Over 500 artists opened their studios and homes to the public during Austin’s largest art event, the East Austin Studio Tour. This self-guided tour spanned two weekends in mid-November. I’ve read that a record-setting 38,000 people attended this year’s event.
The third annual Creek Show celebrates Waller Creek, a small stream that runs on the east side of downtown and empties into Lady Bird Lake. This free outdoor art show is sponsored by Waller Creek Conservancy, a non-profit group which is working with city officials to create “an extraordinary urban place that connects, surprises and inspires all of us.” The five installations are set up between Fifth and Eighth Streets and open nightly from 6 to 10 PM through November 19.
The West Austin Studio Tour spanned two weekends in May. While November’s EAST is limited to East Austin, WEST (of I-35) covers a huge swath of Austin: from up north around Rt. 183 to down south near William Cannon. I toured on the second weekend, traveling around north Austin on Saturday and in south Austin on Sunday. Neither day was crowded, possibly due to UT graduation.
Art City Austin is an annual fine arts festival sponsored by Art Alliance Austin. This year’s festival was held at the Palmer Events Center and attracted over 100 artists from around the country.
The 2016 People’s Gallery is now on display at Austin City Hall. This 12th annual exhibition features over 150 pieces created by about 100 local artists. Through October 30, you can visit City Hall and vote for your three favorite pieces. The city will then buy the winning artwork to add to their permanent collection. Don’t let me influence your ballot, but here are some entries which caught my eye…
Hurlyburly is a new large-scale art installation created by artist Orly Genger. It is situated along the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail next to the Waller Creek Boathouse, where Waller Creek flows into Lady Bird Lake. The piece is presented by the Waller Creek Conservancy in collaboration with The Contemporary Austin and will remain on display until February 2017.
So many artists, so little time. I headed back out on the East Austin Studio Tour during their second weekend. On Saturday afternoon, I focused on smaller exhibit spaces around East 5th and 6th Streets.
The annual East Austin Studio Tour runs for two weekends in mid-November. This year’s EAST featured 287 artist studios and 152 exhibitions, all located east of I-35. Tour maps were available online and in the local newspapers and libraries. Most events were free.
Taking advantage of the mild-for-November weather, Bill and I decided to visit the Creek Show, an outdoor art exhibit sponsored by the Waller Creek Conservancy. Waller Creek is a 1.5 mile stream running north-to-south from the UT campus to Lady Bird Lake. Five light installations are set up along the banks between Fifth and Ninth Streets.
Each year the City of Austin sponsors an exhibition called The People’s Gallery inside our City Hall building. The exhibition also includes a contest where visitors can vote for their three favorite pieces. The top vote-getter will be announced early next year and purchased by the city for their permanent collection. The contest ended in October, but the exhibition continues until January 7, 2016.