by Christina Cavazos
In 2018 and 2019, there were a lot of vacant buildings in downtown Longview and parking was in abundance, but today the heart of the city is bustling, vibrant, creative, and artistic.
Since Arts!Longview received state-designation in 2019 as a Cultural District, the nonprofit organization has worked to enhance the community through a focus on arts and culture. In the last five years, Arts Longview has installed murals, sculptures, banners and signage that have enhanced the area. The organization also hosts the quarterly ArtWalks in downtown Longview and manages the historic Longview Community Center.
In 2024, as Arts!Longview celebrated its fifth anniversary, Executive Director Christina Cavazos said it’s incredible to think about the transformation that’s taken place in the 343-acre Cultural District.
“It really is remarkable to think back on the last five years and all that’s been done, but we’re a young organization and we’re just getting started,” Cavazos said. “I can’t wait to see what things look like five more years from now.”
The Beginnings
The idea for a state-designated Cultural District came about in 2018 after the Longview Chamber of Commerce hosted an inter-city visit to Waco. There, a group of individuals from Longview who took part in the trip learned about Waco’s Cultural District.
Cultural Districts are special zones that harness the power of cultural resources to stimulate economic development and community vitality. Having a Cultural District designation from the Texas Commission on the Arts opens communities up to receive state grant funding that they are not eligible for without having the designation.
Several individuals on the chamber’s inter-city trip, including Nancy Murray, Jon Cromer, and Karen Maines, believed Longview should have a state-designated Cultural District to open this community up to grant funding opportunities and all the benefits that an arts district offers.
A task force formed to pursue the state designation, and on October 10, 2019, Arts Longview officially received designation from the Texas Commission on the Arts as a Cultural District.
Arts!Longview is a nonprofit organization that manages the Cultural District, which extends from downtown Longview to the LeTourneau University Belcher Center. The organization’s mission is to spark a love of the arts, history, and culture in order to celebrate and enhance the creative community.
In its role, Arts!Longview promotes and advocates for nine arts and cultural partner organizations – ArtsView Children’s Theatre, the Belcher Center, East Texas Symphonic Band, Gregg County Historical Museum, Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Longview Symphony Orchestra, Longview World of Wonders, and Theatre Longview. Through activities like its quarterly ArtWalks, the organization also supports a network of about 400 East Texas regional artists.
State Support
Throughout the first five years, Arts!Longview and its partner organizations received more than $1 million in state grant funding from the Texas Commission on the Arts. The state grants, which require
a dollar-for-dollar match, have allowed the organizations to make artistic enhancements and offer innovative programming in the community.
Arts!Longview used its state grant funds to install four murals, three sculptures, and a sculptural art bench throughout the district.
It has also installed hundreds of banners and street sign toppers as well as wrapped 16 utility boxes and placed four entryway monuments throughout the 343 acres.
In 2024, Arts!Longview wrapped up a state-funded project to install new wayfinding signage throughout the Cultural District. The signs, which were a partnership with the City of Longview, were designed to help residents and tourists find key locations throughout the Cultural District and Downtown Longview.
Also in 2024, Arts!Longview received a $90,000 grant from the state that it will use in 2025 to install a new artistic design on the water tower that is located in the Cultural District.
“That’s a really exciting project that we look forward to developing over the next year in partnership with the City of Longview,” Cavazos said.
Arts!Longview’s partner organizations also have used their state grant funds in a variety of ways throughout the years. ArtsView Children’s Theatre, for example, has used state grant funds to make needed improvements to its building, including remodeling and expanding the size of its lobby and installing a new mural on its building.
Longview Symphony Orchestra has used state grant funds to support its family concerts. Each year, the symphony’s family concerts – which feature music from popular franchises, such as “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars” – delight thousands of patrons and encourage new lovers of orchestral music. In April 2025, the symphony will once again delight patrons with its family concert, which will transport audiences on an out-of-this-world Outer Space Galactic adventure with the symphony performing music from popular sci-fi TV shows and movies, including “Star Trek, “E.T., “The Mandalorian,” “Alien,” and more.
Longview Museum of Fine Arts has used TCA grant funding to support renovation work at the new museum. In 2021, LMFA purchased a former bank building at the corner of Methvin Street and Fredonia Street and has been working to renovate the facility into a world-class museum for Longview. In 2024, the museum made significant strides when it opened to the public at its new location with the “George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself” exhibit, which is on display through May 3, 2025. In 2024, LMFA also received an $82,500 grant from the state to support promotion of the new exhibit.
at the Longview Junction
LONGVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER
In November 2021, Arts!Longview entered into a partnership with Gregg County to manage the Longview Community Center, a historic building with a 259-seat auditorium located in the heart of the Cultural District. In 2024, Arts!Longview took the first steps in renovating the building to ensure its longevity as a premier performance venue in the community.
In 2024, with support from Gregg County and local foundations, Arts!Longview completed a $300,000 project to improve the stage with all new LED lighting, a new hemp rigging system, and new stage curtains.
“That project helps to ensure the longevity of the stage so that it can continue to be a premier performance venue in our Cultural District,” Cavazos said.
The new lighting system made its debut with Theatre Longview’s production of “Playhouse Creatures” in May 2024 and was exceptionally apparent during the community theatre’s August performances of “Little Shop of Horrors,” which drew more than 1,300 attendees. For the musical production, Theatre Longview featured a professionally designed set, live musicians, professional lighting and sound, as well as top notch performances from its actors.
“Since we reopened the Longview Community Cernter, Theatre Longview has made this building their performance home, and it has really given our community theatre a place to thrive,” Cavazos said.
Theatre Longview and its improv troupe, Duck. Duck. Moose! also brought a first of its kind event to the Cultural District in 2024. The Laugh Out Longview Improv Festival was held for the first time in July 2024. A highly successful and unique event, this festival brought a nationally known headliner to Longview and attracted improv troupes from across Texas to Longview. The Laugh Out Longview Improv Festival will return in the summer of 2025.
New Murals
In 2024, Arts!Longview celebrated its fifth anniversary and marked the occasion with several milestones, including the dedication of three new murals throughout the district.
In the summer, Arts!Longview dedicated a mural at the Longview Train Depot called “A Legacy of Railroad History at the Longview Junction.” Through art, the mural tells the history of Longview’s Train Depot at the historic Junction from its beginnings in the 1870s to its place in the modern world where it continues to serve as an Amtrak station and a cornerstone of the Longview Multimodal Transportation Center.
Arts!Longview worked with Holly Forbes and the late Jason Butler of Forbes & Butler Visual Communication on the design of the mural; meanwhile, Griff Hubbard provided both historical context and accuracy to the mural. The Hubbard family has been instrumental figures in East Texas’ railroad history, and Griff Hubbard is the fifth generation in his family to serve the industry.
In October, in conjunction with ArtWalk, Arts!Longview dedicated the “Enjoy the View” mural at The Lab on Center. The mural is a partnership between Arts!Longview, One Hundred Acres of Heritage, and the City of Longview. With a colorful, artistic design created by Butler, the mural celebrates Longview and the downtown community. Butler’s design was painted by local muralist Jamie Robinson of Palette Mural Designs.
Originally planned to be painted on a different wall, when plans changed, it was determined that The Lab on Center was an ideal location. The Lab is located next to the area known as “Rock Hill,” where Longview derived its name as city founder O.H. Methvin observed the beautiful view from Rock Hill.
In November, Arts!Longview celebrated a third and final mural installation, called “Colorful Lady,” in memory of Butler. Butler worked for 22 years at Forbes & Butler Visual Communication in downtown Longview and served on several community boards, including the 100 Acres of Heritage Board of Directors and the LMFA Board of Directors.
Jason was passionate about both downtown Longview and the Arts!Longview Cultural District. After Butler passed away, his wife, Shelly, suggested a mural could be established in his memory. LMFA Executive Director Tiffany Jehorek reached out to Cavazos about the idea, and Arts!Longview began to collect donations from the community in support of the mural.
When considering a location, Cavazos said, it was important that the location be within the original 100 Acres of Heritage of downtown Longview as well as in the Arts!Longview Cultural District since Butler was passionate about both of those areas. Selecting the north-facing wall of the new LMFA location at 213 N. Fredonia St. brought the project full circle.
The new mural features a triptych of Butler’s “Colorful Lady” screen print. Butler was inspired to start screen printing, in part, after viewing an Andy Warhol exhibit at LMFA, and he founded Jason Butler Fine Art Screen Print in 2018.
The center mural features a reproduction of Butler’s original “Colorful Lady” screen print. The left and right murals were color manipulated to create an Andy Warhol-like effect. Each mural is 17 feet tall by 17 feet wide. The murals were fabricated and installed by Leon’s Signs of Tyler.
"This mural is stunning, bold and vibrant, and it’s a perfect tribute to a person who so greatly enriched the fabric of our community with his passion and his creativity,” Cavazos said. “We hope this serves as a lasting tribute to Jason, and we also hope it inspires other artists for many years to come.”
Other Programming
Throughout 2024, Arts!Longview hosted its quarterly ArtWalks and the annual MLK Jazz Concert and participated in Dia de los Muertos festivities.
The nonprofit organization also brought all of its performing arts partner groups together for the annual Arts!Longview Honors celebration. The 2024 event recognized Dr. James Snowden, the founder of Longview Symphony Orchestra and East Texas Symphonic Band, with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2025, Arts!Longview will recognize Barbara McClellan – a theatre advocate and one of the founders of Theatre Longview – with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Artistic Excellence. In addition to her involvement with community theatre, McClellan is a retired choir teacher, and she also writes the weekly food column in the Longview newspaper.
“Barbara has played an instrumental role in multiple facets of our arts community for five decades,” Cavazos said. “As a music educator, she taught countless students. As a food columnist, she encourages a love of the culinary arts in our community. As an actor, musical director, and avid theatre supporter, she has played an integral role in our theatre community since 1975, and she was a key figure in the establishment of Theatre Longview in 2012.”
SPARKING CREATIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT
As a cultural district, Cavazos explained, part of Arts!Longview’s goal is to help generate tourism and spur economic development to the area.
Since 2019, more than 30 new businesses have opened in the Cultural District and more development is in progress, Cavazos said. Gregg County is in the process of building a new parking facility that will help meet the needs of the courthouse as well as the downtown community as development continues to take place.
Gary Gibbs, executive director of the Texas Commission on the Arts, spoke in Longview in September during a luncheon to celebrate Arts!Longview’s fifth anniversary.
The Arts generate $6 billion in economic impact in Texas and $380 million in state sales tax revenue.
Gibbs also noted how the arts benefit communities in other ways, such as increasing tourism, encouraging young adults to return to their hometowns, improving people’s health and wellness, and helping with economic development.
“It’s thrilling to be in a community that recognizes that importance, that values that importance, and we’re glad to be able to support that work,” Gibbs said in Longview.
While Arts!Longview looks forward to the next five years with more artistic endeavors on the horizon, Cavazos noted that the Cultural District has already made a significant impact on the community.
“The impact of a Cultural District has looks different from community to community, but for us, we’ve truly seen a transformation downtown,” Cavazos said as she noted the collaboration between Arts!Longview, Longview Main Street, the city and the county. “For our part, our murals, our sculptures – all of our projects – have helped make the area more artistic and more inviting, and we’ve tried to raise awareness about how wonderful our cultural district is. It’s a great place to be.”
Cultural districts are special zones that harness the power of cultural resources to stimulate economic development and community vitality. These districts can become focal points for generating businesses, attracting tourists, stimulating cultural development and fostering civic pride. www.arts.texas.gov
Founding Cultural District Organizations
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ArtsView Children’s Theatre
artsviewchildrenstheatre.com
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East Texas Symphonic Band
etsymphonicband.org
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Gregg County Historical Museum
gregghistorical.org
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letourneau university Belcher Center
belchercenter.com
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Longview Ballet Theatre
longviewballet.org
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Longview Museum of Fine Arts
lmfa.org
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Longview Symphony
longviewsymphony.org
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Longview World of Wonders
longviewwow.org
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Theatre Longview
theatrelongview.com
- director@artslongview.org
- 903-738-1865
- 500 East Whaley Street
- Longview, Texas 75601
- artslongview.org
