$5 million dollars is a notable rate of return on one’s investment for a $100,000 a year organization! That’s what Texans for the Arts secured for Texas’ state arts agency—the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) Cultural & Fine Arts District program—through a well-executed legislative strategy in the 84^th Texas Legislative Session!  Who-what-how did we garner one of the largest state arts appropriations in the U.S. in 2015?

VSA Texas works with people with disabilities as they access the arts. This can be as a patron of the arts or as an artist. Through our Artworks: Creative Industries program, we meet artists where they are in their hobby or career and act as a resource to move them to where they want to be in that hobby or career. My challenge is to find out what the barriers are for our artists and find ways for each of them to work through those barriers to reach their personal goals. In 2009, we noticed a barrier for Veteran artists within our own services. Veterans in our community were not identifying as artists with disabilities, so they were not entering our art exhibitions or attending our workshops and events. Rather than trying to change their viewpoints, we adapted ours and started programming specifically for Veterans.

From exhilarating live performances to extensive corporate art collections to engaging community outreach programs, businesses all around the United States enrich the lives of their employees and people in their communities by partnering with the arts. But each year, ten companies go above and beyond—the BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America. 

How lucky I was to grow up in San Antonio, Texas, surrounded by its wonderful mixed culture, Texan and Mexican. My dear mother, Mary Dorothy, a war widow in 1942, brought my brother George and me back to her home and made certain that the arts and culture of our Texas and Mexican heritage was an integral part of our lives, education, and development. It didn’t hurt that she was part of the Maverick clan, one of the founding families of the city and also one of the most liberal. Their love of the arts also was shared with their love of politics, and I learned at an early age how to blend the two into resources for museums, educational arts projects, theaters, and, of course, our great annual Fiesta San Jacinto. Mother sparked my curiosity, drove me everywhere, dear thing, and even put up with one period where I added the viola to my repertoire. My poor mother!

“Chroma Booster” plays on the tradition of having a fountain in large public gathering spaces. The 55-foot tall painted pipes invited visitors to the pathway to cool off in the mist or play with other features that will send water cascading on their friends. Visitors see how art can be transformational and repurpose something utilitarian like a parking lot into a vibrant public meeting space.

KRIS Wines has partnered with Americans for the Arts to celebrate the value of public art in American communities, and reward the artists who create it. They’re giving away $25,000 in prizes to artists who have recently completed projects in the United States, and your votes—up to once per day at kriswine.com/giving—will determine the winners.