Friends Fair Spins a Wider Austin Art Scene Web
Local fine arts collective hosts a three-day gallery gathering, boosting Austin’s art profile
By Cat McCarrey, Fri., May 9, 2025
Austin doesn’t have name recognition in the upper-class art world – but it could. That’s what the five gallery coalition FOG – Friends of Galleries – believes about the growing Austin art scene.
Gallery supergroup FOG started in 2023 with Jill Schroeder from grayDUCK Gallery, Phillip Niemeyer of Northern-Southern, Kevin Ivester of Ivester Contemporary, Jill McLennon of McLennon Pen Co. Gallery, and the team of Ricky Morales and Meredith Williams at Martha’s Contemporary. Their shows, many highlighting local artists, open up a world of contemporary art to Austin. In return, the town’s new tech money and eternal reputation for creative weirdness spawned a surge in aspiring art collectors. “The city’s always been growing at a fast pace,” recalled Schroeder. “The time is right ... and the people who run these galleries are driven, smart, creative. They’re the next echelon for the scene.” So they launched FOG, starting with wine bar chats and special events geared toward connecting fine-art fans.
The buzz was there. The interest was there. Enter: the Friends Fair, which runs from this Thursday, May 15, through Saturday, May 17.
It’s FOG’s attempt to make something not just for Texas art aficionados, but for Austin to make waves on a national scene. “We turned up the knob on a more luxury experience,” said Ivester on the phone, saying they’re “trying to show Austin that the galleries we have can rival Dallas, L.A., New York.”
The fair covers two floors of the Loren Hotel by Lady Bird Lake, with 12 rooms dedicated to displays. Each of the five FOG galleries has a room, and five national galleries have their own rooms, too: NYC’s Half Gallery, Megan Mulrooney from L.A., former Austinite Sonia Dutton’s NYC gallery Dutton, and fellow Texans Inman Gallery from Houston and Gallery 12.26 from Dallas (with an offshoot in L.A.). The remaining two rooms were sponsored by FOG: Independent curator Taylor Davis is filling one with her picks, while nonprofit Sage Studios will spotlight their works in another.
Hotel room fairs have been an indie staple of the scene since the Nineties, and now Austin acts get their own take on filling these unexpected spaces with art. Most participants are incorporating the unique location into their shows. Northern-Southern’s artists plan to bring natural elements into their room, like Rachael Starbuck, who hopes to create a creeklike atmosphere using the bathtub. Representatives from grayDUCK will take inspiration from the room itself, like placing Yoonmi Nam’s ceramic takeout cartons near the minibar. Working around beds and bathrooms, the strange setting can highlight each gallery’s use of colors and textures within the limited area.
FOG’s fair isn’t just about collecting. It’s about Austin coming together to spotlight how revolutionary this grassroots art scene is. It’s a testament to the power of “collective action,” as gallerist Niemeyer calls it, with lauded art institutions and punk purveyors banding together to show Austin’s artistic scope. The Friends Fair showcases that synergy. The Blanton Museum of Art generated hype through an intimate cocktail hour with their elite Petal Society. Nonprofit Co-Lab Projects is handling art for the rooftop launch party at the Contemporary Jones Center. Loren Hotel-adjacent Paggi House will be open on Saturday, giving a glimpse of curation by Austin’s own Ellis | Force Art Partners.
What results is a hopeful web, threaded from almost every arm of Austin’s artistic offerings. Collectors, institutions, galleries, and artists have come together for a grand debut, and they’re ready to ensnare attention.
Friends Fair
Thursday 15 - Saturday 17, The Loren Hotel
