Twenty-nine individuals and nonprofit organizations receive $71,500 in grants from the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) to expand their artistic creativity and innovation in their respective fields. It was also an acknowledgment of the impact and significance of their contributions.
“Houston’s diverse arts and cultural offerings provide tremendous service to our community, attract visitors and support a strong creative sector,” said Necole S. Irvin, the director of MOCA.
The grants were awarded through Let Creativity Happen, a grant program administered by Houston Arts Alliance and funded by a portion of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax. It awards up to $2,500 for programs that encourage artists and individuals in creative fields to take risks that may not otherwise qualify for traditional funding opportunities.
The recipients of the grants are:
- Anthony Barilla
- Carmen Reeves
- Classical Arts Society of Houston (CAS)
- Houston Brass Quintet
- Lolade
- The Moments Project
- Rivkah French Choreography
- PPL PXRTY ENTERTAINMENT
- Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Art
- Karla Cisneros
- REIA
- Brave Little Company
- Thomas Helton
- The Great UnKnwn
- Frame Dance
- Virtuosi of Houston
- The Bay Area Youth Singers
- Dria Thornton
- Priority Value Investments/PVI4U.ORG
- Thunderclap Productions
- DG Fine Arts
- Jeanette Joy Harris
- Jeanette Degollado
- Carla Romero
- Mariela G. Domínguez (XZZX)
- Canda
- Richard Carey Ford
- Joel Aguilera
- Seven Walker
Dria Thornton’s dream
Singer and songwriter Dria Thornton, a native Houstonian, was thrilled to find out she had been awarded the grant. As someone who has been frequently performing in the city as an independent artist for the last seven years, she has personally funded her journey so far.
Her aim is to create a fan base and help other independent female artists. Thornton wants to use the funds to release more music and arrange tours across the country while helping newcomers in the industry pave their way to success. The grant would also aid the expansion of her platform Women to Watch, which supports female R&B artists — a niche market, says Thornton.
“Having an, having an opportunity to be able to apply for these grants and receive this funding, really gets you over the, one of the biggest hurdles of being able to live out your dreams out loud, and accomplish whatever goal you’re trying to accomplish. The financial thing is one of the biggest obstacles we have as artists and creatives,” she said.
Thornton was born in Houston and raised in Fullerton, California. Her father was a public transit driver in Orange County, who first introduced her to music. She started her musical endeavors at the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts in California, where she studied musical theater and chamber choir as a violinist. She then attended the University of Houston, majoring in Psychology.
Today, she writes songs about love, self-growth, and female empowerment in the R&B, hip-hop, and pop genres. “I can do it as long as I believe. I’m gonna break down walls and build them up again. I can do it. I could do it as long as I believe,” are her own lines she swears by.
As a successful recipient, she stresses the need to set goals and learn about one’s craft, especially the business side of things: branding, marketing, writing records, picking producers, mixing music, distributing, and selling it. While applying for grants, she says it helps to envision what an artist wants to accomplish and take one step at a time. For her application, she highlighted her shows at the House of Blues and her collaboration with other artists in the city.
To arrive at where she is today, she acknowledges the hurdles that shaped her music.
“Every live performance that you do is not going to be paid. Every song that you put out is not going to get streamed enough to make your income and sustain your daily life. So, you have to get creative in the ways that present yourself and brand yourself, put your music out there, and find other ways to get investment into your music,” she advised newcomers.
