MEDIA ADVISORY – PHOTO OP

WHAT:     Groundbreaking for New $8.7 Million Rockport Center for the Arts Facility
WHEN:    Tuesday, Feb. 23 — 10 a.m.
WHERE:  204 S. Austin Street, Rockport, TX 78382   

Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) will break ground on a new 22,000-square-foot art center on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m. The event will take place on RCA’s 1.18-acre site located at 204 S. Austin Street, in the heart of downtown Rockport.

RCA Executive Director Luis Purón and the RCA Board of Directors will be joined for the ceremony by City of Rockport Mayor Patrick R. Rios, City Manager Kevin Carruth along with other city officials. The City of Rockport is RCA’s partner in the capital project. Also in attendence will be Luis Buentello representing Congressman Michael Cloud, and members of Aransas County Long Term Recovery, led by Judge C.H. “Burt” Mills.  

With completion scheduled for mid-2022, the new $8.7 million Rockport Center for the Arts will be home to hallmark programs in the 13,000-square-foot visual arts and art education complex, as well as an 8,000-square-foot performing arts facility and convention center featuring a culinary arts education kitchen and multiple break out rooms for meeting space. In addition, there will be a 16,000-square-foot outdoor sculpture garden housing works from the art center’s permanent collection of sculptural works by nationally and internationally recognized artists.

Construction is slated to begin immediately on the new complex, the first original facility to be built for the celebrated 52-year-old non-profit. Richter Architects of Corpus Christi designed the new facility, with Teal Construction Company, also of Corpus Christi, serving as the general contractor for the project.

To coordinate coverage, contact Luis Purón, RCA Executive Director
(570) 702-4032, (361) 729-5519 / luis@rockportartcenter.com

CMR. GEORGE P. BUSH ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $43 MILLION IN DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDS FOR ARANSAS COUNTY

CMR. GEORGE P. BUSH ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $43 MILLION IN DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDS FOR ARANSAS COUNTY

Combined with $13 million previously approved for Rockport and Fulton, more than $56 million in infrastructure at work in Aransas County

AUSTIN — Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the Texas General Land Office (GLO) sent a contract for $43,390,628 in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery funds to Aransas County for final signature. The funds will enable Aransas County to conduct extensive infrastructure improvements relating to drainage, street, communication, and public facility systems as well as conducting a fiber optics communications planning study.

"Aransas County was one of the areas hardest hit by the destructive wind and flooding of Hurricane Harvey," said Commissioner Bush. "These mitigation funds are vital for communities in the Coastal Bend, which continue to need additional fortification against future storm damage. Every day the GLO is working to cut red-tape and move much-needed federal recovery dollars to communities to improve infrastructure, mitigate against future flooding events, and protect both the homes and lives of local residents."

Once finalized, Aransas County will perform more than 150,000 linear feet of extensive flood and drainage infrastructure improvements on either side of TX-35 between TX-188 and W. Moore Avenue. These vital projects will include installing new storm sewer pipe, replacing storm sewer culverts, regrading roadside ditches, and repairing streets. Hurricane Harvey's extensive rainfall and high winds inundated the drainage system and streets in this area causing massive flooding. These improvements will facilitate proper stormwater conveyance, thus reducing the impact of future flooding and providing continued access in and out of the area.

Substantial street improvements, including regrading, constructing roadways, laying asphalt, excavating drainage, and installing new drainpipe, will occur throughout the Copano Heights and Holiday Beach neighborhoods. Street improvements will continue the length of Rattle Snake Point Road and Lido Road from Old Salt Lake Rd. to Copano Cove Rd. as well as along Loop 1781 from SH 35 Business North to FM 3036.

The disaster recovery funds will also be used to improve the Downtown Anchor area and Rockport Center for the Arts parking lot. Upgrades will include:

• Installing underground water, sewer, and gas lines;

• Installing storm drains, traffic controls, and light poles;

• Repairing streets;

• Improving parking lots, including curb, gutter, and sidewalks;

• Construct a public meeting room and public bathrooms;

• Installing signage, landscaping, and irrigation systems; and

• Relocating gas mains, drainage pipes, and inlets.

Aransas County will also build a new radio tower for the Rockport Volunteer Fire Department at Hwy 188 and the SH 35 bypass. Additionally, a planning study will be conducted to determine how a protected fiber optic communications loop could prevent failure of communications systems in future storms in Aransas County.

These funds are in addition to $8,320,696 allocated to the City of Rockport in January for street improvements and facilitating proper stormwater conveyance to provide continued street access during rain events and reducing the impact of future flooding. These improvements will take place in the following locations:

• Market Street - Church Street to East of Water Street and Sabinal Street to Nopal Street

• Ann Street - Market Street to Murray Street

• Hackberry Street - Young Street to Ann Street

• Sabinal Street - Litron Street to Ann Street

• Orleans Street - Ann Street to Broadway

• Laurel Street - Pearl Street to Magnolia Street

• Magnolia Street - Laurel Street to Nopal Street

• Tule Ditch System - SH 35 Business to Little Bay Outfall

Additionally, $4,759,465 was also approved in January for flood and drainage improvements in the City of Fulton. With these funds, Fulton will replace storm sewer culverts, regrade roadside ditches, install area inlets/outfalls, grade ditches and repair pavement in the area between Prairie Road and FM 3036, west of TX 35 to the city limit.

Texas GLO Hurricane Harvey Recovery Funds:

Commissioner George P. Bush and the Texas General Land Office was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to lead the historic Hurricane Harvey housing recovery efforts funded by $5.676 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The GLO allocated $413 million of the allocation for infrastructure projects to protect communities affected by the storm. The GLO allocated the funds to regional Council of Governments' (COGs) based on a HUD approved needs assessment. The locally-led COGs then conducted methods of distribution (MODs) for determining infrastructure and buyout and acquisition amounts for cities and counties within each jurisdiction. COG boards are comprised of officials from the impacted communities elected in part to prioritize funds allocated for recovery programs. The MOD process requires public engagement and the GLO reviewed each MOD for compliance with federal rules and requirements before approving each plan.

To review the approved MODs, please visit https://recovery.texas.gov/action-plans/hurricane-harvey/index.html.

THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION AWARDS $100,000 GRANT TO ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS CAPITAL PROJECT

THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION AWARDS $100,000 GRANT TO ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS CAPITAL PROJECT 

(ROCKPORT, TX)  The Meadows Foundation recently awarded Rockport Center for the Arts a grant in the amount of $100,000.  The funds will be used for the organization’s capital project.  In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey destroyed the Art Center’s facility, once located on Aransas Bay. The Art Center has been engaged in a capital campaign since last year. 

"We are grateful to The Meadows Foundation for their generous grant and their recognition of the importance of our mission.  A new campus dedicated to the arts is critical for the development of downtown Rockport, and will be a boon to the quality of life of our community,” says Luis Purón, Executive Director.  He adds, “Rockport Center for the Arts has been building meaningful relationships across the United States for five-decades.  We are eager to do more to continue our mission, serve our community, and deliver high impact programming that drives tourism to the Texas coast.”

“Arts and culture show the spirit of our communities and we are thankful we are able to be part of rebuilding the Rockport Center for the Arts after its devastating loss in Hurricane Harvey,” said Linda Perryman Evans, president and CEO of The Meadows Foundation.

ABOUT THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION

Believing their own lives were greatly enriched by giving, Al and Virginia Meadows shared their wealth with many charitable causes benefiting the people of the state that had been so generous to them. They established The Meadows Foundations in 1948 to improve the quality and circumstances of life for Texans now and for future generations.

Since its inception, the Foundation has disbursed more than $1.2 billion to 3,600 Texas institutions and agencies across all 254 Texas counties. Grants are awarded to 501(c)(3) organizations and public entities in the areas of arts and culture, civic and public affairs, education, health, and human services as well as initiatives promoting the environment, mental health, and public education.

JESUS MOROLES’ LIGHTHOUSE FOUNTAIN TO BE DISMANTLED

JESUS MOROLES’ LIGHTHOUSE FOUNTAIN TO BE DISMANTLED

(ROCKPORT, TX.) In the fall of 2018 structural engineers retained by Rockport Center for the Arts’ fine arts insurance company identified problems with the internal armature that supports the 21 foot monument made of red granite. The Art Center hired Moroles Art Co. earlier in 2018 to provide a condition report on the monument.  Lighthouse Fountain was commissioned in 2002. A condition report had never been procured since its installation.  In late August 2017, staff performed a condition report of every piece of art in the Sculpture Garden collection.  This was repeated in early September of 2017 with an insurance adjuster.  Staff and Moroles Art Co. were aware of the detailed installation plan conducted by Jesús Moroles in 2002. 

One of the immediate concerns for staff and insurance adjusters was assessing the condition of the sculpture’s interior.  “Because Jesús, the author of this important work, was deceased and because we had no access to his installation annotations we immediately turned to Moroles Art Co. and we asked them to conduct a thorough inspection,” states Luis Purón, Executive Director.  Both principals of Moroles Art Co. were engaged in the installation of Lighthouse Fountain in 2002; and since the hurricane, had handled a variety of conservation efforts for the Art Center, most notably the restoration of one of the three columns in another Moroles monument – Spirit Columns, which resides on the banks of Little Bay. 

A more thorough inspection would require that someone enter the inner vessel of the sculpture to inform, with photographs, the condition report. What was discovered was a steel armature that had suffered significant deterioration due to age, and extreme weather conditions; including the hurricane event of 2017.  Moroles Art Co.’s recommendation was that the structure should be taken down in order to preserve the work. The other finding was that the steel armature will continue to degrade over time and is not longer effective in providing the support the sculpture requires.  The insurance company and the structural engineers that performed a similar assessment rendered the same finding.  Once the monument is dismantled, the steel armature will be assessed so that a new one can be built.

The team at Moroles Art Co. is comprised of Suzanna Moroles and Kurt Kangas who worked with Jesús Moroles in all of his major monument installations.  Suzanna Moroles states, “Lighthouse Fountain, dedicated in 2002, is a very important work in Moroles’ career and we are honored to be able to work with Rockport Center for the Arts to preserve the work.  This is what Jesús would have wanted.” She adds, “The staff and board at Rockport Center for the Arts have worked diligently to make certain this work is preserved.  Without these efforts, we feel the sculpture may have been lost at some point.”

After being dismantled, the sculpture will go into temporary storage, until it is ready to be moved to its new location - the Art Center’s downtown campus.  A larger Sculpture Garden that will house works in the collection has been conceptualized for the new facility. 

About Jesús Bautista Moroles’ Lighthouse Fountain

In Lighthouse Fountain Moroles has immortalized the spirit of comforting strength, powerful gentleness, and graceful beauty which make the Live Oak Peninsula distinctive.  The representative work of Moroles' signature red granite from Fredericksburg stands twenty one fee tall and symbolizes a lighthouse as water quietly slips down its grooved sides.  The commission of this Moroles piece was made possible by a major contribution from Frances Brockett of Louisiana and a grant from The Brown Foundation of Houston.  Members of the Rockport community made valuable contributions to make this sculpture a reality for Rockport Center for the Arts’ permanent collection.  Rockport Center for the Arts has three additional Moroles works in its collection: Interlocking (1991); Spirit Columns (1998); and Texas Stele Fountain.  The latter was a gift from the Rockport Country Club and is out for conservation due to damages suffered during the hurricane of 2017.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $5M GRANT FOR ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS’ CAPITAL PROJECT

March 21, 2019 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $5M GRANT FOR ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS’ CAPITAL PROJECT

(ROCKPORT, TX)  Michael Cloud, United States Congressman for the 27th District announced that the City of Rockport and Rockport Center for the Arts are the recipients of a $5 million grant from the United States Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA). 

The award will assist Rockport Center for the Arts in designing and building a campus that will house its sculpture garden and visual arts and art education programs.  The project will include space that will be instrumental in developing a new tourism initiative to draw convention visitors to the area, something that has been lacking as an offering in Rockport and Fulton, Texas.  Tourism is Rockport’s most significant industry. 

The total cost of the project is estimated at $8.5 million and will add over 20,000 sq. ft. of new space. Since Hurricane Harvey destroyed the organization’s 6,000 sq. ft. facility located near Rockport Harbor, the Rockport Center for the Arts has been engaged in a capital campaign.  The campaign was boosted with an initial $500,000 grant from the Rebuild Texas Fund and an equal award from the Still Water Foundation. Rockport Center for the Arts will use EDA funds and monies raised in the capital campaign to complete the project. 

Identified as an anchor for downtown economic revitalization, City of Rockport Mayor, Pat Rios states, “The building of a new Rockport Center for the Arts is a major step in the recovery from the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. Our community will have a beautiful new facility that will showcase our dedication to the arts and be home for local and visiting artists. I am extremely proud of everyone that has worked so hard to make this happen.”

Cloud made the announcement at a press conference in Rockport, Texas on March 21, 2019. “Rockport has been working hard and has come a long way since Hurricane Harvey, and this grant will contribute to restoring the tourism industry that is so important to the local economy,” says Congressman Michael Cloud. “I’m excited for the jobs and economic revitalization this grant will generate, and I will continue to work with our communities as we rebuild our region stronger than ever.”

The grant opportunity was identified last year by Aransas County Long Term Recovery Team, who helped file the joint application. Hugh Morrison, President of the Board of Rockport Center for the Arts states, “We are grateful to the EDA for recognizing the opportunity that the building of our project is for revitalizing downtown Rockport. As we begin our 50th year, we are excited to begin the construction of our new campus, which will feature a larger and more comprehensive art center as well as a critically needed convention and performing arts facility.  We are also thankful for the generous response to our capital campaign, which made this project possible. This new epicenter for downtown Rockport will generate economic activity for years to come.”

Executive Director, Luis Purón, states “The generosity of individuals, families, and institutions from across the State of Texas has made possible additional funding from the Economic Development Administration.  A planned $8.5 million capital investment will be a huge leap forward towards the economic revitalization of Rockport and the restoration of cultural tourism.  A new space will allow us to expand our programs from the visual to the performing and cinematic arts; as well as the humanities.  This program expansion has been part of our mission for many years and a strategic goal since 2015.  The future for the arts in Rockport has never been brighter.  We are humbled and thrilled.” 

Rockport Center for the Arts is one of many post-Harvey success stories. The organization never canceled an exhibit, a program or an event. It re-opened its doors in a temporary facility December 2, 2017, 99 days after the storm. 

Rockport Center for the Arts plans to start construction next year. The new facility will be located near the intersection of South Austin Street and North Street.

Photo credits: Rockport Pilot & Corpus Christi Caller Times

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STILL WATER FOUNDATION AWARDS $500,000 GRANT TO ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

STILL WATER FOUNDATION AWARDS $500,000 GRANT TO ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

THIS IS THE SECOND MAJOR AWARD RECEIVED TOWARDS THE NEW FACILITY PROJECT SINCE LATE FEBRUARY 2018 

(ROCKPORT, TX)  Last week, the Still Water Foundation awarded the Rockport Center for the Arts a grant in the amount of $500,000 to aid in rebuilding efforts after hurricane Harvey. Ellen Ray, Director of Grants and Strategic Initiatives for the philanthropic organization, visited Rockport last Thursday to deliver the award and visit the current Art Center operation and survey the damages at the old facility which was destroyed by hurricane Harvey last year.

"We would like to thank the Still Water Foundation from the bottom of our hearts.  This tremendous gift brings us one step closer to rebuilding the Rockport Center for the Arts and helping us be a catalyst for economic development in downtown Rockport,” says Mary Hime, Vice-president of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee, Rockport Center for the Arts.

“Art Center leadership has been working with Ellen Ray and the Still Water Foundation since January, thanks to a connection made for us by the Rebuild Texas Fund, who also made a half-a-million dollar contribution to our new facility project,” says Luis Purón, Executive Director of Rockport Center for the Arts.  He adds, “This is a major step forward in our fundraising efforts, we could not be more grateful for Still Water’s investment in our project.”

Rockport Center for the Arts is actively engaged in a fundraising campaign towards the building of a new Art Center facility in the heart of downtown Rockport.

FOLLOWING HURRICANE DAMAGE, CHARLES UMLAUF’S SCULPTURE UCCELLI (BIRDS OF ST. FRANCIS) COMES TO AUSTIN’S UMLAUF ON LONG-TERM LOAN FROM THE ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

FOLLOWING HURRICANE DAMAGE, CHARLES UMLAUF’S SCULPTURE UCCELLI (BIRDS OF ST. FRANCIS) COMES TO AUSTIN’S UMLAUF ON LONG-TERM LOAN FROM THE ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

AUSTIN, TEXAS (February 16, 2018) Following devastating damage from Hurricane Harvey, the Rockport Center for the Arts has given Charles Umlauf’s 1972 bronze sculpture Uccelli (Birds of St. Francis) to the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum on long-term loan. Uccelli will remain in the Garden while the Rockport Center rebuilds after damage from Hurricane Harvey.

On March 6, 2018 join us for a special UMLAUF After Dark from 6-8pm during which the Executive Director of the Rockport Center for the Arts, Luis Purón, will give a presentation reliving the story of how he discovered Uccelli buried beneath hurricane wreckage resulting from winds in excess of 150 miles per hour. Purón states in conversation with UMLAUF Curator, Katie Robinson Edwards, “On August 25 of last year, Hurricane Harvey sat over Rockport for fourteen hours. Adding to the complexity of the storm event, the National Weather Service reported 60 tornadoes in the area that night.” He adds, “By August 27, I already knew that our building was catastrophically damaged, that it had lost half of its roof, and that some of our sculptures were damaged, fallen, or lost.” The recovery of Uccelli required six marines and three separate occasions to secure it in an effort that took over a month. One of Umlauf's birds was separated from the bronze piece, and another was compromised, both have since been conserved; the base, sculpted by Jesús Moroles, was dirty but remarkably undamaged.  Moroles visited Charles Umlauf in Pietrasanta, Italy, in the 1960s and, while studying his craft, pulled stone from the same quarry as the great Italian Renaissance sculptor, Michelangelo.” 

The UMLAUF is honored to house Uccelli until the artwork returns home once the Rockport Center for the Arts builds a new facility.

About Uccelli (Birds of St. Francis):

Cast in Pietrasanta, Italy, this work is based on the birds in Umlauf’s 1972 bronze sculpture, St. Francis with Birds. Umlauf made only a few castings of the birds by themselves without the full-size figure of St. Francis. Umlauf occasionally made the individual sculptures based on more complex compositions. The sculpture sits on a granite base sculpted by internationally acclaimed sculptor Jesús Moroles. Uccelli was donated by Cam Leonard, a founding member of Rockport Center for the Arts’ Sculpture Garden and former President of the organization. Cam and Virginia Leonard's past contributions have made a substantial impact on Rockport Center for the Arts. Umlauf's Uccelli is dedicated to the memory of Virginia Leonard. The dedication for Umlauf's Uccelli took place on November 1, 2008, with Jesús Moroles in attendance and assisting with the unveiling of the now famed sculpture.

About the UMLAUF:

The UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum exhibits the work of Charles Umlauf, his influences, and other contemporary sculptors in a natural setting, and provides educational experiences that encourage the understanding and appreciation of sculpture.

Address: 605 Robert E. Lee Road, Austin, Texas, 78704
Phone: 512-445-5582
Museum Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10am-4pm, Saturday – Sunday 12pm-4pm. Closed Monday.

Website: www.umlaufsculpture.org
Twitter: @UmlaufSculpture
Instagram @UmlaufSculpture

REBUILD TEXAS FUND AWARDS $500,000 GRANT TO ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

REBUILD TEXAS FUND AWARDS $500,000 GRANT

TO ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS

 (ROCKPORT, TX)  The Rebuild Texas Fund recently awarded the Rockport Center for the Arts a grant in the amount of $500,000 to aid in rebuilding efforts after hurricane Harvey destroyed the Art Center facility, located on Aransas Bay last August. The Rebuild Texas Fund provides funding to nonprofit, government, corporate, and philanthropic organizations working on the ground in Texas communities, big and small, that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey.

"We are grateful to the Rebuild Texas Fund for their generous grant and their recognition of the importance of our mission of rebuilding and restoring Rockport.  They believe, as do we, that a new campus dedicated to the arts in downtown Rockport will provide critical economic stimulus for additional development in the area,” says Hugh Morrison, President of the Board of Directors, Rockport Center for the Arts. 

The fund - launched by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in collaboration with the OneStar Foundation – recognizes Hurricane Harvey as an unprecedented natural disaster that requires a collective and sustained commitment to help impacted communities. It was formed to help Texas communities devastated by Hurricane Harvey, and dedicated to providing resources to well-established organizations with a strong local presence throughout Texas over the rebuilding period. The Rebuild Texas Fund team is working with community leaders to identify gaps in rebuilding efforts and provide organizations with additional support and resources.

“This is a big day for the arts, for the revitalization of downtown Rockport, and for the many followers and constituents we have across the United States who want to see our mission thrive.  Rockport Center for the Arts has been building meaningful relationships for five-decades; and we are very eager to do more to continue our mission, serve our community and deliver high impact programming that drives tourism to the Texas coast,” says Luis Purón, Executive Director, Rockport Center for the Arts.

Every penny donated to the Rebuild Texas Fund will have an impact – with support going to six areas key to the future redevelopment of Texas: community and economic development; health; housing; education and childcare; transportation and workforce; and capital for small business, with a special focus on serving low-income communities and their most vulnerable members. 

The goal of the Rebuild Texas Fund is to help the devastated communities across Texas rebuild as thriving communities in the future.

Photo Credit: Texas Highways