Woodlands Waterway Arts Council Inc

In 2024, The Woodlands Arts Council featured four free exhibits in the office space that we converted into a gallery in 2023. The Gallery serves as an opportunity for us to invite and educate the public about art, and to celebrate the talents of local artists. We provide the artist with an opportunity to share their technique with the public during an opening, which is free and open to the public. We have also used the space to showcase collections from local patrons. The gallery is open for free on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 1pm-4pm each week.

The Young Makers Market was established in 2024. Artists ages nine through eighteen apply to sell their original artworks in a one-day mini-arts festival inspired by our flagship event, The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. The 40-50 invited artists participate in a workshop that highlights entrepreneurship, marketing, product photography, and leadership, featuring a keynote speaker from the working artist community, hosted at Market Street, The Woodlands. Thousands of visitors come out to experience the market and support these young artists in our community. In 2025, we had an astounding 100 applicants for the September 2025 show.

The Because Art Matters committee is responsible for year-round programming at TWAC. Our critical aim is to impact Montgomery County arts educators, students, and organizations through programs that support their endeavors. The Student Art Scholarship program invites graduating seniors to submit a three(3) piece portfolio of visual and/or literary works of art and answer questions about their creative process. Students are then interviewed by a jury of arts professionals in the community to discern awards. In 2025, we awarded $60,000 to 14 talented students from across Montgomery County, including a $20,000 scholarship to a truly outstanding student, marking our 20th year as an organization. The microgrant program offers three groups arts educators, artists, and arts organizations the chance to apply for funds for projects with budgets ranging from $250 to $5,000. In 2025, we awarded $35,000 to visual arts applicants and facilitated an additional $43,000 in partnership with The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for performing arts applicants, totaling $78,000 in grants. In 2024-2025, a total of $95,000 was awarded through our Student Art Scholarship program and Microgrant program. In the past decade, $1.4 million has been distributed through BAM programming.