Home Events Arts

Most people were introduced to this duo by MTV’s Girl Code. Since then, they’ve been on Comedy Central, Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Network – and so, so many hit podcasts. "Jessimae enjoys a good toke and Carly has a thing for ant farms. They are marvels."

Join guest soloists (Mela Dailey, soprano; Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo-soprano; Cameron Schutza, tenor; and Donnie Ray Albert, bass) the Conspirare Symphonic Chorus, and the Austin Symphony Orchestra for this performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and more – all joyfully conducted by Peter Bay.

The Austin Museum of Popular Culture takes over Pershing Hall, albeit briefly, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1970.

The Austin Studio Tour, presented by those artful movers and shakers of Big Medium, is a combination of the pre-pandemic West Austin Studio Tour and East Austin Studio Tour, formerly separate and now joined into one citywide event that unfolds like divine origami across three local weekends in November. It’s a free, self-guided celebration of visual art that features more than 530 Austin-based artists and creative collaboratives, with the tour boundaries expanded to include all 10 city council districts for in-person participants, plus a 15-mile radius from the Capitol for virtual participants.The first weekend (Sat.-Sun., Nov. 6-7, noon-6pm) highlights the West side of Austin; the second weekend (Sat.-Sun., Nov. 13-14, noon-6pm) covers the West and the East; and the final weekend (Sat.-Sun., Nov. 20-21, non-6pm) wraps up with just the East. (You can pick up a free studio tour map at any Austin Public Library Branch, starting Nov. 4; but you’ve got to become a member of Big Medium to snag a copy of the Austin Studio Tour Art Book.) Here are five recommendations to jumpstart your explorations.

In this brief show (approximately 30-40 minutes), the performers of newly Austin-based company Sea Legs Dance will guide you through contemporary works paired with complimentary bite-sized treats. "Every dance has a flavor!"

Those relentlessly inventive honchos of Dear Diary Coffeehouse and the fun-forward talents of Creative Cuties have teamed up to produce this live art event with music and vendors, where you can watch street artists and muralists paint, listen to live bands perform, and browse among the arts and crafts tables.Bonus: Walk half a block north to Dear Diary to view "Solarium," a garden-themed group show of nine local artists, and avail yourself of some excellent coffee drinks and more.It's a perfect treat as the Austin Studio Tour continues, citizen, and you know the weekend's weather will be almost as beautiful as you are.

Under the artistic direction of Leah Cox, Joel Valentín-Martínez, and Erica Gionfriddo, UT's Dance Repertory Theatre returns to the stage for an in-person celebration of dance, togetherness, and connection, presenting poignant new works of choreography.

This is the culminating exhibition of the first series of Crit Nites, an inclusive critique group for Austin working artists. The works on display – organized by Casey Alfstad, Darcie Book, and Hayley Labrum Morrison – reveal the fruits of critical conversations of 40 artists and eight moderators shared through Crit Nites Virtual in 2021.

This 10-day international mural festival brings artists from the Austin region and around the globe to give new life to building exteriors, rejuvenate neighborhoods, and energize the community. Witness the creative process in action as the 12 participating artists continue painting throughout the run of the event.Those participating artists? Drew Merritt, Candy Kuo, Emily Ding, Sloke, Mez, DAAS, Phoebe Joynt, Niz, Everyday Research, Brittany Johnson, Jason Eatherly, and Lucas Aoki. Check the art markets, paint jams, and meet-ups at Something Cool Studios for more. Oh, and we've got a fine gallery of images right here.

Here's an exhibition of photographic works by Cian Moore, Enmi Yang, Riel Sturchio, Madison Lloyd, and Brendan Carroll: creatives who carve their own path and have established their roots in the communities of Austin and Houston.

Maybe you know this guy from the film Sundowners alongside Tim Heidecker? Or maybe Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty rings a Hanley bell? The NYC-based comedian's album Please Don’t Chit Chat While I’m Pursuing My Dream was released in 2018. Now it's 2021 and look where he is tonight.

Artists Jonas Criscoe and Mai Gutierrez present the unveiling ceremony for their collaboration, La Silla Del Sol, part of the Art in Public Places TEMPO program. Deriving inspiration from Mesoamerican architecture, the sculpture provides a shaded nook for visitors to relax and spend some time reflecting upon their day. Bonus: This unveiling features live music by Mariachi Cielo Azul and refreshments by Qué Sazón.

Austin's La Fenice and Golden: Silent Improvised Stories will show you what happened on that terrible night at the Neill Cochran House 100 years ago. "In this site-specific show, release your inner voyeur and roam the rooms of Neill Cochran alongside the echoes of its inhabitants." Spooky af? Yes, but especially spooky fun.

Here's the latest in a 40-year UT tradition: "A Ballad of the Past & Future," an original, student-created Renaissance comedy-with-music – with a four-course meal, multipart choir concert, and in-character improv breaks.

This here's the local stop for the Texas Photographic Society's 2021 juried exhibit tour.

The local powerhouse of figurative painting, the art school that's the smart school for artists of all kinds, they've got a painting-along-at-home series going to help you keep your skills honed in these socially restrictive times, featuring live costumed models posing on camera and a thriving community of creatives rendering that lovely human biotecture from their separate studios. "Join us for a three-hour costumed-model drawing session. Use any supplies you wish, listen to music, share your work, chat with others. It’s a great way to stay connected with your art community!"

No one else can be Shawn Cox, which is why his works are must-see manifestations of graphic power. This solo exhibition, a bright explosion of images across the gallery walls, explores how the wild-west-cowboy iconography celebrated in cinematic Westerns of the Forties and Fifties is linked to perpetuating the myth of manifest destiny.

The artists featured in this show — Dennis Delgado, Alicia Henry, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle, Titus Kaphar, Whitfield Lovell, and Lava Thomas — build upon the tradition of Black self-representation as an antidote to colonialist images. Using drawing, performance, printmaking, sculpture, and digital technology to transform the recorded image, these artists question our reliance on photography as a privileged source for documentary objectivity and understanding.

This three-person exhibition (at one of the Eastside's brightest gallery gems) showcases that wood-sculpting genius Aaron Michalovic, folk artist Adam Young, and Camille Woods with her pop-cowboy aesthetic.

The sculptural practice of Yeni Mao engages in issues of fragmentation, exploring equations of the body and architecture through restraint, domination and absence. In his new installation at Co-Lab, Mao engages with concepts of animism and ancestral knowledge through ceramic, steel, and leather sculptural elements.

ColdTowne's new brick-and-mortar place is totally open, and who knows what they'll shake this city with next? But one truth remains: ColdTowne is a designated den of gold, baby, sweet comedy gold.

Here's an exhibition of works by Jesus Treviño and Kelsey Baker, in which the artists approach the idea of existing in a state of flux from two distinct perspectives.

The Contemporary Austin presents the first-ever museum survey of works by Daniel Johnston. "Step into the surreal universe of this visionary musician and artist, filled with love, loss, ghosts, aliens, superheroes, and the eternal battle between good and evil."

This showcase of new work by Isabel Stensland – and earlier pieces representing the artist's various creative periods and influences – reveals a world of personal impressionist landscapes.

Marie Elena Ely’s show at the Ney Museum is a collection of photo/collage/paintings and prints.

When COVID-19 locked down the world in 2020, Austin's cybernetic opera savant Chad Salvata retreated to his BlackSun Studio and created a response with the music of Plagues Within Plagues. Seven plagues inform a sort of ballet electronica – refined by Sandie Donzica, Jose Lozano, and Bonnie Cullum, and performed by dancers Donzica and Michael Galvan – that's been filmed for maximum visual and sonic impact and is ready to reward your eyes with its arcane puissance.

This hotbed of local performance is carrying on even more than usual, with an eclectic mix of live, mind-rocking comedy from some of Austin's best, all week long. Hey! The place is our cover story, as reported by Valerie Lopez! And, srsly, who would ever disagree with the sentiment of Monday night's Fuck This Week show? Check the website for details.

Lance Letscher, widely known for his collage work, has artistic roots in printmaking. In 2020, he began a period of experimentation at Flatbed Press, using intaglio printmaking techniques. The resulting works – on display here – are straightforward and unpretentious, playing with color, line, and vision, always contrasting chaos with structure.

Here's a visual art exhibition of mixed media works –including collage, drawing, sculpture, video, and photography – by four Austin-based artists: Betelhem Makonnen, Christina Coleman, Deborah Roberts, and Tammie Rubin. The artworks explore Black existence through body, object, beauty, childhood and familial narratives, fugitive perceptual experiences, and time. While each artist's aesthetic approach is different, they're united by their faith in the power of small acts to guide and reimagine our everyday existence.

This juried group exhibition curated by Claire Howard reflects on the shifting relationships with our own bodies, each other, and the environment during this time of public health and climate crises. Featuring works by Essentials Creative, Brittany Ham, Marilyn Jolly, Aimee Jones, Magdalena Riley, Krystal Rodriguez, Brian Smith, Laurence Unger, and Tanya Zal.

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.

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.

Featuring the early and most recent paintings by Luis Guerra.

Here's a two-person exhibition that features painting, installation, videography, and sculpture by Moll Brau and Wes Thompson. It's a deep dive into a pool of loneliness, triumph, and rebirth. It's a forest of mazes where fireflies provide the light. It's a show of creations from a pair of terrific, hardworking local artists and you don't want to miss it.

"Trapdoor" is a new body of work by Austin artist Erin Curtis, featuring large cut-and-layered canvas paintings and small works on paper that are inspired by landscapes real and imagined. "Glean," from Zoe Berg and Valerie Chaussonnet, is "a meditation on nature, generations, transmission, cultivation, and origins," manifested via steel sculptures, installations, a zine, drawings, and a two-channel video.

Throughout 2021, Mexico is commemorating major events in history: the falling of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán, the invasion by Spain, and the Independence of Mexico. Mexic-Arte Museum presents this vibrant group exhibition and programs in conjunction with Mexico’s 2021 events, reaffirming their common cultural history. Also: "Los Pueblos Originarios," featuring photos of continuing traditions by Mary J. Andrade; and Las Flores – La Vida, a new show displaying flower-themed art from more than 200 local and regional artists.

An exhibition featuring nine local artists – Deborah Otto, Becca Gordon, Malina Cipleu, Carla Clay, Matchi, Denise Elliott Jones, Shelby Elizabeth, Paige Gibson, and Jocelyn Polley.

The amazing maker Laura Lit has summoned the full range of her experience in painting, film makeup, special effects, and architectural restoration to create these new animal-sized wall reliefs of wood, resin, and clay. Twelve of these brilliants will hang in Northern-Southern, each "a deliberate dreaming, a spirit made solid, a tether to within." Note: The artist will be present at a Happy Hour every Friday, 4-6pm, throughout the run of the show.

Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon's new exhibition of (absolutely stunning) photographs “looks to explore the unique and distinctive sense of spirit that defines the Holly Street neighborhood, the place where I have lived for the past twenty-five years. For me, this spirit has always been fostered by my neighbors. The stories of these kindred spirits, old-timers, families and folks have shaped my sense of home. Together, they are my 'Genius Loci,' the keepers of the spirit of the neighborhood."

Texas-based artist Sedrick Huckaby explores psychology, community, and the human condition in his powerful portraits painted from life. The catalog notes say: "Through his virtuoso facility with oil paint, Huckaby utilizes texture, dimensionality, and intensely saturated colors to extraordinary expressive effect." Says the artist himself: "The African-American family and its heritage has been the content of my work for several years. In large-scale portraits of family and friends I try to aggrandize ordinary people by painting them on a monumental scale."

Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), a key figure in the development of color-field painting, was a tireless experimenter with color, form, and technique. This exhibition celebrates the generous gift from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation of ten prints and six proofs that span five decades of the artist’s career.

This powerful show, a traveling exhibition organized by the New-York Historical Society, explores the transformative years after the Civil War and the rise of Jim Crow, centering on stories of African Americans who pursued the ideals of Reconstruction and persevered in the face of a developing legal system promoting racial inequality.

The Vortex's new season is on its way, and they're seeking performers for roles in Circus Chickendog’s The Mutt-Cracker (SWEET!), Bottle Alley’s Peckin the Crown, and the Vortex's own Selfie! The Musical. See website for details and appointments.

A bold new season opens at UT’s Visual Arts Center, with premiering exhibitions “The Blessings of the Mystery” by Carolina Caycedo and David de Rozas, “Wait For It” by Joey Fauerso, “Cycles and Loops” by Bill Morrison, “(Untitled) Fanon” by Madison Cooper, and a group show (curated by Megan Hildebrandt, presented in partnership with the Livestrong Cancer Institutes) called “Aesthetics of Health.”

Colombian-American artist America Martin describes herself as a painting anthropologist, working primarily with paint on canvas and paper to explore the human experience – and the human form.

This is WCC's biggest and most comprehensive exhibition of graffiti and street art to date, featuring works from the gallery’s 1000-piece collection, encompassing a diverse set of contemporary masters, including Blek le Rat, Cey Adams, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Banksy, Richard Hambleton, RETNA, LadyPink, PhoebeNewYork, Swoon, and more.

Through installations that invert the principles of architectural design, artist Rehab El Sadek questions existing power dynamics and contemplates the role of the individual within the built environment. Note: Talk with the artist, Sat., Dec. 11, 11am.

This is Ray Donley's gallery of art by Native Americans, located in that company of artistic glory called Canopy and resplendent with creations from the original people of our struggling country.

Ah, here's a terrific show of new paintings and prints from Jon Langford. You want to see a macabre and storied wonderland of Western skeletons boning up the bare truths of a life musically lived, then you'll be glad to feast your peepers on this wealth of weird beauty.