Graphic by Chris Quintana
The city of Austin’s $6.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 includes nearly $23 million in arts and entertainment grants and $14.16 million for the city’s Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment department, similar to the department’s previous year.
The city launched the ACME department in February 2025, consolidating various creative programs from other departments. The city’s newest department provides local creative organizations and individuals with opportunities and grants to cover operational needs such as permit and insurance costs, venue rentals, marketing and more.
Austin ACME 2027 expense budget source: budget.austintexas.gov
Grant applications for programs such as the Austin Live Music Fund, Elevate, Thrive and the Heritage Preservation Grant have closed for 2027, but applications for Nexus are set to open in September. The city is offering workshops to help artists understand the guidelines.
Grants are funded from the Municipal Hotel Occupancy Tax or “HOT funds” that are also funding the Austin Convention Center construction project.
ACME offers six grants for the arts, each with specialized eligibility guidelines. The Austin Live Music Fund is open to a wide range of music industry professionals to fund musical performances, tour and venue costs, sound and video production staff, marketing campaigns and more. The live music fund received the most applications for fiscal year 2025-26, with nearly 60% of all grants going toward artists and producers within the music industry.
Juno Black, owner and founder of Juno Black LLC, a consulting company for creative artists looking to get into the music, tech and media industry, received a $70,000 grant in 2026 through the Austin Live Music Fund.
Black has been applying for and receiving grants from the city for nearly 10 years, long before ACME was established. Black used the funding to create an immersive projection dome that blends music with modern visuals, called Gallery Hypontica.
Black said the city’s requirements have not changed, but she has noticed the application process and ease of navigating the city’s financial aid are constantly changing. Only a few years ago, according to Black, the city tried changing the way artists could apply by asking groups or individuals to apply under umbrella organizations, which sparked backlash from creatives.
“It’s like they go back and forth trying to figure out what the best way is, and in the meantime there are all these processes and requirements that keep changing that for most people, unless you’ve gone through it before and have been coached to understand, it’s really difficult to navigate,” Black said.
Black believes that, with so many moving parts, the city prioritizes reinventing existing systems and departments rather than improving those that already work. In 2025, the department launched the Creative Reset, a multiphased engagement initiative to gather feedback to shape future grant cycles.
This year, the city planned to match last year’s $24 million in grants, which was spread across 731 approved awardees. ACME reported it “saw 1,607 applicants requesting over $67 million, reflecting significant demand for cultural investment in Austin.”