Austin launches ACME 'Creative Reset'; proposes simpler, tiered arts grant program and timeline for rollout

The City of Austin’s new Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment office (ACME) presented a Phase 1 report and proposed changes to city arts funding programs at the council work session on July 22.

Angela Means, ACME director, said the office was stood up in February and that in four and a half months the team launched a "Creative Reset," a yearlong strategic planning effort the office described as centering community input and simplifying the city’s arts funding programs. "We found as we started talking to our members within our community that they really wanted us to listen and hear their stories so that we set our foundation on the needs of Austin," Means said.

ACME reported more than 1,200 responses to a 30-question community survey conducted between mid-May and July 20, plus focus groups and listening sessions. Based on that outreach, staff proposed program revisions that include simplified applications, the addition of microgrants, funding tiers, expanded eligibility to individuals, collectives, nonprofits and for-profit creative businesses, mentorship for first-time applicants and a universal appeals process.

Means described program-level changes to the city’s main grants: Nexus, Elevate and Thrive. Nexus was expanded from a single $5,000 award to a range ACME described as $2,500 up to $20,000 for entry-level support. Thrive remains aimed at longer-term operational support and would use a cohort model; ACME described Thrive awards as up to $250,000 (split as $125,000 per year in a two-year cycle). Elevate is intended for project-based scaling and audience-growth work. The office said funding sources for these programs come primarily from hotel-occupancy tax revenue, the city’s general fund and capital-project allocations tied to the city’s Art in Public Places program.

ACME said it will finalize guidelines and incorporate public and Arts Commission feedback by Aug. 1, publish application questions and hold technical-assistance workshops in the fall, and aims to distribute grant dollars in early 2026. The team said a program-evaluation phase will begin in September and that the full Creative Reset timeline covers four phases — strategic planning, program evaluation, resource development and implementation — over roughly 12 to 18 months.

Council members asked for clarifications and raised issues including whether award amounts would be tied to an organization’s operating budget, how scoring criteria would handle organizations that lost National Endowment for the Arts funding, and how ACME will prevent conflicts or grant "double-dipping." ACME staff told council they would remove a proposed scoring preference for long-standing organizations after Arts Commission feedback, and that internal checks, transparency measures and staff training will be in place before the grants are rolled out.

Council members also discussed facility management and operations at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex and asked ACME to treat cultural facilities holistically when evaluating capital and operational needs. ACME said it will examine facilities as districts and coordinate on resource development and capital planning.

ACME said it will provide regular updates to council as guidelines are refined and as internal controls and transparency tools are implemented.