Archiving Cultural Spaces in Austin, Texas
According to participatory mapping processes from CAMP , the 78724 zip code maintains a variety of cultural spaces. Yet these spaces still risk of losing critical funding for programming and events
Spaces for Tejano music and culture, like Rancho Alegre Conjunto Radio, are at risk of losing funding as of recent years. In 2023, Rancho Alegre had to appeal a denial for funding from the City of Austin’s Thrive Fund, which it has heavily relied on since 2014. The City’s recent restructuring of its cultural offers tiered and comptetitve grants to assist more nonprofits, effectively disqualifying organizations that are not registered as nonprofits.
Updates to participatory mapping projects like CAMP could be used to advocate for sustaining cultural spaces, like Tejano sonic spaces, that have been a mainstay in Austin for decades. By investing in cultural spaces on the margins, longstanding networks of community and economies can maintain traditions passed down for generations, while contributing to Austin’s highly diverse and interwoven cultural fabric.
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