Past Exhibits
Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick
Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick
Leta Harrison
February 15, 2024
- April 21, 2024
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Events:
Exhibition Reception: February 15, 2024, 6pm-9pm. Meet the artist and curators and hear inspired music by DJ Lauren Light.
Black History Month Celebration @ Central Library: February 24, 2024, 1pm-3pm. Join us in the Gallery for an inspiring spoken word event, featuring Christa Brown and Tonee Shelton, as part of the Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick photography exhibition. Delve into a thought-provoking writing workshop where you can pen your personal experiences, connecting them to the themes of empowerment and beauty activism highlighted in the exhibit. Conclude the afternoon by sharing your stories in a supportive environment, celebrating self-expression and the power of breaking stereotypes.
Saturday, April 13, 2024 | 11 am- 1 pm, Scarlet Serenity: A Stress-Free Yoga & Wellness Soiree
Description: _OFCOLOR presents' Scarlet Serenity: A Stress-Free Yoga & Wellness Soiree,' held in conjunction with the 'Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick' exhibit. Join us as we embrace tranquility and wellness during Stress Awareness Month (April). Begin with a rejuvenating 50-minute yoga session led by a skilled instructor, exploring the transformative power of yoga to enhance well-being and alleviate stress. This session will take place in the gallery space with 'Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick' as the backdrop. Continue the journey to relaxation with a 30-minute Gua Sha facial workshop, learning the art of this ancient practice for rejuvenation and self-care. Conclude the experience with light refreshments and the joy of community. Please bring your yoga mat, towel, and water! Don't forget your red lipstick! Free with Eventbrite registration.
Thursday, April 18, 2024 | 5:30pm-7:30pm Exhibition Panel Discussion:
Black Girls Don’t Wear Red Lipstick! Is creative expression self-care. This panel serves as a platform for remarkable women to shed light on the challenges and triumphs they face as Black women entrepreneurs in Austin. Sharing personal experiences and insights, the panel will discuss strategies for maintaining well-being while chasing your dreams in a society that often overlooks some voices and stories. Join us at the Downtown Austin Public Library to visit the awe-inspiring Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick photography exhibit, hear the panel, & build community!
Takeaways
- Creative Expression as Self-Care: Gain a deeper understanding of the importance of creative expression as a form of self-care and encourage seeking it
- Building a Supportive Community: Showcase the strength that comes from building community & inspire guests to seek similar networks in their community
- Amplifying Unheard Voices & Brands: A greater awareness of the significance of representation & the responsibility to elevate diverse stories & brands
Exhibition Description: Step into a world of audacious beauty and empowerment with the photo exhibition, Black Girls Don't Wear Red Lipstick, created by the visionary photographer, Leta Harrison, curated by Keyheira Keys and Whitney Hamilton, _OFCOLORATX.
Through images of Black women embracing vibrant colors and confidently wearing shades of red lipstick, Leta's bold photographic prints showcase women using beauty as a form of activism to reclaim their power, challenge oppressive beauty standards, and stifle stereotypes. Leta’s powerful images celebrate each woman’s uniqueness, fostering self-love, promoting positive change, and illustrating Black women breaking free from the shackles of conformity.
About the Artist
Leta Harrison is a local Austin photographer with an unwavering passion for capturing the essence of her subjects and telling their powerful stories through her lens. Drawing inspiration from Texas musician, Kam Franklin's artist talk, in which she bravely shared her personal experiences of facing pressure to be more modest and being judged for her expressive style, often considered "too much", Kam's poignant recollection of the phrase, "Black girls don't wear red lipstick," struck a chord with Leta, inspiring her to further uplift the women that she photographs and to create this exhibition.
Image credit
Everyman
Everyman
Angélique Ferrão
February 1, 2024
- April 28, 2024
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
I have been an outsider in India long before I immigrated to America at the age of fifteen. Constantly having my identity questioned has made me strongly connect with the outlier looking in; of being “other.” This is reflected in my art where I explore blurred lines of identity and demarcation, the sense of longing to belong, the lasting effects of colonialism and the subjugation of voices. I address the absence of representation and act as a revisionist by inserting people of color into the visual lexicon; creating access, inclusion and a push for a place at the table.
About the Artist
Angelique Ferrao, a native of India, began her artistic journey by studying photography in college. Captivated by the vibrancy of New York City’s landscapes, she transitioned to street art, immersing herself in its thriving creative community. As a self-taught figurative oil painter, Angelique’s focus has evolved towards portraiture. Her art transcends cultural boundaries, providing a diversely poignant yet universal narrative of the shared human experience.
Image credit
The Bobby Dixon Kollective Fusion Poster Exhibition: Celebrating Hip Hop Through Artistry and Design
The Bobby Dixon Kollective Fusion Poster Exhibition: Celebrating Hip Hop Through Artistry and Design
Bobby Dixon (KLCTVE Design + Illustration)
January 26, 2024
- March 21, 2024
Windsor Park Branch - 5833 Westminster Dr.
About the Exhibit
This exhibition celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop through the work of local artist and designer Bobby Dixon of Kollective Fusion (AKA KLCTVE Design + Illustration).
A travelling exhibit, multiple library branch locations hosted this exciting exhibition, allowing community members from across Austin to enjoy the art and learn more about Bobby Dixon and the celebration of 50 years of hip-hop.
September 1, 2023-January 31, 2024 Austin History Center
September 25, 2023-November 14, 2023 Hampton Branch at Oak Hill
November 20, 2023-January 22, 2024 Spicewood Springs
January 26, 2024-March 21, 2024 Windsor Park
About the Artist
For two decades, Bobby has produced screen-printed concert posters for local, national, and international acts. The posters in this exhibition showcase Bobby's artistic design in works created for prominent hip-hop performers that have graced Austin stages.
Traces
Traces
Pepe Coronado
November 12, 2023
- January 28, 2024
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Artist Talk: Thursday, January 18, 2024, 6:30-7:30pm
Please join us in the Gallery for a Q&A with Pepe and learn more about his Traces exhibit.
The Traces exhibit connects two bodies of work, both of which explore evidence of our passing and existence.
Apertura are large monotypes that explore spaces whose definition is transitory and evolving. This series of monotypes are stark black and white with shifting plates and openings that fracture fields of space, creating dynamic interaction and vivid tension that struggles to break through, fighting for position, each seeking to establish its own presence. The mapping series points to the history of relations between the United States and the Dominican Republic as long, complicated, and in constant flux—a relentless give-and-take. From trade and commerce going back centuries, to offers of annexation and paternalistic military occupations and interventions, to the current free flow of business, people, tourism, drug traffickers, *peloteros*, and musicians, the two countries have forged an entanglement of political and economic ties.
La exposición Trazos conecta dos cuerpos de trabajos, los cuales exploran la evidencia de nuestro paso y existencia.
La serie Apertura son monotipos que exploran espacios cuya definición es transitoria y evolutiva. Esta serie de monotypos son en blanco y negro, con placas móviles y aberturas que fracturan los campos del espacio, creando una interacción dinámica y una tension vívida que lucha por abrirse paso, luchando por una posición, cada uno buscando establecer su propia presencia. La serie de mapas señala hacia la historia de las relaciones entre los Estados Unidos y la República Dominicana como larga, complicada y en constante flujo, una relación incansable. Vía relaciones socio-políticas de siglos atrás, por medio a ofertas de anexión, ocupaciones e intervenciones militares paternalistas, el actual flujo libre de negocios, personas, turismo, narcotraficantes,* peloteros * y músicos, los dos países han forjado relaciones políticas y lazos económicos muy particular.
About the Artist
Pepe Coronado was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and currently resides in Austin, Texas. Coronado is a founding member of the print collective Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA. He correctly teaches printmaking at St. Edwards University, he has previously taught printmaking at the Corcoran College of Art; Georgetown University; and at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where he earned the Master of Fine Arts. Coronado was a master printer for Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring, Maryland; the Hand Print Workshop International in Alexandria, Virginia; and the Serie Print Project in Austin, Texas.
Pepe Coronado nació en Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, emigró a los Estados Unidos en 1989. Hizo sus estudios de arte en Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore obteniendo su Maestría de Bellas Artes (M.F.A). Su obra se centra en temas relacionados a fronteras, migracion e historia entre otros temas directamente relacionados a eventos y acontecimientos socio-politicos actuales. Pepe ha sido profesor de grabado en varias universidades estadounidenses incluyendo actualmente en St. Edwards University, y en el pasado en Purchase College en Nueva York, Maryland Institute College of Art en Baltimore, Corcoran College of Art en Washington DC. A sido impresor en varios talleres como Serie project en Austin, Texas, Hand Print Workshop international en Virginia y Pyramid Atlantic en Maryland.
Image credit
Time Bubbles: Crossing of Realities
Time Bubbles: Crossing of Realities
Ivette Levy
November 1, 2023
- January 19, 2024
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
"Time Bubbles: Crossing of Realities" is a solo art exhibit showcasing mixed media paintings that explore my personal journey, reflecting on past experiences and present realities. Through figurative art, I delve into memories, emotions, and aspirations. Each artwork features characters with multiple eyes, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the complexities of modern life. Soap bubbles within the paintings encapsulate fleeting emotions and memories, reminding us of the ephemeral nature of significant moments in our existence.
About the Artist
Ivette Ramos Levy is a passionate Latin American artist based in Fort Worth, Texas, whose creative journey has undergone significant growth and transformation in recent months. With a deep love for painting and sculpting, Ivette has honed her skills and embraced a profound vision for her work.
Driven by a relentless curiosity about the world and a desire to explore the complexities of human existence, Ivette's art becomes a vehicle for introspection and understanding. Her pieces invite viewers to question their own place in the present moment, encouraging deep reflection on personal identity and the challenges of contemporary life.
Her artistic journey is marked by curiosity, openness to new experiences, and a willingness to embrace her identity as a person with ADHD, and dyslexia, and as an immigrant. Through her art, Ivette's goal is to provoke thought, evoke emotion, and ignite meaningful conversations.
Her aim is to provide viewers with a space to pause, observe, think, and observe again.
Image credit
Magical Messes: Elena's Mysterious Art Adventures
Magical Messes: Elena's Mysterious Art Adventures
Elena Lu
October 17, 2023
- January 19, 2024
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Youth & Family Atrium (3rd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Central Library proudly hosts emerging young artist, Elena Lu for an exhibit of artwork in our Tween Lounge, located in the 3rd floor Youth Area.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Hi there! I'm really excited that you're at my awesome art exhibit! I'm Elena, and I'm a 3rd Grader. My art is all about the crazy and magical things that happen when I'm around.
Can I tell you a secret? I've got this really interesting (or maybe not-so-interesting) talent where I accidentally make messes. Like the time I spilled milk all over the floor, or when my ice cream decided to drop from my cone, or even when my shoelaces tried to trip me up!
But you know what? These things have a way of turning into adventures. In my art, I've tried to catch those wild and funny moments. I used the brightest colors I could find, just like the colors in my imagination.
My paintings might not look as perfect as grown-up ones, but that's okay. Life's not perfect either, right? Like when you want to draw a straight line but it turns all squiggly – that's like life's little surprises. And hey, it's okay to laugh at those surprises.
So, when you check out my art, I hope you feel the giggles and the wows that I feel. Maybe you'll see a splash of paint that looks like the ice cream incident! Life's a big, wonderful journey, and in my art, I'm sharing the wacky, messy, and imaginative parts of it.
Thanks for coming to see my art show!
Hugs and high-fives,
Elena
About the Artist
Hi, I'm Elena, a super awesome 9-year-old artist from Austin! My art is all about imagination – a magical ride through my brain, the coolest thing ever. When I paint, it's like tossing happiness to everyone who sees my art. Bright colors are my thing; they join together on my canvas, making amazing art that catches your eye.
I love using wonderful watercolors and amazing acrylic paints. Watching my dreams come alive on paper is like a party for my thoughts and feelings! Art is like a happiness machine, don’t you agree?
Image credit
Mother/Land
Mother/Land
Yuliya Lanina
August 24, 2023
- November 5, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
ARTIST RECEPTION | Thursday, August 24, 6-8pm, in 2nd floor gallery
FILM SCREENING | Saturday, November 4, 1:30-2:30pm, in 2nd floor gallery
Yuliya Lanina’s exhibition, titled Mother/Land, delves into the artist’s complex relationship with the war in Ukraine. Through animation, sculpture, and installation, Lanina continues her introspective exploration of the emotional and physical impact of war and trauma. The exhibition’s centerpiece is a large animation she created during her residency at Artpace composed from emotionally charged ink drawings she started making since the war began. The continuous scroll of images represents the artist’s experience of the war from afar. Accompanying this moving animation is a soundscape by Nina C. Young containing fragments of melodies from the Ukrainian national anthem, sirens, and birdsong. Lanina’s drawings will also be the view.
About the Artist
Yuliya Lanina is an interdisciplinary artist whose work exists at the intersection of visual art, performance, and technological innovation. She creates alternate realities in her works—ones based on trauma, sexuality, loss, and identity. A secular Jew of Ukrainian descent who was born and raised in Moscow, Lanina arrived in New York in 1990 as a political refugee. There, she established herself as a pioneering artist on the cutting edge by combining digital technologies with handmade media.
Lanina’s honors include Fulbright US Scholar (Vienna, Austria), Headlands Art Center (CA), Artpace (TX) and Yaddo Fellowship (NY). Exhibitions include SXSW (TX), Seoul Art Museum (Korea), SIGGRAPH (Japan), 798 Beijing Biennial (China), Cleveland Institute of Art (OH), Museum Ludwig (Germany) and Moscow Museum of Modern Art (Russia).
Lanina is an Assistant Professor of Practice at the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies at The University of Texas at Austin.
@yuliya.lanina
Image credit
Imagined Worlds
Imagined Worlds
Julio Moreno
August 8, 2023
- October 16, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
This exhibit showcases Julio Moreno's diverse portfolio, including artistic and design-focused work, especially featuring his illustrations in collaboration with author Doug Dixon on the following children’s picture books: Don't You Mind! My Waistline; Don't You Mind! My Hairline; The Amazing Mr. Pickle Pop; and Johnny Da Kota’s Off-Road Adventure. Moreno's artistic style is reminiscent of classic children's books and television, but with his unique flair. His use of bold colors and whimsical characters captures the essence of childhood wonder and imagination, while his attention to detail creates an immersive experience for readers of all ages. Come and explore the world of Moreno's playful and joyous creations.
(All art and text in the children’s picture books is Copyright 2022/2023 Douglas Dixon, and may be used only by permission. All Rights Reserved.)
About the Artist
Julio Moreno is a designer and artist born and raised in Brownsville, Texas. Moreno developed his unique nostalgic art style, blending modern techniques and a classic aesthetic, while completing his degree at the University of Texas’ School of Design. His work is colorful, imaginative, and full of character, captivating young readers and adults alike. Austin-based author Doug Dixon, originally from Evansville, Indiana, has worked with Moreno, as both seek to inspire and delight children, while fostering a love of reading and creativity. Contact with Julio Moreno can be made at his instagram account, @texasbebop.
Contact information to acquire art or children’s picture books associated with this exhibit can only be found through email at dad.daddyo@aol.com or doug.dixon78758@gmail.com.
Go-To’s
Go-To’s
Aubree Dale
June 2, 2023
- August 12, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
ARTIST RECEPTION | Friday, June 2, 7 - 9 PM, in 2nd floor gallery
ARTIST TALK | Saturday, August 12, 1:30 - 2:30 PM in the 2nd floor gallery
Digital Drawing Workshop | Saturday, August 12, 2023, 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM, 2nd floor gallery
Go-To’s is a project examining the expectations of an individual in society and the spaces we use to facilitate our connection with others. Whereabouts do we maintain, grow or even curb our relationships?
I often wonder how much our large modern social networks have catalyzed human extroversion. Since starting this project, I have entered Motherhood. New elements of anxiety and abundance have ushered in priority for transparency in my relationships as well as a scaling back of my eagerness to please others. There are considerations of what brings about a sense of recharge and wellness with my commitments and selected company and with that, new boundaries to navigate.
Go-To’s is an exhibition of oil paintings big and small peppered with small supplementary sculptures. I use painting to document medleys of memory, wish, and hang-ups as a means of preliminary world building. From there, smaller works are created to fill in the storyline. My sculptures made from rescued plastics and homemade bioplastics become downy, transparent artifacts and portals.
About the Artist
Dale navigates our large modern social networks through oil paintings big and small, supplemented with sculptures fabricated from upcycled and homemade bioplastics.
Aubree Dale is a Fort Worth, TX based multi-disciplinary artist. Solo and group exhibitions include
locations throughout Texas including the City of Austin’s People’s Gallery, Black Lagoon Gallery, and Cloud Tree Gallery. In 2010, she earned a BFA in Painting and Drawing from The University of North
Texas and studied Architectural & Ornamental Welding at ACC.
@aubree._.dale on instagram
Girls Gotta Eat
Girls Gotta Eat
Sarah Bork
May 8, 2023
- July 23, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
Through Sarah Bork’s lens, the grocery store becomes a kaleidoscopic playground of nourishing comfort and self-care. Groceries are Groceries. Love is Love.
IG: @borkster
Image credit
Beyond City to City: A UNESCO Media Arts Exhibition
Beyond City to City: A UNESCO Media Arts Exhibition
March 13, 2023
- May 23, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
PANEL + OPENING RECEPTION | Friday, April 7, 2023 at 6 PM - 9 PM in the 2nd floor gallery
BEYOND CITY TO CITY is an international multi-media exhibition produced by the Austin City of Media Arts UNESCO Steering Committee and the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department. BEYOND CITY TO CITY features 9 media artists representing cities around the globe including: China (Changsha), England (York), Germany (Karlsruhe), Slovakia (Košice), and the United States (Austin).
As we grappled with the uncertainties and isolation of the past few years, an emergence of collaborative digital art took shape. Through the lens of a specific place or on a global scale, this exhibit aims to share speculative visions of future connectivity through the lens of media art and artists.
From audiovisual projections to immersive interactive pieces, BEYOND CITY TO CITY will showcase an innovative, exciting, and unique exhibition that is both free and open to the public to attend.
About the Artist
WORK BY
ARCOS, Told-Hold (Austin, USA)
Meiyan Chen, Told-Hold (Karlsruhe, Germany)
Nick Harbaugh, ReConnected: A Collective Poem (Austin, USA)
Mišo Hudák, Born & Raised, (Košice, Slovakia)
Faiza Kracheni, Born & Raised (Austin, USA)
Taeheon Lee, Told-Hold (York, England)
Lauren Malkani, ReConnected: A Collective Poem (Austin, USA)
Liz Rodda, Margin of Error (Austin, USA)
Biin Shen, Margin of Error (Changsha, China)
Lisa B. Woods, Islands (Austin, USA)
I Sabi: The Artist's exploration of identity through West African Iconography
I Sabi: The Artist's exploration of identity through West African Iconography
Kemi Yemi-Ese
February 2, 2023
- April 30, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
Artist Talk: Saturday, February 18, 1:30 – 2:30 PM | Central Library, Demo Area
Kemi Yemi-Ese’s artwork explores her identity as a Nigerian-American woman with a disability, without overtly displaying imagery commonly associated with disabilities. The emotions and stories that she paints are also inspired by the resiliency of the human spirit. Even the more stoic figures radiate with the confidence of a person who will fulfil their purpose no matter what obstacles may be in their path. In most of Yemi-Ese’s current work, she uses Adinkra and Yoruba iconography to convey stories and ideas. She encourages audiences to reflect on their own experiences while engaging with her art pieces.
About the Artist
Nigerian-American therapist and visual artist, Kemi Yemi-Ese, resides in Austin, Texas. Following a near tragic car accident in 2006, Kemi became paralyzed at the cervical level of her spinal cord and uses a wheelchair for mobility. After graduating from Baylor University and Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Kemi is focused on growing in her dual careers as an artist and therapist. Her art reflects the struggles and triumphs that living with a disability entail through imagery that is relatable. Her artwork and therapeutic approaches often challenge representations of mobility, gender, beauty, race, and divinity. The challenges she faces compel her to also be an advocate and she has taken many opportunities to advocate for her rights and those of others with disabilities. From serving on boards for independent living centers to winning the title of Ms. Wheelchair America, Kemi is earnest in speaking up and taking action. Kemi’s current work is heavily inspired by her Nigerian heritage blending dynamic and contemplative portraits with cultural exploration.
@kemisart
All Kinds of Black in Tech Part Two
All Kinds of Black in Tech Part Two
January 17, 2023
- February 21, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
_OFCOLOR presents All kinds of Black in Tech - Part Two. An immersive photo exhibit highlighting the voices and images of Black professionals in the Technology workforce. Portrait subjects in the exhibit will help the audience peel back the veil of what it means to be a part of this complex ecosystem through audio interview narratives and images representing their authentic selves. These immersive aspects will be the cornerstone of what makes this photo exhibit experience unique.
About the Artist
Photos by Steven Hatchett, Co-Founder of _OFCOLOR, Photographer Curated by Whitney Hamilton, Co-Director of Small Events for _OFCOLOR
Artist applications open until Feb. 28
Artist applications open until Feb. 28
January 17, 2023
- March 1, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Application opening date: Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Deadline for applications: 11:59pm (CT), Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Austin Central Library invites artists, collectives, curators and beyond to submit proposals for consideration to exhibit at the 2700sq ft. gallery between January 2024-September 2024. Selections will be made by impartial juries comprised of local artists, curators, educators and community leaders through a jury-scoring process. Candidates will be announced in early March 2023. It is free to apply and the call is open to applicants residing in Texas.
Upon acceptance of a proposal, an artist stipend will be offered.
- Exhibitors are responsible for all cost related to the production of artworks, installation, de-installation, shipping, and traveling
- No manipulation can be done on the floor of the gallery space
- No hanging/ suspending items from the ceiling
- Should the walls be painted, the cost of the labor and materials are the exhibitor's responsibility
- Exhibitors are responsible for providing structures, furniture, and equipment other than what the Library can offer
Consideration for Community Exhibition:
Austin Central Library offers alternative spaces, such as the collection areas, lounge spaces and conference rooms for smaller exhibits of two-dimensional artwork. If you would like your application to be considered for this opportunity, please mark your answer in the application. This exhibit is voluntary without compensation. Each submitted work must be less than 40lbs and have a display mechanism for the wall-mount track system provided by the Library. Once jurors make the selections, the final exhibiting location will be determined by the Exhibit Coordinator.
Please contact Exhibit Coordinator, Nicole Parker at nicole.parker@austintexas.gov for any questions.
Examples of previous artists shown left to right: Irene Roderick, Randal Ford, Akirash, Calder Kamin, Maria Fernanda Borrero
Hannah Hannah
Hannah Hannah
November 4, 2022
- January 31, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
Hannah Hannah is a self-taught, Austin-based and Boston-born artist. Her primary mediums are acrylic and spray paint she applies to canvas, murals, and to vintage clothing and accessories. Her subjects frequently take shape as abstract, yet clarifying, renditions of human and animal expressions. Humans especially fascinate Hannah Hannah: how they think, what motivates and moves them. Her frequent use of bright colors match her soul's vibrancy, an essential communicative instinct that radiates to and through her world.
About the Artist
Hannah Hannah also mines her highly attuned intuition to guide her. Like the moon-driven creative inspiration that ebbs and flows through all creation, this artist explores experimental, flexible and fluid expression.
@art.hannahhannah
Image credit
Release the Puppets
Release the Puppets
APL's Literature Live! Presents
October 14, 2022
- January 8, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Release the Puppets celebrates the playground of imagination, where stories come to life through puppetry and music. Puppeteers use movement and sound to tell stories that reflect our lives and culture. For 45 years, Austin Public Library’s Literature Live! has welcomed audiences into a world of make-believe through the art of puppetry. So, suspend your disbelief, and release the puppets!
Opening Reception– Sunday, October 16, 2022, 1–3 PM
About the Artist
Changing Lives One Story at a Time!
LiteratureLive! invites audiences to suspend their disbelief and imagine what's possible when stories come to life. For over 45 years, LiteratureLive! has impacted so many children and adults with free puppet performances. Over 50 public servants have been a part of LiteratureLive! and this exhibit celebrates their visionary work and creative collaboration. The Austin Public Library honors these and other individuals who, over the years, have contributed to LiteratureLive! performances:
Grace Schmitt, Brenda Branch, Ellen Scott, Bruce Hallock, Robbie Lueth, AnitaJoye Rizley, Devo Carpenter, Felicia Bond, Kim Lehman, Mary Shaver, Tanya Taylor, Peggy Jemelka, Ambray Gonzales, Karen Carlson, Gabriel Ransenberg, Kathleen Houlihan, Phyllis Mendoza, Patti Cook, John Dixon, James Loomis and Aaron Goldman
Image credit
Austin Proud: A History of Pride Parades in Austin, 1971-2002
Austin Proud: A History of Pride Parades in Austin, 1971-2002
September 13, 2022
- June 30, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
About the Exhibit
Austin Proud presents photographs, flyers, and clippings from the Austin History Center collections documenting the history of Austin's LGBTQ Pride parades and marches from 1971-2002. The exhibit will travel to Austin Public Library branches through June 2023.
Exhibit Schedule:
August 19, 2022 - October 24, 2022
Central Library, 4th Floor Exhibit Cases
October 26, 2022 - January 10, 2023
Twin Oaks Branch
January-March, 2023
TBA
March-May 2023
TBA
May-June 2023
Austin History Center
Above and Beyond the Fold: Finding Community in the Austin American-Statesman
Above and Beyond the Fold: Finding Community in the Austin American-Statesman
September 13, 2022
- June 13, 2023
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
About the Exhibit
4th Floor - Above Computers on West Wall
Above and Beyond the Fold: Finding Community in Austin American-Statesman presents a selection of photographs which uplift narratives of pride, laughter, and building intergenerational community within Austin’s communities of color. All images were produced as part of the ongoing project, “Communities of Color in the Austin American-Statesman Photo Morgue: A Digitization Survey.” The Austin American-Statesman Photographic Morgue Collection (AR.2014.039) contains hundreds of thousands of negatives taken by staff photographers between 1958 and 1982. The survey aims to digitize thousands of negatives documenting Austin’s African American, Latinx, and Asian Pacific American communities. This initiative is funded by a TexTreasures Grant made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
landscape
landscape
Ron Geibel
June 16, 2022
- August 14, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
landscape addresses the complexities among intimacy, pleasure, and authority as it concerns the opaque relationship between public and private desires that constitute queer identity. Inspired by the queer history of Texas, landscape examines place and how that affects the queer lived experience.
About the Artist
Born in Butler, Pennsylvania, Ron Geibel moved to Texas in 2015 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. Geibel exhibits nationally and internationally and most recently completed a three-month artist residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands.
Image credit
The Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition
The Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition
May 6, 2022
- November 30, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
About the Exhibit
An exhibition of dozens of kites created by artists and representing the connection between water and life in Texas, The Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition, will be on display at Austin Central Library starting May 6, 2022. The exhibition, set to hang over library visitors in the Central Library’s six-story atrium space, is a collaboration between Austin Public Library; Art4Water, a program of the Watershed Association; and Terry Zee Lee, a national facilitator and curator of kite exhibitions and events.
“Austin Central Library, located where Shoal Creek feeds into Lady Bird Lake and about a mile from Barton Springs, is the perfect location for the community to experience an exhibition on the connection between Texas waters and our lives,” stated Austin Public Library Director Roosevelt Weeks. “We are proud to be able to host these beautiful artworks in our space and connect the community with these artists’ important messages.”
The exhibition will be visible throughout the Central Library, and is scheduled to be on display through November, 2022. A free opening reception is scheduled from 7:00pm – 9:00pm on May 6, 2022 at the Central Library, featuring presentations from the sponsors of the event and several of the featured artists, as well as tours of the exhibition.
Sacred Springs Kite Exhibition Opening Reception
May 6, 2022 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Austin Central Library, 6th Floor
710 W. Cesar Chavez St.
Austin, TX 78701
Free and open to the public
“Clean and plentiful water serves as the lifeblood of our communities - our Texas Springs are vital gathering places for community connection and relief from the summer heat,” stated David Baker, Executive Director of the Watershed Association. “What would Austin be without Barton Springs at the heart and soul of our city?”
More information about the exhibition is available at: www.art4water.com
About the Artist
The kites, which will be hung from the rafters of the LEED Platinum Certified Central Library, were selected from submissions from over 200 artists to be fabricated into large flying works of art inspired by Texas’s natural springs and the message of water conservation.
It’s Been WILD
It’s Been WILD
Rakhee Jain Desai
May 1, 2022
- July 10, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Living Room (6th Floor)
About the Exhibit
Flowers can communicate strong emotions and can also be appreciated for their simplistic beauty. At key moments of our lives, we exchange flowers as symbols of love, sympathy, and celebration. Over the past few years, in the absence of ceremonies, I paused to examine the traditions, rituals and other countless occasions when cut flowers are used to decorate ceremonies - adorn the deceased or embellish a bridal altar.
The wildflowers depicted here are not explored within the context of their natural environment or the prim and trimmed specimens of the florist, but instead these quirky wild ones with all their flaws were plucked from my pandemic walks, a representation of the uncertainties we’ve experienced, as well as the beauty of a spontaneous agenda. Serendipity. For me, painting a bouquet of wildflowers and capturing their unruly folds and colors has been a meditative and life-affirming act. Their impermanent beauty and joy giving in to the sweltering summer heat only to regenerate yet again.
It was never a goal to accurately express their ephemeral beauty. These bouquets show up as synesthetic explosions of senses - possibly finding a moment of stillness, a split second to be present amidst a chaotic world.
About the Artist
Rakhee Jain Desai is an interdisciplinary artist whose work creates dialogue about immigrant identity and belonging. Her current body of work utilizes the centuries-old, wax-resist textile technique, Batik. The combination of Batik, an Eastern craft, with traditionally Western mediums (encaustic, oils and acrylics) is a signature process that aptly communicates her South Asian American identity.
Deeper East
Deeper East
April 24, 2022
- June 6, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
PART ONE
April 24 – May 14, 2022 | Artists of Seoul, Korea HONG soun – erin CHON – BYUN soonchoel – sangdon KIM – youngjoo CHO
PART TWO
May 17 – June 6, 2022 | Artists of Gwangju, Korea KIM sangyeon – KANG un – PARK il-ku – AN hee-jeong – JEONG jeong ha
Paired with “Wider West”, the “Deeper East” exhibition was launched as an international intercity art exhibition program in 2018 by a Texas-based art consultancy, Shine Here. “Deeper East” introduces artists in Asian cities to Western cities while “Wider West” represents artists in Western cities to Asian cities.
In 2019, “Wider West” was held in Seoul showcasing eight artists from Texas, and “Deeper East” in Austin, a paired exhibition was postponed to 2022 due to a worldwide pandemic. The first part of “Deeper East” is a long-delayed paired exhibition from 2019 for five artists in Seoul, and the second part for five artists in Gwangju, South Korea. The next “Wider West'' (dates TBD) will be held in Gwangju—a culturally enriched city in Joella-do, a southern province in South Korea.
A major advantage of virtual/digital exhibitions hosted by Shine Here is that it is very cost-efficient compared to traditional art exhibitions. These digital exhibitions are not meant to replace the existing format of an exhibition but rather to introduce more culturally diverse artists to the international stage in a more economical way.
Artists were selected from a list of recommendations from Shine Here’s panel of art professionals and affiliated partners in Korea. In most cases, each artist showcases a total of 20-25 pieces that are edited together.
Closing Reception
May 28, 2022, 2 – 3 PM | Dance Performance janet PARK
ATARAXIA
ATARAXIA
Kel Brown
January 26, 2022
- April 16, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Art and culture surrounded Kel Brown throughout his life. Born in Blue Island, IL, and raised in Houston, TX, Brown started painting and drawing at an early age, later discovering and identifying with graffiti and street art. Following in the footsteps of other self-taught African-American artists from the global South, his upbringing continues to shape the tenor of his paintings to this day. An ever-evolving experiment in balance, harmony, shape, and form, Kel Brown’s work seeks to push abstraction into unexplored visual realms and awaken dormant consciousness in the viewer. Brown’s work is a product of both the shy and the overbearing; it is a visual symphony of duality, contradiction, oneness, and harmony. Heavily influenced by Hip-hop and Jazz, his work relies heavily on improvisation, workflow, and improvements on the fly.
Outpost
Outpost
Sarah Welch
December 11, 2021
- January 14, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
The Outpost reading room at APL exhibits a collection of drawings, sculptures, and backdrop paintings staged alongside Welch’s self-published comic book series, Holdouts. The story peers into a future where the US Gulf coastline has shifted dramatically inland, coastal states have been left without a governing body, and only a small, scattered populace remain, each navigating an unpredictable and harsh biome.
Reception: December 11, 2021, 2 – 4 PM
About the Artist
Sarah Welch is an artist and comics-maker in Houston, Texas. She is a regular collaborator with letterpress & risograph imprint, Mystic Multiples and past organizer with Zine Fest Houston.
Legends Mosaics: Austin’s Courageous Female Leaders of Color
Legends Mosaics: Austin’s Courageous Female Leaders of Color
December 1, 2021
- January 1, 2022
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Outdoor Amphitheater (1st Floor)
About the Exhibit
AUSTIN, TX - #metoo, #blacklivesmatter and the inequities amplified by the pandemic have put gender and racial justice in Austin in the spotlight. Yet, Austin has decades long history of female changemakers championing diversity and equity in education, social justice, media, technology and public leadership decades before it was trending - de-segregating higher education, UT athletics, even Barton Springs and so much more.
Austin Public Library and Library Foundation will present Legends Mosaics: Austin’s Courageous Female Leaders of Color, six commemorative mosaic portraits produced in a collaboration between Latinitas, Austin’s only bilingual STEM nonprofit for 20 years and six Austin female artists of color outside the central library branch (710 W. Cesar Chavez) on the East Shoal Creek Amphitheater.
Honored through art:
Dr. Martha Cotera, founding member Chicana Caucus
Dr. Teresa Lozano Long, educator, philanthropist
Dr. Bertha Sadler Means, educator, social justice advocate
Sylvia Orozco, founder Mexic-Arte Museum
Cathy Revilla Vasquez, founder La Prensa newspapers
Peggy Vasquez, producer, journalists, social justice advocate
Awake in the Dark
Awake in the Dark
Hollis Hammonds and Sasha West
November 1, 2021
- December 2, 2021
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Awake in the Dark is a multimedia exhibition resulting from a collaboration between visual artist Hollis Hammonds and poet Sasha West. The pieces begin what Timothy Morton calls “grief work,” articulating the experience of living in the midst of a fragile, changing ecosystem. Through self-interrogations, the artists question both individual and societal contributions to environmental crisis. Viewers dwell in wreckage, suspended between flood and fire, stasis and loss. Objects lose their meaning as markers for a normal existence. In these works, the distinction between natural and human-made disasters starts to collapse.
Hammonds’ drawings reflect the melancholy and darkness manifest in West’s poems, asking us to reexamine the impact of elements when those elements are fed by human actions. Hammonds often draws inspiration from a fire that consumed her childhood home in Independence, Kentucky, when she was 15 years old. In the context of climate change, that displacement takes on new meaning. Rather than being an aberration of the past, the incident foretells a potentially apocalyptic future.
West’s poems connect to the landscapes of ruin in Hammonds’ drawing, questioning our culture’s belief in limitless growth. Collapsing time, her speakers range across eras and historical events to try and articulate their role as witnesses in the first generation to feel palpably the effects of climate change (mere decades after global warming was first named). Her speakers work to name the complex spaces of responsibility, despair, and hope.
Combining sound with sculptural installation and words with images, both artists offer their personal vantage points on the precipice of a forbidding future. The show opens liminal spaces where hard boundaries dissolve: past disasters forecast future ones, the crackle of fire becomes the cracking of ice, what is civilization becomes wilderness. Hammonds and West invite viewers to see anew their own part in making the physical world and, thus, the future.
About the Artist
HOLLIS HAMMONDS
Built on threads of personal memory, Hammonds’ drawings and found-object installations investigate a variety of social issues, from economic disparity to environmental degradation. Hammonds’ work is derived from what she terms the “collective consciousness.” Gleaning images from the Internet and objects from street corners, she reconstructs personal stories, conjured memories, and projected social fantasies. Her work has been widely exhibited throughout the US, including venues such as Women & Their Work, Redux Contemporary Art Center, The Grace Museum, and the Dishman Art Museum. She is a Professor of Art and Chair of the Department of Visual Studies at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX.
SASHA WEST
Sasha West’s work examines the underpinning narratives of Western civilization and their impact on landscape, environment, species, and human psychology. West combines mythology with research into late-stage capitalism to examine the world in which we find ourselves—and to imagine the world we will choose to hand down. Her first book, Failure and I Bury the Body, won the National Poetry Series and the Texas Institute of Letters First Book of Poetry Award. Her book How To Abandon Ship is forthcoming from Four Way Books. She has received numerous awards, including a Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Fellowship, Rice University’s Parks Fellowship, Inprint’s Verlaine Prize, and a Houston Arts Alliance Grant. She is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX.
Image credit
¡Se Ha Dicho! (It has been said)
¡Se Ha Dicho! (It has been said)
September 20, 2021
- October 24, 2021
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
¡Se Ha Dicho! explores the power of words in art and everyday lives of Hispanic and Latinx communities, whether emulating the rallying speech of a community organizer, the soothing rhythm of a lullaby shared from mother to daughter, or an astute connection scribbled in the margins of a book. The work presented here is a celebration of the power of a community with deep and diverse stories to tell, as we live with the daily-learned lesson of just how much words matter.
Artists: Cande Aguilar, Julia Barbosa Landois, Paco Castro, Christian Cruz, Ulyses Cueto, Veronica Gaona, Evelyn Gonzalez, Suzy Gonzalez, Siri Gurudev, Rafael Fernando Gutierrez, Barbara Miñarro, Monica Teresa Ortiz, Alexandra Robinson, Miguel Rodriguez, Alán Serna, Jesus Valles. Exhibit curated by Michael Anthony Garcia.
This project is supported by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
Canceled-Postponed-Rescheduled
Canceled-Postponed-Rescheduled
Akirash
August 9, 2021
- September 10, 2021
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
Canceled-Postponed-Rescheduled
FAGILEE-SIWAJU-TUNTO
There is a saying that hunger is the root of many problems. If we can solve hunger, other solutions will follow. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the fragility of our food system, leaving many food insecure for the first time in their lives, and deepening the problem for many others already living on the edge.
As many were doing around the world, I started helping elderly, mobility challenged, and unhoused people get groceries. As I ordered online to have food delivered, I encountered a deluge of boxes and food packaging.
I started collecting the food boxes in my studio. As I watched the piles build, I decided to use them to create an artwork to speak to the moments of this past year: the encounters, the struggles, disappointments, and successes. To speak to the ghostliness of empty streets and stores, and the moments of grace and gratefulness for one’s blessings, even though we were all afraid of what might happen next.
As I built these mini grocery stores, I thought of the relationships we build and how covid is pulling them down brick by brick. I thought of the hands and souls have touched the packages and mourned some of them who passed.
The colors were arranged to invoke the ceaseless news and information flow on social media and the internet; the day-to-day report on the progress of finding a cure, how many people are affected, infected, surviving or dying all around the world, and the statistics of economies failing.
Finally, our prayers are answered. With hope, confidence, perseverance, belief, trust, and togetherness we have done it. The cure is here. I have received mine. What about you? Let us all do our part to keep our communities and families safe.
Opening Reception - Saturday, August 14, 2 – 4 PM
About the Artist
Akirash was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He earned his first BSC degree in BIOCHEMISTRY from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Nigeria (1991), going on to study Fine and Applied Art at Institute of Textile Technology Art & Design Lagos (1995). He now lives and works between Lagos and Austin Texas.
Akirash is a recipient of TEMPO 21 City of Austin 2021, Red bull Arts, CERF+ 2020, Foundation for contemporary arts emergency grants 2019 & 2020, The Otis & Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant Award From DMA 2019, TEMPO 19 City of Austin 2019, E 51st Art in public space Commission 2019, the CORE Funding from Cultural Art Division Austin 2018, the Innovative Artist Award from Mid America Artist Alliance (MAAA / NEA) for 2017, Pollock Krasner Foundation Award 2016/17 & 2011, Cultural Initiative & Capacity Building Grant, Culture Alive Austin 2016/17, The Santo Foundation grant 2015, and The Commonwealth Connection Award UK 2011.
Dancing with the Wall
Dancing with the Wall
Irene Roderick
May 10, 2021
- July 15, 2021
Central Library - 710 W. César Chávez St.
Gallery (2nd Floor)
About the Exhibit
The artworks of Irene Roderick are Art made in the tradition of Fine Art that is based on individual creativity and unique personal expression. They are also Quilts made in the Craft tradition of utilitarian bed covers incorporating small pieces of fabric sewn together into a larger sheet. Roderick’s works join the centuries old conversation of whether quilts can be considered as fine art or remain firmly in the craft tradition. She works fluidly between these conversations, embracing both traditions with nonchalance to receive approvals for her creativity from anyone.
Image credit
Rakhee Jain Desai Virtual Exhibition
Rakhee Jain Desai Virtual Exhibition
Rakhee Jain Desai
About the Exhibit
Exhibition: May 1 - December 31, 2021
Rakhee Jain Desai is an interdisciplinary artist whose work creates dialogue about immigrant identity and belonging. Her current body of work utilises the centuries-old, wax-resist textile technique, Batik. The combination of Batik, an Eastern craft, with traditionally Western mediums (encaustic, oils and acrylics) is a signature process.
About the Artist
Rakhee has exhibited across the USA, Singapore and Portugal. She was selected as a featured artist for the Imago Mundi Benetton Foundation - representing Singapore’s contemporary art in the 21st Century & Beyond. She was the first cohort recipient of the Tempo2D program by the City of Austin Art in Public Places. The Batik mural named ‘A Place To Call Home’ is now on permanent view at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport.