Editor's note: This story is part of an ongoing series for Arts Access examining the health and well-being of our North Texas arts economy.
On Thursday morning, graffiti artist Khadafy 鈥淒AP鈥� Branch received an email from the city of Dallas鈥� Office of Arts and Culture saying that funding he was hoping to receive could be in jeopardy.
Branch is one of several artists and arts groups in North Texas who at the end of last week received an email saying their funding from the city could be affected by Dallas City Council鈥檚 recent halt of programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
"The Office of Arts and Culture (OAC) is working diligently with City leadership to determine how these directives may impact various programs and services provided by OAC,鈥� the email said.
The uncertainty could throw off Branch鈥檚 plans for the fourth annual Styles Fest in Pleasant Grove, a free community event featuring mural art. He applied for funding this year, but has not received an awards notice.
The city鈥檚 OAC declined a request for comment. Instead, the office sent a policy review document titled 鈥淓nsuring Federal Compliance While Driving Opportunity: City of Dallas Policy Review.鈥� The document details the timeline to halt DEI initiatives and outlines some next steps but does not give details on how this new policy would affect the arts.
According to the OAC email, the changes could impact the future of programs such as the Culture of Value, Community Artist Program, Cultural Organizations Program and Arts Activate, which have supported cultural programming from diverse communities.
Arts Access was a recipient of the Arts Activate grant last year and receives funding from the Dallas OAC.
In the email, the OAC noted how the decision could affect funding decisions for current applications.
"This email serves as an official notification that current timelines for application review and funding notifications may be delayed as a result of our review process.鈥�
However, grants awarded before April 22 will be fulfilled without changes.
In past years, Branch received about $8,000 through the city鈥檚 ArtsActivate program. While that funding wasn鈥檛 enough to cover the roughly $17,000 to $21,000 it costs to put on the event, the support helped minimize how much he had to dip into his own funds or search for outside support.
鈥淢y reaction was, I might have to start a GoFundMe or I might need to ask more people for help,鈥� he said.
Styles Fest isn鈥檛 just an event for Branch. The graffiti artist said it鈥檚 a way to inspire youth in Pleasant Grove where he grew up.
鈥淚t's basically telling them, you don't have to go to Deep Ellum to see artwork. You don't need to go to the Oak Cliff Bishop Arts District to see artwork. Artwork is here in your community and you can go and check it out without having to drive miles and miles,鈥� he said.
Ultimately, Branch is concerned about what the changes mean for the arts in the city.
鈥淚t's going to hurt Dallas a lot because we have [few] resources to begin with and as a starving artist, it just puts us more steps behind the rest of the world,鈥� he said.
Ilknur Ozgur, founder and director of Artstillery, also received the OAC email. She鈥檚 worried about what will happen to Dallas鈥� small and mid-size arts organizations.
鈥淲hen funding is put on hold, as it has been under our current administration, time and time again, we set ourselves on a path to erode, and eventually erase, these essential cultural voices,鈥� she said in a written statement.
While she prepares to lead Artstillery, which focuses on performance art and social justice, through another change, she said the larger question Dallasites need to ask is 鈥渨hat do we want our city to look like?鈥�
An OAC representative said the office is collecting questions at OACGeneral@dallas.gov.
Arts Access was a recipient of the Arts Activate grant last year and receives funding from the Dallas OAC.
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