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Born of fire-red rebellion and a necessity for, particularly, Black and Brown women to tell their own stories, Torch Literary Arts is an organization that continues to be the ultimate safe space for poets and lovers of words. The 2024 Torch Fellowship program nurtured and spotlit eight creative writers of varying backgrounds and levels of experience, gifting them time, resources, and community to start working on something new and/or to get guidance about a work in progress. Elizabeth Brown, Destiny Hemphill, Meredith L. King, DW McKinney, Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, Sandra Jackson-Opoku, and m. mick powell will read from those works in progress at the free event, which includes reception with bites from Mashae’s Catering. (Suggested donation of $15). – Cy White

Hold me closer, Tony Danza, because Austin’s cooperative radio brings back their cinema series. Nightbeat features films curated by the primarily volunteer programmers & co-op members who keep this city supplied with offbeat and interesting tunes. This week they run ye olde Cameron Crowe rock ‘n’ roll tribute Almost Famous – a coming-of-age story about a boy, a band, and the very gullible editors of Rolling Stone. Come to support local radio; stay for a truly heartwarming performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman.: – James Scott

The Bang! Bang! Into Your Mouth Tour brings the longtime alt-comedy podcast (since 2009!) to Austin. Host Scott Aukerman – who helms scads of pods and co-created the Between Two Ferns series – along with recurring guest Paul F. Tompkins and other improv all-stars, manifest an episode right before your eyes: Laughs guaranteed. And while improv can often turn to anarchy, you can feel safe in the calloused comedy hands taking the storied stage by storm. – Aaron Sullivan

Who doesn’t love hot sweaty movie stars tussling with robots, beasts, and – what else – toxic masculinity? Join four queer film “professors” as they dissect their favorite action movies for hidden homosexual agendas – but in a fun way, we promise!

Not just a queer classic, but a cinematic one as well, Barry Jenkins’ 2016 masterpiece follows Chiron, a young Black man growing up in Miami, navigating masculinity and his queer identity with the help of his community. Presented by Queer Black Women Alliance and Breathe With Pride, the screening will be introduced by queer mental health nonprofit WhatsintheMirror?, while local orgs Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, allgo, and Clear the Air ATX will provide resources, including an air purifier. Doors open at 6pm (movie starts at 7:15) and Austin’s premier nonalcoholic purveyors, Sans Bar, will be slinging mocktails. – Lina Fisher

Spying on your single mother while she goes on dates sounds like the premise of a wacky Disney movie, or some indie flick about a precocious preteen. Make the protagonist a neurotic Vietnamese American woman in her late 20s? The stakes take a turn for darker comedy. Votang’s debut novel tackles the intersection of anxiety, aging, and the immigrant experience. Add in a dash of “mother-daughter parentification bonds” and a hefty dose of “seeing your parent as a person,” and you’ve got a delicious read ahead of you. Votang’s book release features a conversation with her fellow Hyperallergic alum Lise Ragbir. It’s sure to be an illuminating and entertaining evening. – Cat McCarrey

Steve Martin continues to entertain deep into his elder-comedy-legend years, but this silver fox has been an icon for ages. Rocket Cinema throws a casual cinematic party while screening Martin’s first starring role in a feature film: The Jerk. Enjoy the “rags to riches to rags story” within Cloud Tree Gallery. As Rocket Cinema says, “We’re moving this sucker inside because we are NOT jerks.” No tix, tricks, or RSVPs required – if you’re around Fifth and Springdale, feel free to drop in.– James Scott

Hoo-wee! Does anything feel better than a dip in the pool during a hot Texas summer? While some among us may be privileged to own private watering holes, most of us get to enjoy the great Austin PARD’s work at the 44 public aquatic facilities to choose from this summer. You’ve got regional, neighborhood, and community pools; a wading pool; splash pads; and the crown jewel: Barton Springs. Check austintexas.gov/pools-splashpads for up-to-date info on which pools are open, what their entry fee is, and whether you have what it takes to be a public pool lifeguard. Now, outta the way if you don’t wanna get wet: I’m gonna do a cannonball! – James Scott

Regine Malibiran is a woman of passion. She pours her soul into every project she undertakes – creative and entrepreneur, activist and advocate. Now as the founder of forth space productions, she has taken all of her passion and experience to forge a path for artists to express their truths fearlessly and with the support of forth space, whose mission and name derive from the “sociological concept of the fourth space as a realm where meaning is made and all the potential that lies between here and forward.” “BUMUO,” from the Tagalog for “whole,” is an exhibition that centers the strength and artistic brilliance of the Filipino community. Six artists tell the connective story of the Philippines, reclaiming their history, rejecting the manipulation of the colonizers who inhabited their home for four centuries, and building a future of healing and empowerment. On view through July 27. – Cy White

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

We’re in that liminal space of summer, where life is lush and blooming, right before it succumbs to death by heat. Big Medium’s curator Coka Treviño has collected an exhibit full of garden scenes representing that magical explosion of garden growth. In her own words, it’s a way “to forget how heavy it feels to be a human.” There’s constant discovery in the wide variety of works, from dozens of artists like the established Dawn Okoro and up-and-comers MuthaGoose. Join the opening reception this Friday to view interpretations of glorious greenery. – Cat McCarrey

Taylor Davis might have the coolest job description I’ve ever heard. She’s an independent curator (dream) and a landscape designer. So basically, she finds beauty in everything she touches. For “Bending Light,” Davis has accumulated work by four BIPOC artists, multidisciplinary masters “illuminating the nuanced experiences and collective memories of queerness and femininity in Black cultural production,” to quote the exhibit description. A weighty task, but one the artists – Kaima Marie Akarue, Ciara Elle Bryant, Catherine Martinez, and Chandrika Metivier – pull off with fascinating aplomb. Through mediums including but not limited to sculpture, video, collage, and photos, the viewer glimpses unique experiences. It’s a fresh reflection of this world. – Cat McCarrey

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!

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

Art and … math? Not as improbable as it may seem, especially when seen through the veil of fantasy. And that’s exactly what artist/gallerist/therapist Deanna Miesch does. Compiling works inspired by 1800s mathematician Edwin A. Abbott’s imaginary world of Flatland (with touches of fellow mathematician Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, of course), Miesch presents reality with a fanciful twist. Her visuals show our world, blurred or tilted a little askew. It’s easy to see portals to another world in every line and angle. What dimensions will you discover? – Cat McCarrey