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for Sun., May 26
  • Free Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet

    Austin Shakespeare, in conjunction with the University of Texas at Austin, presents Shakespeare’s classic love story, Romeo and Juliet. This legendary love story will be told in a new way! Set in the 1930’s with inspiration from the period crime drama Peaky Blinders, this production will also include music (both live and recorded) from the mid 20th century as well as the 1930s. Tickets are free when you RSVP in advance.
    May 23-June 9  
    The Curtain Theatre
Recommended
  • Arts

    Comedy

    ATX Sketch Fest

    An ATX Sketch Fest pass may be the best bargain for a guaranteed good time over Memorial Day weekend. Celebrating its 15th year, ATX Sketch Fest provides audiences with five days of scripted comedy acts from Austin, Portland, L.A., NYC, D.C., and Toronto. Headliners include Chris Grace of Superstore, PEN15, and Broad City, and Joan & Raft, who’ve written for Netflix, HBO Max, and Comedy Central. In addition to performing, Grace, Joan & Raft, and Woody Fu will lead workshops on musical improv, writing, and character development. Local favorites performing include Clara Blackstone, Juicebox, Big Fart, and The Floor Is Lava. Single-show tickets are available, but for this much talent, why not spring for the $69 (heh heh) pass? Check – or sketch – it out at atxsketchfest.com. – Valerie Lopez
    Thu.-Sun., May 23-26
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    “Vessels – Handle With Care” by Diane Chiyon Hong

    Vessel: a container that holds things. Vessel: a person infused with a quality. What quality? Any. Feel free to interpret it yourself when basking in Diane Chiyon Hong’s exhibit “Vessels – Handle with Care.” Her architectural sketches, part function, part form, part object, part person, part humor but all thought-provoking, currently grace the halls of the Asian American Resource Center. It’s Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month, so why not pay the AARC a visit. I mean, if not now, when? – Cat McCarrey
    Through July 5
  • Community

    Events

    Sit Down, Write Now

    “First,” Octavia Butler once wrote, “forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.” Develop those writing habits with this gathering of writerly folk where you’ll discuss the writin’ life before sitting down for 30 minutes of quiet scribbling, typing, or however you get those words out. Who knows? The next Octavia Butler may be among y’all. – James Scott
    Sun., May 26
  • Arts

    Theatre

    Walking Shadow Shakespeare Presents: Troilus and Cressida

    When it comes to the Trojan War, it’s always “Helen, Helen, Helen,” and never “Cressida, Cressida, Cressida.” Sadly, not even Shakespeare can really change that, as this play remains one of his hidden, partially baffling, gems. Set during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida veers between sweet love story, bawdy farce, and embittered revenge fantasy. The title lovers make and break promises against the bloody backdrop of the Trojan War. Our own Walking Shadow Shakespeare gamely tackles the text. Enjoy their efforts for the low, low price of free. It’s a bargain for this rare chance to witness a challenging classic. – Cat McCarrey
    Sun., May 26
All Events
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Art & Parks Tour

    This sweet opportunity comes to us from the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Pease Park Conservancy, and Ride Bikes Austin – so we know it's a damned good thing indeed. Take the self-guided Art & Parks Tour to explore the best of what Downtown Austin art and parks have to offer through this selection of curated murals, artworks, and green spaces. You can sign up anytime, so click that URL and get ready to learn the most vibrantly visual parts of your city soon – live and in person.
  • Arts

    Theatre

    Austin Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

    Theatre by any other name would be as sweet, but … there’s just something about the name “Shakespeare” that screams all the world’s a stage and we’re just living in it. And nothing screams Shakespeare more than Romeo and Juliet. Submerge yourself in a true Shakespearean experience with his famous star-crossed lovers. Tickets are free, but make sure to snap up a reservation before you head out. Feel the romance, the tension, the sorrow, in person. Besides, the Curtain Theatre’s outdoor setting is the perfect place to bask in the bard. Shakespeare and starlight?: A winning combo. – Cat McCarrey
    Thursdays-Sundays. Through June 9
    Curtain Theatre, 7400 Coldwater Canyon Dr.
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    “Carros y Cultura: Lowriding Legacies in Texas”

    Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of the band’s 1975 No. 1 single. But lowrider can mean a snazzy customized car with hydraulics or a person who works on such a vehicle, and the culture around these cars has strengthened Mexican American communities in the Southwest since the Forties. Learn more about them at this exhibit featuring an interactive touchscreen mural, cars and bikes on display, and stories about the people who make lowriding a community. A member reception takes place May 18. – Kat McNevins
    Through Sept. 2
  • Arts

    Comedy

    Cap City Comedy Club

    That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the longtime cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Click for details!
  • Arts

    Theatre

    Clyde’s

    I’m a bona fide sandwich lover and a staunch believer in prison reform, so Clyde’s sounds just delectable. Ground Floor presents the story of a truck stop shop that employs former prisoners in the kitchen. The owner might not believe in them, but will they find a way to believe in themselves? First, anything set around food is guaranteed to be aces in my book. But finding a way to integrate human kindness with edible delicacies? Irresistible. Check it out, and discover just how delicious hope can be. – Cat McCarrey
    Fridays-Sundays. Through June 1
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Creating Encuentros: Changarrito 2012–2024

    Traveling in Mexico, you frequently encounter changarritos – portable food carts or tienditas run by hardworking entrepreneurs. The carts usually operate outside of any formal regulation and, in that way, mirror the resilience and creativity of Mexican culture. In 2005, artist Máximo González appropriated the concept of the changarrito as a way for artists to take their work directly to the people. The idea came to Austin’s venerable Mexic-Arte Museum in 2012, with dozens of artists displaying art and interacting with the public outside the Downtown gallery. The concept is back and will run through August. – Brant Bingamon
    Through August 25
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Hill & Adamson: The Clarkson Stanfield Album

    Art conservation can be a contradiction: to destroy to preserve. Thus it is with the HRC and its efforts to restore the Clarkson Stanfield album, one of the most remarkable volumes in the history of art photography. More correctly known as “100 Calotypes by D. O. Hill, R.S.A., and R. Adamson,” the collection of over 100 salted paper prints was collated by the photographers for landscape artist Stanfield and depicts the lords, laborers, clergy, and scientists of 19th-century Scotland and the landscapes in which they lived. Currently undergoing repairs, the center staff are using its deconstructed state to display 39 plates, along with more works from Hill and Adamson, as separate works since the first time they were bound. – Richard Whittaker
    Thursdays-Sundays. Through June 2
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Jeffrey Dell “Tidal Waive”

    Tusa, Sicily, in addition to being a beautiful seaside Italian village, was also birthplace to artist Jeffrey Dell’s newest monotypes. He created the works during an artist’s residency, utilizing traditional printmaking materials to capture the vertical nature of his surroundings. In his artist’s statement, Dell explains his goal with the monotypes as interrogating what happens between seeing and understanding images. “The mind wants and expects to see certain things and is capable of leaping ahead,” Dell writes. “Mostly those leaps are amazingly correct, but sometimes they’re wrong. I’m trying to make work that creates a moment when it’s possible to notice such dynamics while also avoiding the ‘punchline’ of an optical illusion – that is, to deny a moment of ‘getting it.’” – James Scott
    Thursdays-Sundays. Through June 8
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Laguna Gloria

    This local treasure of a venue, run by those Contemporary Austin folks who also bring us the Jones Center shows Downtown, is all about the outdoors – which is perfect for these trickily navigated times of ours, n'est-ce pas? Recommended: Stop by and breathe in the air, enjoy the lawns and gardens and the many examples of world-class sculpture arrayed across the property, and (as Frankie used to say) r-e-l-a-x.
    Thu.-Fri., 9am-noon; Sat.-Sun., 9am-3pm
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Landmarks: Self-Guided Walking Tour

    Use your smartphone to access self-guided tours of the outdoor public art sited by UT's award-winning Landmarks program any time you feel like it. BONUS: There's also a free, docent-led tour starting at Marc Quinn's "Spiral of the Galaxy" (1501 Red River) on Sun., Jan. 8, 11am.
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Monica Martinez-Diaz “A Trajectory of Grief” Opening

    Anyone who’s lost a loved one can testify to the unfamiliar pain of fresh grief. It really is an emotional roller coaster, full of shocking joy and debilitating sorrow, always appearing at unexpected moments. After losing her grandfather, artist Monica Martinez-Diaz channeled her pain into art. Her latest exhibit covers her journey using photography, books, and video work. It tackles the opposing forces of grief through bold colors and small details. Its loving appreciation of the people who travel through our lives is guaranteed to resonate. – Cat McCarrey
    Thursdays-Sundays. Through July 3
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Museum of Illusions

    Enter the fascinating world of illusions in this new venue that boasts a stunning array of intriguing visual, sensory, and educational experiences among new, unexplored optical wonderments.
    11010 Domain #100
  • Arts

    Comedy

    The Hideout

    The diverse lineup of hilarious, always surprising improv shows continues, with Pgraph and Maestro and the Big Bash and more, for the most unexpected delights of in-person entertainment.
    $10 and up.  
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    The Museum of Fine Arts, Austin

    Art by Charles Walter, Benjamin Bayne, and other international, national, and local artists.
    Sundays, 3-5pm. Donations accepted.
    1638 E. Second #326
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    The World of Hunt Slonem

    Over six decades, internationally acclaimed artist Hunt Slonem has created his own universe, with pieces in the Met, the Whitney, Guggenheim, et al. and celeb collectors from Sharon Stone to the Kardashian clan. Known for vibrant neo-expressionist works starring the three B’s – bunnies, birds, and butterflies – the New Yorker even paints with a bird or two from his personal aviary perched on his shoulder. This comprehensive display brings together over 100 works spanning oil paintings to blown glass, and is presented in conjunction with “Huntopia,” opening May 4 at San Antonio Botanical Garden. – Kat McNevins
    Through May 26
  • Arts

    Visual Arts

    Yamin Li’s “Gnortsma”

    Accenting soft, blurred pastels with sharp acrylics, Yamin Li’s “Gnortsma” exhibit reflects the uncertainty of life as an immigrant. Nothing is quite right in the series’ 20 paintings; the Chinese artist blends “habitual objects” – houses, trees, toys – with more unexpected ones, like a figure rendered with childlike collage bearing a medieval spear and sword. Li debuts her works at a May 2 opening ceremony, which runs from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Afterward, the Central Library will display the exhibit until July 14. – Carys Anderson
    Through June 14

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