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ACME outlines 'Creative Reset', says >1,000 applications and ~$24M in grants; commissioners push for recipient data
Summary
Assistant Director Morgan Messick told the commission that ACME centralized arts funding last year, ran its first unified application cycle and received over 1,000 applications; staff said awards totaling about $24 million will be announced imminently while demand roughly totals $65 million, prompting commissioners to request more recipient data and a short-term working group.
Morgan Messick, assistant director of the City of Austin’s new Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment department (ACME), presented a one-year progress report to the Austin Tourism Commission on March 11 and described the department’s Creative Reset strategic process, recent grant work and next steps.
Messick said ACME was created in February 2025 to centralize programming and funding for arts, culture, music and entertainment across previously separate departments. The department restructured grant programs (heritage preservation, Live Music Fund, Nexus, Elevate, Thrive and the Creative Space Assistance Program) under a single application system…
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