Community leaders and local artists gather to address the issues facing Austin’s creative community

Guest article by Alicia Santiago

“Convening is what we can and should be doing,” Shea Little declared as he kicked off an interactive summit about turning Austin’s boom into opportunities for arts, culture and society on April 19, 2016.

Little is co-founder of Big Medium and East Austin Studio Tour, and Board Chair of Austin Creative Alliance, which hosted the event at KLRU Studios. Throughout the evening, approximately 200 community leaders and creatives heard from Austin artists and organizations about specific issues they are facing as a result of the economic boom and rapid population increase in the Texas capital. [Read more…]

Austinites Clara Bensen and Jeff Wilson have taken five trips without baggage. Bensen says it keeps getting easier (as long as the climate is consistent).

A book deal was far from Clara Bensen’s mind when she embarked on a three-week journey through Europe, alongside a recent OkCupid date, with no luggage. For some, this form of travel might sound too anxiety-ridden. But for Bensen, it was a personal experiment in celebrating the possibilities of life and love. [Read more…]

The artist, Jack Sanders (Credit: Stevan Alcala)

Guest article by Dana Sayre

Drawing Lines is a city-wide multi-media public arts project intended to foster discussion, connections and awareness around the recent restructuring of City Council districts here in Austin.

The project pairs an artist with each of the city’s newly drawn City Council districts to create a place-specific work. Drawing Lines examines culture’s role in the creation and transformation of a sense of place, as well as how to include the process of making art in conversations about Austin politics.

[Read more…]