Five Days of Art Experiences Close out Month-Long Collaboration of Arts Organizations in Austin
From April 20 through May 1, 2011, Art Alliance Austin will host Art Week Austin, a series of featured experiences that encourage discussion, exploration and the celebration of Austin's creative community.
Focused this year on the several art happenings converging during Art Week Austin, patrons can take part in an unprecedented opportunity to experience cross-discipline collaboration and contemporary art in Austin at its best. Happenings include AMOA's triennial New Art in Austin: 15 to Watch, Texas Biennial, ON SITE/New Work, Fusebox Festival and “Play Me, I’m Yours.”
Featured event schedule:
“Play Me, I’m Yours”
Now-May 1, map of locations available at www.playmeaustin.com
The month-long, citywide interactive art installation invites Austinites to explore and enhance the city’s soundscape. Since Art City Austin (April 2-3, 2011), pianos have been staged in public places throughout Austin with the simple invitation to “Play Me, I’m Yours.” See a map, films, photos and stories of people’s experiences with the pianos at www.playmeaustin.com.
Part of an international project by artist Luke Jerram and curated by Austin artist Johnny Walker, “Play Me, I’m Yours” allows people to engage with, activate and take ownership of their environment via sound and, for those inclined, song.
Late Nights at Seaholm
April 20-27 (excluding 4/25), Various times, 214 West Ave (3rd at West Ave)
Art Week Austin kicks off early with a series of after-hour events with eclectic performances and installations, conversations and hand-crafted libations in conjunction with Fusebox Festival.
Wednesday, April 20 – 7 p.m. Doors; 7:30 p.m. - Fusebox Festival kickoff with Mother Falcon + 100 strings followed by an after party with DJ MEL.
Thursday, April 21 – 10 p.m. Doors; 11 p.m. - Blue Cranes, Staring Contest
Friday, April 22 – 10 p.m. Doors; 11 p.m. - Mother Falcon followed by BYOB (Bring your own beamer video night) and music curated by Switched On
Saturday, April 23 – 10 p.m. Doors; 11 p.m. - Graham Reynolds and the Golden Arm Trio present DUKE!; 12:30 a.m. – Foot Patrol
Sunday, April 24 – 9 p.m. Doors; 9-10 p.m. - Specialty cocktails; 10-midnight - DJ Faith Gray
Monday, April 25 - Closed
Tuesday, April 26 – 9 p.m. Doors and DJ
Wednesday, April 27 – 7:30 p.m. Doors; 8:20 p.m. – Pecha Kucha Night Austin, Screening of Best of Super Happy Fun Monkey Bash in association with the Alamo Drafthouse, and dance party
Late Nights feature an ongoing installation by Ben Brandt, Scott Eastwood, Nathan Green and Jules Buck Jones and video installations by Barna Kantor, Bogdan Perzynksi and Scott Stark.
This is a ticketed event at $5 per night, cash bar and is open to the public. Free admission opening night and for Collector’s Badges and Fusebox Festival passes. For ticketed Fusebox Festival events, visit http://fuseboxfestival.com/.
Art Rides
4/27-4/30, various times and locations;
All rides depart from Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, 400 Nueces Street
Experience art on two wheels. Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop leads a series of easy bike rides exploring public art and art exhibitions throughout Austin. Each day is a different docent-led tour in partnership with the City of Austin Art in Public Places and Art Alliance Austin. Rental bikes are available; helmets are required. For full schedule and to RSVP (required), visit www.mellowjohnnys.com.
[Parallel] Performances
4/27-4/30 during museum hours
Austin Museum of Art
Selected as part of AMOA’s New Art in Austin: 15 to Watch triennial, artist team Jesus Benavente/Jennifer Remenchik live in a tiered domestic structure inside the museum for their performance that considers social barriers and interconnectedness. This performance is co-presented by AMOA and the Fusebox Festival. Museum entry is required.
Pecha Kucha Night Austin #11
April 27–Doors at 7:30, presentations begin at 8:20 p.m.
Seaholm Power Plant, 214 West Ave (3rd at West Ave)
Art Week Austin officially opens with Pecha Kucha Night Austin ($5 suggested donation, cash bar and open to the public).
Presenters include:
Hancock Brothers, graphic designers
Dana Friis-Hansen, art connoisseur
Tiffany Harelik, trailer park diarist
George O. Jackson, photographer
Southpaw Jones, musician
Beili Liu, fine artist
Jori Lodes, burlesque dancer
Adrian Quesada, musician
Johnny Walker, artist/art curator
Michael Yates, furniture designer
Pecha Kucha Night was devised in Tokyo in 2003 and has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. Pecha Kucha Night Austin, co-produced by Art Alliance Austin, was started in Austin by Herman Dyal and Carla Fraser, who recently handed over the curatorial direction to Lana McGilvray and DJ Stout.
Umlauf Garden Party
April 28, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum, 605 Robert E Lee Road
The Umlauf Garden Party celebrates the work of 20th century American sculptor, Charles Umlauf, an internationally recognized artist and Austin resident. Event highlights include the “Celebrity Seeds” silent auction featuring terra cotta pots decorated by a who’s who list of Austinites; wine and savories by more than 20 of Austin’s top restaurants; and music by the Nash Hernandez Orchestra, with the lush Umlauf Garden as the backdrop. This year’s honorary chair is Mary Margaret Farabee and the featured artist is Roi James.
Proceeds raised directly benefit the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum and its programs, including the museum’s award-winning education programs for children. Tickets to the Umlauf Garden Party go on sale this spring and are $100 in advance and $115 at the door. For more information and tickets, visit www.umlaufsculpture.org/
Pre Summit
April 29, various locations
AMOA celebrates New Art in Austin artists past and present
6-8 p.m. (Invitation only)
Fusebox Festival featuring Phil Soltanoff9 p.m. Vortex Theatre
A Hybrid Arts Summit participant, Phil Soltanoff performs Discussing Art in the 21st Century_ A mixed media presentation of image demarcations via celebrity representation and theoretical post-functional analysis, sutured with the effects of cheap video technology and critical thought. Tickets are $15.
Hybrid Arts Summit 2011
April 30, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Various locations; view www.artallianceaustin.org for full details
Art Alliance Austin, in collaboration with AMOA, Fusebox Festival and Texas Biennial, bring a summit for creatives in Austin to explore cross-disciplinary creative practice and its relevance to contemporary culture with speakers, round-table discussions and an open call for action.
Participants will have the option to choose from three tracks with a discussion from each in the morning and an opportunity to dig deeper into track of choice in the afternoon:
1) You + Me + We – focused on community and collaboration that explores how people work together and fund collaborative projects.
2) Write. Right. Wrought. – a track about art criticism that explores those writing about art and how they write about it.
3) Bleep-Bleep-Bloop – centered on technology in practice that explores questions, currents and ideas at the intersection of technology and art.
Featured participants include Jon Rubin, Artist, Pittsburgh; Sarah L. Stifler, Director, Communications, Hammer Museum, LA; Duncan Mackenzie, co-founder/co-host of Bad at Sports, Chicago; Wayne Ashley, Future Perfect, NYC; Josephine Dorado, The New School, NYC; Mattt Thompson, Gowalla, Austin.
The Hybrid Arts Summit is free and open to the public. For a full list of events and schedule visit www.artallianceaustin.org.
“Play Me, I’m Yours” Closing Performance
April 30, 4 p.m.
Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and Garden
Art Alliance Austin and Fusebox Festival present the Golden Hornet Project to close the international art installation “Play Me, I’m Yours” and the Fusebox Festival Free Range Music Series. This event is free and open to the public.
Daily events taking place during Art Week Austin:
ONSITE/New Work
Various exhibitions and schedules
Art Austin, a citywide collaboration of art galleries, museums and alterative spaces, will host ON SITE / New Art, a series of exhibitions, installations, events, and programs that highlight the contemporary visual arts offerings at sixteen established venues. Venues will introduce new talent, showcase diverse artistic perspectives, and unveil new projects, collaborations, and the unexpected from familiar artists. For more information, visit www.artaustin.org.
New Art in Austin: 15 to Watch
Now-May 22
New Art in Austin celebrates the innovations and explorations of visual artists who are at the forefront of the field. The Austin Museum of Art's triennial exhibition, the fourth in the series initiated in 2002, focuses on emerging and lesser-known artists who reside within a fifty-mile radius of the capitol. The exhibition, accompanied by a scholarly catalogue, brings cutting-edge work from our community to a broad audience. More information and pricing is available at www.amoa.org.
Texas Biennial
Now-May 14
Open hours 4/27-4/30, 12-5 p.m.
Various locations
As a survey of contemporary art in Texas, the 2011 Biennial is an opportunity to investigate current art-making and promote the incredible artistic innovation happening within our great state. In the same spirit as years past, the 2011 Biennial exhibition will encourage a dialogue amongst artists, curators, writers and the community across the state. For more information, visit www.texasbiennial.com or AMOA’s community room serving as the Spring Art HQ. The Texas Biennial is free and open to the public.
Fusebox Festival
4/20-5/1, Various times and locations
Fusebox champions innovative works of art across a variety of different mediums. The festival acts as a catalyst for new ideas, new artistic models, and approaches to help us better fully engage with the issues that define contemporary life. More information and tickets are available at www.fuseboxfestival.com or AMOA’s community room serving as the Spring Art HQ.
For more information on Art Week Austin and the full schedule of events, visit www.artallianceaustin.org.
Attending Art Week Austin
Collector Badges are $195 and grant VIP access to Art Week Austin which includes Late Nights at Seaholm, access to Pecha Kucha Night Austin and VIP pre-party at 7 p.m., free bike rental from Mellow Johnny’s for Art Rides, 1-year membership to Umlauf Sculpture Garden (limited quantity), Hybrid Arts Summit guaranteed admission and invitation to All Good Things…closing brunch (limited capacity).
Sponsors
Art Week Austin is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, 93.3 KGSR, CSI & Capital Spectrum, Tribeza, lookthinkmake, Giant Media, Time Warner Cable and Your News Now, Twin Liquors, Downtown Austin Alliance and 2ND Street District.
About Art Alliance Austin
Art Alliance Austin (est. 1956) engages people with great art by supporting Austin’s most promising visual artists and arts organizations to build a vibrant, informed community. The non-profit, member-powered organization promotes and funds visual art by commissioning temporary public art and producing experiences that bring artists, collectors and the community together while generating economic benefit for the entire city. Art Alliance Austin 2011 events include Art Night Austin, Art City Austin, Art Week Austin, co-production of Pecha Kucha Night Austin, and Art Night Austin EAST. For more information, visit www.artallianceaustin.org.
