Houston’s Strong BIPOC Arts Community
“[It was important] to have BANF [funding] and [be able to create] programming that isn’t targeting tourists or visitors, but that strengthens and emboldens communities in greater Houston.”
– BIPOC Artist, Established Nonprofit
“BANF was the first grant we received for my company in the last 5 yrs…The funds mean a lot but [so does] the sheer sense of validation by your peers.”
– BIPOC Artist, Emerging Collective
BIPOC artists, arts organizations, and arts collectives represent the complex and creative power of the people of one of the most diverse cities in America, making Houston Strong. Their creativity and communities are critical to a thriving multicultural Houston, one of the past, present, and future.
In 2021-22, The BIPOC Arts Network and Fund (BANF) infused $2M in funding into the BIPOC arts community during a time of great need due to the pandemic crisis, which was compounded by systemic inequities. This work brought long overdue recognition to BIPOC arts groups, expanded access to resources, built relationships across communities, and modeled a grantmaker whose relationships are rooted in trust and equity. Our ongoing work is to catalyze abundant support for the BIPOC arts and culture ecosystem that not only strengthens BIPOC arts groups and their relationships, but also makes the field more equitable.
We engage in ongoing learning with our grantees and communities to inform our strategies and practice. We share that learning with the field to lift up the experience of BIPOC artists and their communities, document BANF’s impact, and invite the broader Houston arts ecosystem to weave a network of support, learning, and experimentation for our thriving future. Together, we can understand what is needed and create solutions to live into a better future for us all.
“To all those that came before us, on whose shoulders we stand, we pour libations to remember that we are who we are because they were who they were…”
– The Fairytale Project
The stories and experiences BANF aims to lift up are not new, nor are BANF’s efforts to support network-building in the BIPOC arts community. Many generations of BIPOC artists and culture workers in greater Houston have and continue to collaborate, co-create, build networks, break down silos, and advocate for a more equitable arts and cultural sector. Not all of these efforts have been sufficiently documented, but they are present and palpable; BANF would not be possible without them.
The learning documented here reflects the learning and impact from the first phase of BANF’s grantmaking, which took place from 2021-2022. There are three entry points to the learning:
- Current Context: Community & Conditions – This section shares the dreams of BIPOC artists, arts organizations, and collectives, the inequitable systems and harmful narratives that make-up the current context.
- BANF’s Impact: Our Journey Together – Here we share about the impact of the first phase of BANF’s grantmaking. It includes stories from our stakeholder communities.
- What’s Needed – Here we bring together the needs we heard in the learning sessions.
- Future Forward: Where We’re Going – This section shares BANF’s vision for the future, our strategies and requests from grantees, and the learning questions guiding the next phase our journey.
No matter where you enter, pathways forward call us to make meaning from our connections —the collaborations we are in, those we have rotated out of, and those constellations we have yet to inhabit. As you traverse across time and space, reflect on what you bring to this journey amidst the stars.
To learn more about the learning & reflection process that supported gathering these learnings, and the design team guiding it, please read more here: Learning & Reflection Process.
Learning & Impact
Current Context
Journey Together
What is Needed
Where We're Going
Learning & Impact
Current Context
Journey Together
What is Needed
Where We're Going
