Almost 200 artists participated in the 68th annual Art City Austin. They came from all around the country, from Maine to California and many points in-between. About 20 of the artists were local, and two even traveled here from Canada. This annual fine arts festival is sponsored by Art Alliance Austin.
After several years of construction, Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin is opening to the public this weekend. This white, free-standing building is next to the Blanton Museum of Art on the southern edge of the University of Texas campus. Artist Ellsworth Kelly had imagined this meditative space “as a place of calm and light.” Although Kelly died in 2015, the museum says that he was involved in the planning process for this project.
On Sunday afternoon, I stopped by the Elizabet Ney Museum on East 44th Street to see an outdoor exhibit called BorderǀPromise. In the field behind the museum, artists from San Antonio were creating what they called a “border bandage.” In their words: “Our goal is to help heal the wounds that divisive rhetoric has caused along our borders by offering many visual perspectives from across Texas.” This afternoon event was part of the month-long Print Austin festival.
Yippee Ki Yay is the name of the new outdoor art installation in the north end of Pease Park (near 24th Street). Created by artist Patrick Dougherty, these unique structures are part of his ongoing Stickwork project. The Austin installation was sponsored by the non-profit Pease Park Conservancy. Continue reading
In my humble opinion, the 4th annual Creek Show was the best one so far. Sponsored by the Waller Creek Conservancy, this outdoor art exhibition draws attention to the possibilities of Waller Creek, which runs through the eastern side of downtown from 15th Street to Lady Bird Lake. This always-popular event was open for nine evenings this year. The walkways were crowded when Bill and I visited on the next-to-last evening.
Forever Bicycles is a new outdoor installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. This stunning piece is located along the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail near the Waller Creek Boathouse. It is presented by The Contemporary Austin in collaboration with the Waller Creek Conversancy.
Although the West Austin Studio Tour ran for two May weekends, I was only able to attend the first weekend this year. WEST stops are generally between I-35 and Mopac, but extend from north near 183 to far south Austin. My visits were mostly at group shows in the north-central part of the city.
I’m happy to report that the HOPE Outdoor Gallery is still thriving at Baylor and 11th Streets. This outdoor community paint park is on the site of an abandoned condo project. The site’s many concrete walls are perfect for creating large-scale street art. The place is managed (but not owned) by the non-profit, Helping Other People Everywhere (HOPE).
Over 125 local and national artists participated in last weekend’s Art City Austin. Sponsored by Art Alliance Austin, this three-day fine arts festival was again held at the Palmer Events Center. This was a huge improvement from those painful years when the festival shut down the streets around Austin City Hall.
Last week Bill and I attended the opening reception for the 2017 People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall. For the rest of this year, 96 Austin artists are displaying their work throughout the building. Visitors can vote on their top three favorites through the end of October. The winner—“The People’s Choice”—will be announced at the 2018 reception and added to the city’s permanent collection.