MECA Ends Six-Year Stewardship of Talento Bilingüe de Houston
On July 18, it was revealed that Multicultural Education & Counseling Through the Arts (MECA), a Houston nonprofit, concluded its six-year management of Talento Bilingüe de Houston (TBH) on June 30, casting doubt on TBH's future. Established in 1977, TBH lost its nonprofit designation in 2019 and received a mere $5,000 from the city that same year. At that time, then-Mayor Sylvester Turner assigned management to MECA, which subsequently appointed Armando Silva as Director of Programs. Silva, who is now the Executive Director of MECA, observed that TBH flourished until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The TBH facility is currently overseen by Houston First Corporation, while the City of Houston will determine its future. Meanwhile, MECA is upgrading its Old Sixth Ward campus, which includes a new theater and the refurbishment of Paul Kittelson's sculpture for the upcoming MECA Art Plaza.
Key facts
- MECA ended its six-year stewardship of Talento Bilingüe de Houston (TBH) effective June 30, announced July 18.
- TBH is a nearly 50-year-old Latino arts nonprofit founded in 1977 in Houston's East End.
- TBH received a $980,000 grant from the City of Houston in 1995.
- TBH lost its nonprofit status in 2019 due to failure to file Form 990s for three consecutive years.
- TBH received only $5,000 in funding from the City of Houston in 2019.
- Then-Mayor Sylvester Turner gave stewardship of TBH to MECA.
- Armando Silva, MECA alum, became Director of Programs for TBH and later MECA Executive Director in 2023.
- Houston First Corporation maintains the 18,000-square-foot TBH facility; the City of Houston will decide TBH's future.
- MECA is renovating its Old Sixth Ward campus, including a new 200-seat theater and restoration of Paul Kittelson's 'Recycled Virgin' sculpture.
- The 'Recycled Virgin' sculpture will be donated to MECA after restoration.
- Paul Kittelson's 'Recycled Virgin' and Tim Glover's 'Cactus Water Fountain' will anchor the new MECA Art Plaza at Dow School headquarters.
Entities
Artists
- Armando Silva
- Alice Valdez
- Paul Kittelson
- Tim Glover
Institutions
- MECA (Multicultural Education & Counseling Through the Arts)
- Talento Bilingüe de Houston (TBH)
- Rice University
- Houston Chronicle
- Glasstire
- City of Houston
- Houston First Corporation
- Office of the Mayor of Houston
- Office of Arts, Houston
Locations
- Houston
- United States
- East End, Houston
- Old Sixth Ward, Houston
- Dow School, Houston