To promote and educate people about the performing and visual arts as authorized by the texas non-profit corporations act.

Arts & Culture , Performing Arts

The woodlands waterway art festival is our main activity and how our organization began. It is an annual 2 day celebration of the arts held along the woodlands waterway and town green park in the spring. It has attendance of over 14,000 patrons and features approximately 210 international, national and regional artists and fine craftsmen that are selected by a jury and sell their work. We also have musical performances on 2 stages with grammy winning and local musicians, 1 stage with culinary art demonstrations and 1 stage with community performing artists with many ethnic musicians and dancers. There is an area called artopoly that represents our student scholarship winners work and an opportunity to buy student work for $5 to facilitate the beginning of art appreciation and a community art project. There are hands on children art activities. Our revenue is derived from artist applications, booth rentals, admission revenues and our kick-off party called the art dash. Children 12 and under are admitted free. We also have a market where we sell customized items such as t-shirts and caps. We have approximately 500 volunteers that help with the festival. Our expenses include labor to manage and staff the event, set up the gates, tables, chairs, stages, tents, electric, and signage. We have advertising, operations, performing arts, graphic arts, and printing expenses amongst others. bam-because art matters is how we give back to the community what we've made with the festival or raised through donations. We have approximately eight title 1, economically disadvantaged schools that we provide financial stipends to so that they may purchase art supplies for their classrooms. We also bring art to the students with field trips to the houston grand opera, ballet, fincher art museum, and/or children's museum. We serve over 31,000 at-risk students. We hire percussionist dan the drummer, or bring a master artist or teacher to those with special needs and circumstances such as seniors, the disabled, juveniles in detention centers, battered women, and children in the children's hospital. We award $21,000 to 18 students in 6 categories of art and $4,000 to two teachers, annually. We also support the woodlands high school art trust with an award of $1,500 annually. We maintain the spotlight art gallery in the woodlands mall. we have underwriters that pay $15,000 to support an art bench that is installed along the woodlands waterway. We currently have 14 benches installed with 6 that will be installed as part of phase 3 in 2018, which were associated with 2017 revenue. Our expenses include costs to recruit and select 3 artists for each bench. They are given a stipend of $300 each and $8000 is given to the artist that is selected to build the bench. The woodlands township pays for the installation and we convey ownership to them. These beautiful benches enhance the waterway and offer a place to stop and reflect on the beauty of the area.