What We Do
What We Do
The Texas Cultural Trust manages various programs to heighten awareness and support for the arts as essential to improving public education and stimulating economic growth.
Programs and Initiatives PDF
Art Can
Through Art Can, the Texas Cultural Trust conducts research and produces and publishes data quantifying the economic and educational impact of the arts in Texas. Art Can analyzes employment and wages within the creative sector, along with tax revenue and tourism spending pertaining to arts and culture. Art Can also studies individual school districts, analyzing student access to arts education and its relation to academic outcome and overall success. The findings are unequivocal, highlighting the arts as vital to the development of young minds and a strong economy. In this way, Art Can serves as an invaluable resource for Texas parents, educators, the public, policy makers and private entities. The data culled informs all Texas Cultural Trust programs and spurs the development of new initiatives to increase public funding and support for arts and culture in the state.
Texas Medal of Arts Awards
The Texas Medal of Arts Awards is the Trust’s signature fundraising event. Every biennium, during the Texas legislative session, the Trust celebrates excellence in the arts by presenting awards to Texas luminaries and leaders. These deserved recipients are artists of all disciplines, who’ve achieved greatness through their creative talents, as well as individual and corporate patrons who, through their generosity, have gifted inspiration and opportunity to the arts in Texas.
Texas Young Masters
A joint program between the Texas Cultural Trust and the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), Texas Young Masters awards scholarship grants to deserving young artists in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literary arts, and other artistic disciplines. The Trust announces a new class of Young Masters every biennium at an awards show celebrating the drive and talent of fifteen 8th through 11th grade students. Each student receives $10,000 in scholarship, over two years, to further their studies in their chosen field. Texas Young Masters helps our state’s rising stars realize their potential as the next generation of leading visionaries in the arts.
Texas Women for the Arts
Texas Women for the Arts (TWA) is a statewide giving circle and membership program. This philanthropic force annually awards more than $200,000 to arts organizations throughout the state. Since their inception, in 2005, TWA has impacted more than three quarters of a million children. The TWA mission is to awaken and nurture the artist in every Texas child.
Arts Access
The Arts Access program examines the needs and opportunities within Texas communities to increase access to the arts, culture, and arts education. This program is a growing collective of resources to support artists, arts educators, and arts organizations. Resources include the Trust’s Arts and Digital Literacy curriculum, grants, networking opportunities, and additional means to expand access to the arts for all Texans.
Partners in the Arts
Partners in the Arts is a growing consortium of arts organizations, artists, and arts patrons across Texas. The program has evolved into a membership platform for information sharing and creative collaboration. By uniting institutional efforts and ideas, Partners in the Arts support awareness for the critical role the arts have in the cultural, health, and economy of Texas.