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City approves Civic Lubbock cultural‑arts grants from hotel‑occupancy funds
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved Civic Lubbock Inc.’s recommended cultural‑arts grants funded by FY23‑24 hotel‑occupancy tax receipts; multiple arts organizations and artists spoke in favor during public comment.
The Lubbock City Council unanimously approved Resolution 6.19 on the July agenda to allocate hotel‑occupancy‑tax‑derived funds recommended by Civic Lubbock Inc. and the Cultural Arts Review Committee.
Assistant City Manager Brooke Witcher introduced the matter and said the program is funded from year‑end fiscal 2023‑24 hotel‑occupancy tax collections; Civic Lubbock representatives Cathy Horkey Wolf and grants administrator Vicky Key were present to answer questions. After public comment and brief council discussion the council voted to approve the recommendation unanimously.
Representatives of local arts organizations and individual artists described how the grants fund performances, festivals and free programming. Helen Duncan, executive director of Ballet Lubbock, said The Nutcracker brings about 15,000 people downtown during its production run and that, in 2023, ticket purchasers included 855 national tourists from 28 states and 1,317 state tourists (defined by Civic Lubbock as attendees from more than 50 miles away). Duncan cited an Americans for the Arts economic estimate, based on local spending assumptions and busined‑supplied data, that Nutcracker audiences spent about $356,970 in Lubbock during the production, supporting the local economy.
Other speakers included Lindsey Maestry, executive director of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LUCA); Dylan Blackwell, a high‑school educator who described student participation in First Friday Art Trail and entrepreneurship opportunities; Rachel Shipley and Chad Plunkett of the Charles Adams Studio Project (CASP), who described CASP’s role in downtown studios and plans to add six live‑work studios in 2026; and Galen Wixson, president and CEO of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Multiple speakers cited the role of Civic Lubbock funding in enabling free or low‑cost programming, attracting visitors, and supporting local artists and related small businesses.
Council members who spoke praised the arts groups and noted recent refinements to Civic Lubbock’s grant application guidelines. After a motion and second, council approved the item by unanimous vote.
