Hello everyone. Thank you to Augusto and Ana for inviting me to participate tonight. I am always amazed at their commitment to the Rio Grande Valley and to the arts. They are just unstoppable!
I am the CEO of the Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic Foundation. We just expanded to serve the entire region because we believe that it will take the whole region, working together, to show the kind of numbers that are required to prove impact to funders.
We want our region to get the positive attention that gets us a seat at the same table as everyone else when it comes to opportunity.
It is no easy feat to go regional! We are all so used to our small-town way of life and so going regional takes some commitment…but we DO all need each other.
I was appointed by Governor Abbott to a six-year term on the Commission on the Arts. As commissioners we are charged with serving the entire state, but each commissioner does try to assist their own region in any way they can.
I have spent my entire adult life here and I am forever tied to the Rio Grande Valley because of my two daughters. After they grew up, I became very involved in local philanthropy and local philanthropy has truly become my personal and professional mission.
It was in looking for ways to try to better address our regional poverty issues that I realized the real importance of the arts.
There has always been an issue on funding the arts…as if they were an extra, an elective…that we could do without. And it’s easy to see why…when there are issues like food and housing unresolved, it does seem like art can wait.
But that view is a mistake. When you see quality of life issues addressed with money, it is a never-ending cycle of funding…many times, maybe even most times, never solving the initial problems -- even temporarily.
To continue, to finish or for any other problem that wasn’t addressed…new funding will be needed…it’s mostly a dead-end street…creating the never-ending cycle of the need for funding…and never solving the issues of community poverty.
The arts are one of the only things that you can fund and that will then begin to fund itself.
The arts will even bring in extra funds to contribute to the overall community. That extra money is what cultural tourism brings to every community on the planet. The arts are a quality-of-life issue in this way.
Every community needs tourists to come to spend money. And cultural tourists only come to enjoy art forms. They come for culinary art, performing art, visual art, historical art and architecture and natural wonders. Without these forms of art, there is no reason for tourists to travel to a new place.
Funding all art forms needs to be a top priority because of the double benefits that the arts bring.
I have often thought that the city of San Antonio is such a good example of all of this. They generously fund their arts and culture scene and in return it brings in billions of dollars to their local economy—funding that is used to address many other community issues.
(And just a little side note, they do most of their cultural tourism based on border art and culture…but let me remind you that they are a fake border town…we are the real border towns…we have the real border art and the real border culture that tourists are looking for!)
The other side of all of these financial issues is that we also need to remember that quality of life is often measured, not only by material well-being but by the richness of experiences and environment.
Art is a cornerstone of community life. Art fosters social connection. And it inspires innovation, encourages lifelong learning, and contributes to a sense of fulfillment and happiness.
Art is also a uniquely human thing. The Arts are so absolutely necessary for the human spirit, and for the human soul. It’s in our genes. We naturally feel emotions of empathy and beauty and inspiration when we see or hear or experience in any way…a form of art. For the soul, art is often described as a language of emotions and imagination. Experiencing a painting, a novel, or a performance can evoke joy, sadness, hope, or nostalgia. A song can always make you cry.
Through art, people express who they are, they process grief, they celebrate love, and they dream of possibilities. Art is irreplaceable to humans. We need it to thrive. Once again…art is certainly a quality-of-life issue!
And now about The Regional Fine Art Conservatory.
This is a concept for a Regional and concentrated study of the arts. I am so proud to be collaborating with Augusto Contreras on this.
This Conservatory is to be an after-school program for students from all four of the counties in our region. It will be an incubator of talent, serving as a cultural, educational and economic engine in the realm of fine art. It will develop local talent, create jobs, enhance opportunities for our youth and position the Rio Grande Valley as a national example in -- not only our unique cultural arts -- but in fine arts, as well. It will provide in-depth instruction in performing arts and the study of music and musical instruments for any of our kids seeking to go beyond the norm.
So, when it comes right down to it…why are we really here tonight?
I feel we are really here to get inspired. To get inspired to remember our love for the arts and the magic that the arts bring in so many ways, because it matters.
There is great power in passion. Passion for this region, our home. Passion to want to bring benefit to it, to want to lift it up, celebrate it, and elevate the quality of every life here…I believe that a huge part of that can come from the arts.
Our public schools have incredible art programs and performing art programs. But that is…honestly…not enough.
The conservatory is such a phenomenal idea because it will bring opportunity to further expand horizons and compound the instruction until it reaches a whole other level!
We might be an area of great poverty, but we are not poor in spirit, and we are not poor in talent, and we are not poor in passion! The rest of the world just doesn’t yet know who we are and what we have here. We need to tell them…
But before we can tell them… we have to honestly recognize it ourselves! We need to work together to polish our talents, strengthen them and promote them…and provide local opportunities for our kids to recognize what is available out in the greater world…train for it and then be unafraid to go out and grab those opportunities!
Everyone here has something to bring to the table for the arts, each one of us has something slightly different than the other. But together we can be a powerhouse of thought, ideas, and action that can truly change the lives of everyone in the Rio Grande Valley through the arts.
We can become known for our arts. We can become known for our opportunities and through the Conservatory, we can become known as an example of how to raise a region of skilled and superbly trained young artists!
Editor's Note: The above commentary was provided by Texas Commission on the Arts Commissioner and RGV Philanthropic Foundation CEO Diane Milliken Garza at the 5th Annual Art of the Giving Banquet, held at the Creative Arts Studio in San Juan, Texas, on October 23, 2025.
