This month-long recognition is a time to honor the impact of creativity in our daily lives and to advocate for the essential role of the arts in shaping strong, vibrant communities. Hou Arts invites you to share your arts story and help us amplify the impact of creativity across Greater Houston and beyond.
Share a photo, video, or short story about how the arts have touched your life—whether it’s a performance that moved you, a mural in your neighborhood, or a class that sparked your creativity. Join the national movement by using the hashtags #NAHM25, #ShowYourArt, and #HouArts.
Let us help spread your story by tagging us so we can repost and celebrate together. Encourage others by inviting friends, family, and colleagues to do the same and keep the ripple effect of creativity going.
The arts and culture sector drives economic growth at both local and national levels—fueling spending, generating tax revenue, attracting tourism, and offering significant opportunities for continued development and innovation.
Almost 1 in 4 Texans are employed in the creative sector.1
$503M spent annually by 84 Houston arts nonprofits, sustaining 4,100 full-time jobs.1
Taxable revenue from the core Arts and Culture Industry has grown by 63% since 2010.1
Creative sector employment in Texas is projected to grow +24% by 2032, adding 225,000 new jobs.1
Each additional 1,000 attendees at a major event can translate to $150,000-$300,000 in local economic benefits.2
Texans are above average in arts participation compared to the rest of the US.5
1. Texas Cultural Trust, 2025 State of the Arts Report, 2025. 2. Oxford Economics, The Concerts and Live Entertainment Industry: A Significant Economic Engine, 2021. 3. City of Houston, Hotel Occupancy Tax Breakdown, 2016. 4. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, The Artistic Dividend: The Arts’ Hidden Contributions to Regional Development, 2003. 5. Americans for the Arts, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 – Harris County Report, 2023
of HOT funds invested into arts and culture nonprofit in 2022. which supported:6
in economic activity
jobs
in personal income to residents
in local tax revenue
generated in local tax revenue for every $1 of HOT funds invested in nonprofit arts and culture organizations.
6. National Endowment for the Arts, 50 States of Arts Participation: 2022, 2024.
The arts and culture sector shapes how people choose where to travel, live, and work—driving tourism, strengthening community appeal, and supporting workforce retention and recruitment.
of Americans strongly consider whether the destination is rich in arts when deciding where to vacation.1
of all Texas travelers engage in cultural tourism, with $94.8B spent on travel and tourism in 2023.2
spent on average in the local economy by attendees of arts and culuture events In Harris County.3
of arts and culture attendees are nonlocal visitors who traveled from outside the county; they spend an average of $60.57 in the local economy when attending an arts and culture event.3
visit The Houston Museum District annually, more than all major sporting events and the rodeo combined (6.5m).3
visitors annually to the Houston Cultural Districts.4
visitors to Houston arts and culture nonprofits annually.2
1. Americans for the Arts, Public Opinion Poll on the Arts, 2016. 2. Texas Cultural Trust, 2025 State of the Arts Report, 2025. 3. Visit Houston. Houston Museum District Mixes Culture and Conference Space. 2015 4. Visit Houston. Museum and Theater Districts | Arts & Culture in Houston.
of Texas adults created or performed some type of art in the past 12 months, which is above the national average.1
of Millennials would strongly consider whether a community is rich in the arts when deciding where to move.2
Studies show that when making a decision to stay in or relocate to a new city, arts and culture offerings influenced people’s decision making about as much as the quality of schools.2
1. National Endowment for the Arts, 50 States of Arts Participation: 2022, 2024. 2. Americans for the Arts, Public Opinion Poll on the Arts, 2016.
Arts and culture contribute to healthier, more engaged communities by boosting physical and mental well-being, attracting a talented workforce, and fostering a deeper sense of pride and investment in the places people call home.
1. Texas Cultural Trust, 2025 State of the Arts Report, 2025.
Decrease in Obesity in lower income neighborhoods with cultural resources than comparable neighborhoods without these resources.2
People who lead arts agencies locally are 2x as likely to have voted in a federal election, and 4x as likely to have voted in a local or state election, as the general population.3
Arts participants are more than twice as likely to volunteer in their communities, independent of education, age, gender, or race.4
1. Texas Cultural Trust, 2025 State of the Arts Report, 2025. 2. UPenn School of Social Policy & Practice, Culture and Social Well-Being in New York City, 2017 3. Americans for the Arts, Baseline Demographic Survey of the Local Arts Field. 4. ArtsFund, Social Impact of the Arts Study, 2018 5. National Endowment for the Arts, Texas State Profile, 2024. 6. Americans for the Arts, Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 – Houston Report 2023 7. Americans for the Arts, Public Opinion Poll on the Arts, 2016.
Download our messaging guide for information on how to effectively address different audiences and for social media prompts.
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