Valentine\u2019s Day, 2025, Austin\u2019s artists and venues got a gift from the city: an announcement of the formation of ACME, the Office of Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment, bringing most elements of governance relating to the creative industries into a one-stop shop. A year later, the question is whether it was the gift that kept on giving or wilted like roses.<\/p>\n
So far, the overall response has been what many expected: initial confusion, frustration over new systems, but optimism that the new office is tackling problems facing the city\u2019s arts community. B. Iden Payne Awards Council President Carl Gonzales said, when the department was initially established, he was surprised to find out that the city didn\u2019t already have such an office, \u201cbut just the fact they were created is taking a giant step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back on that first year, ACME interim Chief Administrative Officer Candice Cooper said that the process has been \u201camazing [and] rewarding.\u201d She noted that staff originally formally recommended the formation of such a department in 2006 as part of the CreateAustin report, which was adopted by Council in 2010, \u201cso it\u2019s just now that we get the opportunity to build upon that.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, that building is still going on, as expressed through the four-phase Creative Reset public consultation process<\/a>, a city initiative to gather community feedback that will shape the department\u2019s work going forward. Cooper said the city-led efforts \u201callowed us to engage with thousands of creatives [and] those who get an opportunity to experience art.\u201d<\/p>\n Phase one of the Creative Reset centered on the city\u2019s assorted funding and grants programs, which were one of the instigating incidents for the formation of ACME. Previously, that work was done by the Economic Development Department, and a sudden and seemingly arbitrary change in the rubric and priorities for applications in 2023 had left dozens of arts groups without expected funding, leaving several to close.<\/p>\n While the city took time to reassess the program even while the first phase was ongoing, the application process was pushed back by several months to realign with the regular city budget cycle. Gonzales\u2019 predecessor at B. Iden Payne and current artistic director of theatre company La Fenice, Kate Meehan, saw both sides of the process as a grant applicant and one of the expert panelists appointed by ACME who assessed applications. She was deeply concerned that applicants never saw the rubric that the panelists were given, leading individuals to basically submit blind applications, \u201cwhich we complained about almost immediately, and it looks like that has been corrected going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n John Riedie of Austin Creative Alliance echoed her sentiments, saying that the new grant eligibility guidelines are \u201cmuch, much better than they have been.\u201d<\/p>\n However, that doesn\u2019t help solve the damage done by the delay. Gonzales said that, in the latest cycle, some groups had benefited because they had development directors who managed to navigate the city\u2019s criteria, while also resulting in \u201ca couple of other theatre companies who were really hurt because they didn\u2019t know what to look for.\u201d<\/p>\n The delay also left lingering damage. Under the old system<\/a>, applicants would usually know if they got a grant in September or October, allowing them to plan for the new year. Meehan said that, this time, companies and performers didn\u2019t find out until March, and many weren\u2019t getting the money until April. There was also no way to get real clarification on when the money would be released, as the city doesn\u2019t give out the grants itself, instead using the Long Center as a contractor. Meehan said that both would regularly refer inquiries to the other, and during that time of ambiguity, \u201conly organizations that are able to self-fund, or put it on credit cards, or go into debt, or write IOUs were able to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n The city is now deep into the second phase of the Creative Reset feedback program, looking at how it can make better use of its own facilities, many of which have suffered years of neglect and underuse. Following the completion of that segment of the project, phase three will center on special events, and all three components will feed into a new long-term strategic plan expected to be published this year. Overall, Riedie described the engagement process as \u201cgenuinely robust. I\u2019ve been to several of these meetings, and all the right people are in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet there are still some empty seats: Even after a year, ACME isn\u2019t fully staffed. Personnel was an issue from day one, with an unclear org chart, external partners unsure who they needed to contact, and staff navigating reassignment. Moreover, roughly a dozen positions in ACME\u2019s senior leadership team<\/a> are still either vacant, filled by a staff member on loan from another department, or, as with Cooper, an interim hire. However, Cooper said that announcements on hires for several of these posts should be made this month.<\/p>\n Between new hires, the city announcing that it is reexamining its three-year grant management contract with the Long Center, and a commitment to get funding approval notifications for FY27 out by November, the arts community remains generally optimistic about the future of ACME. Meehan summed up the general sentiment simply: \u201cThey\u2019re learning lessons as they go.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Riedie warned that, even after a year, no one should expect sudden miracles from ACME. \u201cYou know how slow the city moves,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they\u2019re moving in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n