MOCA develops policies and initiatives that expand access to arts and cultural programs in the commu MOCA is a resource for the community.
It implements the City's Arts and Cultural Plan with a vision to foster an environment in which art and culture flourish for the sharing and benefit of all residents and visitors. It highlights the local artist workforce through exhibitions in historic City Hall and oversees contracts for grants and cultural services and the City's Civic Art Program. MOCA facilitates temporary art, art donations to the City Collection, community murals and special projects.
Operating as usual
The exhibitions Love Your Pet and Steppin’ Back in Time are ending today. Here’s a look back at both exhibitions. Thank you to , Councilmember Karla Cisneros (Karla4Houston), and to of Houston Informer Foundation Inc (HIFI), for making both exhibitions a success!
Riding the tomorrow? Once you’re done 🚴♂️cycling 🚴♀️ through the finish line, here are three that are in City’s collection you will encounter on your way back to City Hall!
Keep your eyes peeled for all the giant and you will see along the route as well!
HOUSTON // Houston East End Cultural Arts District is looking for musicians interested in participating in East End Street Fest!
Five artists will be invited to perform on SAT May 6, 2023 at the Esplanade on Navigation in East End Houston.
For more information and to apply, please DM us.
Victoria Spivey 🎥 Actor/Performer
Part 2 of Victoria Spivey’s spotlight continues on Houston’s Music Monday.
She starred in her fist musical film, Hallelujah!, directed by King Vidor. This was one of the first films with an all-African American cast produced by a major studio.
She continued to record from 1931-1937 on labels like Victor, Decca and Vocalion. She recorded with King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson and Red Allen.
Who else contributed to our Bayou City music?
Send us your important dates in Houston music history 🔗Link in Story🔗
Thanks to , Chair for Houston Music Advisory Board, for contributing to this history.
Victoria Spivey 🎙 Singer/Songwriter
Part I of Victoria Spivey’s Houston Music Monday spotlight begins in 1926.
Who else contributed to our Bayou City music? Send us your important music history dates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZDXBNfV3Pg
Watch as Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announces the $250,000 donation by the City of Houston to the Houston Arts Alliance Disaster Relief Fund to help the victims of the Winter Street Studios fire.
The source of funding for the Winter Street donation is Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) reserve funds.
Video by HTV Houston Television.
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a $250,000 donation from the City of Houston to the Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) Emergency Relief Fund for artists affected b...
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced yesterday a $250,000 donation from the City of Houston to Houston Arts Alliance’s Emergency Relief Fund for artists affected by the December fire at Winter Street Studios. The press conference took place inside the burned-out studios at Sawyer Yards in Arts District Houston.
“Born out of this tragedy is the knowledge that Houstonians are always there for each other,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner. “We are here for the affected artists and think of them in these trying times. With our help, we hope the artists are soon able to get back into their creative spaces and resume their contribution to the creative economy.”
Mayor Turner also issued a challenge for fellow to come together and match the City’s contribution.
To find out more, go to the link in our story,
Or go to www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs/20230216.html
S/O to Houston's very own and on their Grammy Wins last night! Both of these ladies put on for their city and we ♥️ to see it.
It’s Love Your Pet Month!
, in partnership with District H Council Member Karla Cisneros and the Society, taught children the importance of proper pet care and created artwork to raise awareness about Love Your Pet Month!
Last Friday, Sylvester Turner joined Council Member , Houston Humane Society, Roni Cabrera of HTX Art, and in welcoming and hosting these young artists to see their works displayed in Houston City Hall Annex. The children were also given Certificates of Recognition for their part in this wonderful campaign to Love Your Pet!
So, in this month of February, check out these adorable artworks in the City Hall Annex 1st Floor.
With only three months left in his tenure as , is still working hard to create amazing content! Next Monday, Feb. 13, at 7 PM, join us and at for the release of his "Space City Story Tape."
For more information and tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/space-city-story-tape-release-party-tickets-500848410077.
, the Houston-based literacy program, announces their campaign in partnership with , , HISDTV and HCCTV at a press conference today at Houston City Hall.
"This partnership with Reading with a Rapper will enhance our ability to continue making a difference in literacy through the arts,” says Sylvester Turner. “This work is significant because low literacy affects the entire family and every area of the economy. We can make systemic changes and need organizations like this creatively impacting our youth while lifting up local musicians.”
MOCA, HTV, and its affiliates will help amplify the efforts of RWAR through promotional and programming support via its broadcast channels. A major contributor to the future of education since its inception in 2018, RWAR recently launched a series of PSAs through its social media channels on MLK DAY 2023. HTV, HISDTV, HCCTV will air the same PSAs starting February 2023. The partnership will last until January 2024.
To read more, go to the link in our story
Or go to www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs/20230203.html
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With only three months left in his tenure as Houston Poet Laureate, The Outspoken Bean is still working hard to create amazing content!
Next Monday, Feb. 13, at 7 PM, join us and Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs at Assemblyhtx for the release of his "Space City Story Tape." For more information and tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/space-city-story-tape-release-party-tickets-500848410077.
Sippie Wallace 🎙 Blues Singer
Sippie was a blues and jazz singer from Houston’s Fifth Ward and sister to pianists Hersal and George Thomas. She recorded "I'm a Mighty Tight Woman" (Okeh Records) in 1926, but the Texas Nightingale wasn't nominated for a until 1982.
In 1985, she was honored at a Blues Festival at Houston's Hermann Park and appeared on Letterman.
Who else contributed to our Bayou City music?
Send us your important dates in Houston music history 🔗 Link in Story 🔗
is pleased to announce an investment of over four million dollars in the selection of 12 new site-specific art commissions for the new Mickey Leland International Terminal (MLIT) and the new International Central Processer (ICP) . The commissioned works are sponsored by Houston Airports (HAS) on behalf of the City of Houston through MOCA’s Civic Art Program…
“The magnitude of commission efforts at IAH leads in the pace and funding for increased activity in Civic Art across the City and we’re very proud of the artworks residents and visitors to Houston will soon encounter,” said Sylvester Turner. “And, how fitting, that artworks from Houston's own artists will welcome every single international passenger landing at IAH...”
The artists developing commissions for MLIT and ICP at IAH include: Reginald Adams, Miguel Arzabe, Carolina Caycedo, Marta Chilindron, Emilie Duval, Leslie Gaworecki, Marlo Saucedo, and Houston Poet Laureate Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean, Graciela Hasper, Lovie Olivia, Gerardo Rosales, Regina Silveira, Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin and Rafael Vargas-Suarez of Vargas-Suarez Universal.
To read more, follow the link in our story
Or go to www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs/20230201.html
Featured artwork: Concept for artwork from artist Miguel Arzabe for Bush Intercontinental Airport.
.Arzabe
Houston’s music community, who had an opportunity to provide feedback to the Houston Music Advisory Board in the fall of 2022, got a boost this month when the Board determined areas of improvement or opportunity they will focus on this year.
“We feel confident as a board that we can expand the City’s reach to community,” said Houston Music Advisory Board Chair Jason Woods.
Based on music community feedback, the Music Board designated three areas of focus for 2023: history and preservation, education, and collaboration. The board will plan community-related events and make recommendations in the development of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs () strategies for the advancement of local music industry. They will also host another round of Listening Sessions with the music community later this fall.
Board Officials said creating opportunities and fostering economic development among Houston musicians and our music industry just made sense both to provide resources and uplift the music community.
“Music has proven to have a positive impact on the economy and tourism,” said Music + Cultural Tourism Officer Gracie Chavez, “so, cities should continue investing in their music communities, especially after the last couple of years.”
📸 Marco Torres
The deadline to apply to be the next Houston Poet Laureate is this Sunday, Jan. 29. Have you applied? Watch this as The Outspoken Bean shares words of wisdom for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfwIeukq1UA
Watch this trailer about the making of the 2 recently commissioned artworks in the new Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center.
The artworks "Dreamcatcher" by Jesse Lott, and "That Sunnyside Pride" by Irene Antonia Diane Reece, will be presented to the Houston public tomorrow, January 28, 2023, during the building's grand opening.
Video by , commissioned by on behalf of the for through the City's Civic Art Program.
A film about the making of the new Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center, open to the Houston public on January 28, 2023.Video by , co...
Thinking about applying to be the next Houston Poet Laureate by the Jan. 29 deadline? Watch this as The Outspoken Bean explains how serving as the has enabled him to make a positive impact in the community.
Highlights from last week’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and kick-off reception for “Steppin Back in Time” an exhibition in the City Hall Rotunda by Houston Informer Foundation Inc. and hosted by the
and in conjunction with the .
“Steppin Back in Time” is a photography exhibition and a virtual reality experience of Black-owned businesses and community leaders of color in Houston starting in 1893 through the 1950s and is part of MOCA’s 2023 exhibition series, “Expressions!”
Come visit Houston City Hall to view this important exhibition!
Photos [email protected]
The deadline to apply with us and the Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs to be the next Houston Poet Laureate is this Sunday, Jan. 29, and there are many reasons to do so! Watch this as The Outspoken Bean shares Reason #2: If selected, you get to work on fun projects like his "Space City Story Tape."
_Outspoken Bean Talks About His Space City Story Tape
Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs opens the 2023 Exhibition Series, Expressions! With a High-Tech Exhibit to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month.
Click Here👇👇
https://bit.ly/3kzOFcP
🎹 Hersal Thomas 🎹
Next up in Houston Music History, we share more on pianist and composer Hersal Thomas. The Houston native starts to record in 1925 for Okeh Records, and went on to become very influential on Chicago's style of . His most famous track was "Suitcase Blues" (Okeh).
His brother George Thomas and sister Sippie Wallace were also notable musicians. All three siblings recorded and performed with Louis Armstrong. The circumstances of his untimely death at the age of 19 in Detroit, Michigan, have never been clarified.
Who else contributed to our Bayou City music?
Send us your important dates in Houston music history 🔗 Link in Story 🔗
Chair for the Houston Music Advisory Board contributed to this history.
Dear Alief,
This is "Dear Alief," by Zainob+Mathew Create on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
: 10 years ago Gwendolyn Zepeda was selected as the inaugural ? A native Houstonian, Zepeda attended and began her writing career as a blogger in 1997. Since then, she’s had 12 books of fiction, short stories, poems and children’s literature published, all of which can be found in the catalog! Pictured is her anthology, “Monsters, Zombies, + Addicts,” published during her term as .
She is just one of the amazingly talented poets who have celebrated Houston's rich culture and diversity through their work of poetry and spoken word. If you would like to represent Houston by generating excitement about poetry through outreach, programs, teaching, and written work, please apply to be the city’s next Poet Laureate. Applications are due by Jan. 29. To apply, visit https://moca.submittable.com/submit/c8acfb43-1be9-4b34-8cd6-3425647c4580/search-for-houston-poet-laureate-2023.
Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs Houston Public Library Houston Poet Laureate
will open its 2023 exhibition series Expressions! with the exhibit, “Steppin’ Back in Time: Houston in Retrospect.”
Houston Informer Foundation, Inc. (HIFI), originated this photography exhibition and virtual reality experience celebrating Black-owned businesses and community leaders of color in Houston.
The exhibit covers the years 1893 through the 1950s as documented by Houston Informer and Texas Freeman newspapers and includes a high-tech twist to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month.
"I look forward to exhibitions such as these that allow us to take a closer look at the history of the African American community, black-owned businesses, and community leaders documented in a newspaper like The Houston Informer and Texas Freeman, considered to be the oldest Black newspaper published west of the Mississippi," said Sylvester Turner. “These exhibitions give us a better understanding of how Houston came to be and how its residents express themselves. I am excited for the next exhibitions by local artists and organizations that will follow suit and tackle the theme of Expression from different lenses; a true picture of the diverse city we call home.”
The exhibition will be held in the City Hall rotunda from January 18 to February 28, 2023. It will open with a ribbon-cutting and reception at Noon on Wednesday, January 18.
“The exhibition is the perfect opener for the series,” stated Necole S. Irvin, MOCA Director. “It highlights self-expression and the African American residents who made a difference in Houston, fought racism, and overcame other barriers. We are proud to partner with HIFI and the Office of Business Opportunity to lift up these important stories.”
Expressions!, a series of exhibitions curated by Community Liaison Victor Ancheta, will continue throughout the year with five other planned exhibitions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv42FZ_vAWk&t=4s
As we celebrate today's successful grand opening of Alief's new neighborhood center, watch this video following the making of "Alief Swarm," a permanent artwork commissioned for the building by artist Bennie Flores Ansell. The artwork is included in the City of Houston's Civic Art Collection.
Video by Zainob + Mathew Create commissioned by the Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs on behalf of the Houston Health Department, Houston Public Library, and the Houston Parks - HPARD for Houston through the City's Civic Art Program.
A film following the making of "Alief Swarm," a permanent artwork commission for the Alief Neighborhood Center by artist Bennie Flores Ansell. The artwork is...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZFDGZjmQNA&t=28s
Watch the making of "Folding Stories" an artwork by Red Thread Collective: Sneha Bhavsar, Rakhee Jain Desai, and Ami Mehta.
"Folding Stories" is a newly commissioned artwork in the new Alief Multi-Service building and is now part of the City of Houston's Civic Art Collection.
Filmed by Zainob + Mathew Create and commissioned by the Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs on behalf of the Houston Public Library, Houston Health Department, and Houston Parks - HPARD
"Folding Stories" by Red Thread Collective: Sneha Bhavsar, Rakhee Jain Desai and Ami Mehta is a newly commissioned artwork in the new Alief Multi-Service bui...
Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs is awarding $11,520,344.70 in grants to 57 individuals, 131 arts and culture nonprofit organizations, and fiscally sponsored projects offering public exhibitions, presentations, and performances in 2023.
The funds are awarded via the Support for Organizations, Festival, and Support for Artists and Creative Individuals grant programs.
“This massive investment into the arts sector highlights how important the arts are to the City of Houston,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner. “The arts help shape our city’s identity and we foster the creativity of our residents for the benefit of every Houstonian. I want this support for the arts to be a part of my legacy as Houston’s Mayor.”
These competitive grant programs are managed and administered annually by and are funded by a portion of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT).
To read more visit https://www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs/20230110.html
1st and 2nd Photos: Nia's Daughters Collective, a Support for Organizations grantee.
3rd photo: An installation by artist JD Plueker, a Support for Artists and Creative Individuals grantee
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We began highlighting the 74 latest additions to Houston's Civic Art Collection @HoustonMoca on IG last month. We hope you have been getting to know each artist and their work. This short video was posted yesterday. Artist, writer and outdoor adventurer E Dan Klepper's COTTONWOOD was featured yesterday. Don't miss out on seeing this post and the other 73! #houcityart #PublicArt #iah #houart #HOU #airportart #photography
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