Project Overview

Houston’s people are not just friendly —they are intimate —the City and its people are intimate, passionate, and diverse. It is the power of these qualities which makes Houston a COOL CITY. The passions of artists, chefs, philanthropists, business owners, and individuals have built a city of hidden gems that are right out in the open. When we read between the lines defined by the freeways we find a treasure map, with those gems waiting to be discovered.

On the surface Houston is about big oil, NASA, big medicine, big sports, big freeways, hot summers, and humidity. Behind that facade is a network of Cool— Houston is down to earth but still international, sophisticated, cutting edge, avant-garde and world class. The new documentary, Hot Town, Cool City, attempts to answer the question- Why Houston?

Key Themes

Houston is:

• 4th largest city in the country
• 3rd largest arts community in the country
• Lush —the city is alive (the great carpet of trees lower the temp, clean the air)
• Great restaurants and eateries (featured some of the top chef’s in the country)
• International and diverse.

Houston is wide open, full of space to create, and filled with a pioneering (cutting edge) spirit.

Interconnected web of support

Oil, NASA, medicine, and sports bring in money, tourism, and a rich diversity of people from all over the world. Taxes and a strong economic base help to fund grants for the arts; philanthropic activity helps to support culture. The economy is such that individual artists, world-class chefs, and small business owners can share their passions and find an audience. Some of the most talented artists and writers in the country move to Houston on fellowships with the MFA-H CORE Program, or as part of the University of Houston Creative Writing program. People come from other great cities, and from all over the world, for work in oil or medicine or at NASA. As they discover the treasures, experience the hospitality and the easy living that the cost of living provides, and experience the sophistication of this young growing city— it gets under their skin and into their soul, and they make it their home. These people then help to make Houston a COOLER and COOLER city. The passions of the creators (artists, chefs, small business owners), supported by the passions of the people, (through generous philanthropy, granting organizations, and the passions of the patrons), make Houston a COOL city.

DISCOVERY—Intentionally hidden:

One must engage intellectually to discover the gems. One must be active to search them out. The city sprawls, and the gems are spread out, in unexpected places, often not on major streets. Discovering one of Houston’s gems is as satisfying as seeing a great movie with a surprise ending. Longtime Houstonians are still discovering and rediscovering Houston’s gems all the time- it is truly a city of discovery. Houston is an ACTIVE city. Houston is a city of DISCOVERY.