.
Quang Vu, Director of Grants, said, “To everyone who applied and was not funded, especially those who have shown up year after year, we see you. Your work matters, and your persistence is felt. If you’re feeling discouraged, we encourage you to stay connected.”
For the full list of 2026 grantees, visit the HAA recipients web page. Visit the HAA grant opportunities website to learn more about City of Houston grant programs.