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      3 Austin Art Exhibits to Experience Now

      Posted by Kelley Worden ·

      Austin Art Exhibits

      **UPDATED FOR 2026; ORIGINALLY POSTED OCTOBER 2021**

      Austin Art Exhibits. Austin’s art scene is never static—and that’s especially true when you look at it through the lens of Art From the Streets (AFTS), a nonprofit that gives unhoused and at-risk artists real studio space, real exhibition opportunities, and real income from their work. If you want to experience Austin art in a way that is both culturally rich and socially meaningful in 2026, AFTS events and partner exhibits belong at the top of your list.


      Below, you’ll find an answer-first guide built around the questions visitors, collectors, and supporters ask most often: where to see work by AFTS artists, how annual and seasonal exhibits work, what to expect in 2026, and how earlier AFTS exhibit information still fits today.


      Where Can You See Art From the Streets in Austin?


      Is it just one show, or a year-round presence?


      Art From the Streets is best known for its big annual show and sale, but the organization actually supports a year-round ecosystem of exhibits and creative opportunities. In and around 2026, you can expect AFTS art to appear in three main ways:


      • The Annual Show & Sale.
        Each year, AFTS hosts a large juried show featuring hundreds (often thousands) of original works by dozens of unhoused and at-risk artists. In 2025, the 33rd Annual Show & Sale was held in October with more than 2,000 pieces from 55 artists, and organizers are planning a similar large-scale, community-driven event for 2026.

      • Studio gallery and pop-up shows.
        AFTS maintains its own studio gallery space and typically presents 3–5 art shows around Austin plus 5–7 shows in the studio gallery each year, in addition to the main annual show. These smaller exhibits let you see new work more frequently and often feature focused themes or specific artists.

      • Partner exhibitions and community events.
        Through collaborations with venues like Canopy, local museums, and community organizations, AFTS artists and programming appear in broader citywide art calendars, giving you even more ways to encounter the work in context.

         

      For 2026, the safest assumption is that AFTS will continue this model: one major annual show, multiple satellite shows, and regular studio-based exhibits that showcase fresh work and new voices.


      What Makes Art From the Streets Exhibits Different?


      How do they fit into Austin’s wider gallery and museum scene?


      Austin’s exhibition calendar in 2025–2026 includes everything from museum-scale projects—like long-running contemporary installations at The Contemporary Austin—to rotating shows at spaces such as Flatbed Press, Women & Their Work, Dougherty Arts Center, Verdant Gallery, and the Central Library Gallery. AFTS sits alongside this ecosystem but plays a distinct, crucial role:


      • Centering unhoused and at-risk artists.
        AFTS exists specifically to create a safe studio and exhibition pathway for people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, or transition. It offers four open-studio sessions each week, supplies materials, and helps artists develop a body of work strong enough for exhibit.

      • Direct financial impact for artists.
        At AFTS shows and in the online gallery, 95% of the sale price goes directly to the artist, with only a small portion retained to support the program. For many participants, this income is not symbolic; it contributes to food, transportation, and steps toward stability.

      • Therapeutic and community-building benefits.
        Exhibits are the visible tip of a deeper process that includes creative support, workshops, art therapy–style programming, and museum enrichment visits in partnership with local institutions.

         

      Attending an AFTS exhibit means you’re not just seeing “Austin art”; you’re seeing what happens when a city’s most marginalized residents are given consistent tools, time, and respect to tell their own stories visually.


      What Should You Expect from AFTS Exhibits in 2026?


      How can you plan your visits around dates and themes?


      While exact 2026 dates are typically announced closer to the season, current patterns and 2025–early 2026 schedules give a clear sense of what to expect:


      • Fall 2026: Major Annual Show & Sale.
        In 2025, AFTS staged its 33rd Annual Show & Sale over a two-day weekend in October, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at a large Austin venue, with media coverage highlighting the scale and community impact. Expect a similar weekend-long event in fall 2026 featuring new work by dozens of artists, live purchasing opportunities, and a mix of first-time visitors and returning collectors.

      • Year-round 2026: Studio and satellite shows.
        AFTS’s long-standing pattern—3–5 shows around Austin and 5–7 in its studio gallery each year—provides multiple points of entry from January through December. You’re likely to see early-year studio showcases, mid-year themed or partner shows, and an end-of-year celebration that reflects on the season’s work, similar to a 2025 “end-of-year art show” call to “celebrate another meaningful year.”

      • Integration with the broader 2025–2026 Austin art calendar.
        As large institutions like The Contemporary Austin, Austin Public Library’s Central Library Gallery, and Women & Their Work present exhibitions running into or through 2026, Austin’s arts organizations—including AFTS—continue to weave in collaborations, off-site visits, and opportunities for AFTS artists to experience and respond to that wider landscape.

         

      To stay current, it remains best practice to check the AFTS website, social media feeds, and email updates as dates approach, but the structure and purpose of 2026 exhibits are already clear from recent years.


      How Do AFTS Exhibits Support Austin’s Unhoused Community?


      What actually happens behind the scenes?


      The power of AFTS exhibits rests on a daily routine that rarely makes it into event calendars:


      • Four open-studio sessions weekly.
        Artists experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity can attend up to four sessions each week in a dedicated studio space, where volunteers provide materials, encouragement, and basic instruction as needed.

      • Creative and therapeutic support.
        Through community partnerships, AFTS artists participate in museum visits, specialized workshops, and therapeutic art experiences that broaden their skills and confidence.

      • Structured sales and recognition.
        AFTS helps artists present, price, and sell their work through the annual show, pop-up exhibits, the studio gallery, and an online gallery where prints and merchandise are available to a wider public.

         

      This consistency over more than 30 years has helped thousands of individuals “improve their circumstances—literally and figuratively—by providing them the means to make art,” as one partner summary put it. Exhibits are where that long process becomes visible.


      How Can You Engage with Austin Art Exhibits More Broadly in 2026?


      Where does AFTS fit in a full art-lover’s itinerary?


      If you’re planning an Austin art trip or building a local calendar for 2026, consider pairing AFTS events with other exhibitions across the city:


      • Museum-scale and institutional shows.

        • Long-running contemporary projects and installations at The Contemporary Austin, including multi-year exhibitions like “Contemporary Project 16: Tammy Nguyen,” which spans 2025–2026.

        • The Central Library Gallery’s exhibitions such as “Holding Spaces Project,” running January–March 2026 and celebrating Black entrepreneurs who anchor their communities.

        • Carver Museum’s “What I Carry,” on view through January 10, 2026, using portraiture and narrative painting to reflect African American life.

      • Galleries and nonprofits.

        • Women & Their Work, Verdant Gallery, Dougherty Arts Center, Ivester Contemporary, Flatbed Press, and Wally Workman Gallery all have robust 2025–2026 line-ups, from solo shows to theme-driven group exhibitions.

           

      Seeing AFTS in this context reveals Austin’s visual culture as a continuum—from artists with major museum careers to artists who are just now finding stability and voice after years on the streets.


      Older AFTS Exhibit Information That Still Applies Today


      The original “Austin art exhibits” content from Art From the Streets emphasized several themes that remain fully current and important in 2025–2026:


      • AFTS’s core mission has not changed.
        The organization still exists to “create a safe space for Austin’s unhoused community to create art, build healthy relationships, and feel validation through the sale of their work,” with exhibits as a primary way of achieving that mission. Ninety-five percent of sales revenue still goes directly to artists, making exhibitions a meaningful income stream rather than a symbolic gesture.

      • The annual show & sale remains a cornerstone.
        Earlier descriptions of a single large annual show that brings together hundreds of works and thousands of visitors remain accurate. The 33rd Annual Show & Sale in October 2025 demonstrates that this model is alive and well and will continue into 2026 and beyond.

      • Multiple smaller shows and studio exhibits fill out the year.
        Historical notes that AFTS “hosts 3–5 art shows in Austin and 5–7 in our studio gallery throughout the year as well as one big annual show and sale” still describe the organization’s rhythm today.

      • Open Studio is the backbone of exhibit quality.
        Earlier content stressing twice-weekly Open Studios has since grown to four days a week, but the underlying idea—that consistent studio access is what makes serious exhibits possible—remains unchanged.

      • Community partnerships are essential to exhibit programming.
        Prior emphasis on collaborations with local shelters, churches, museums, and cultural organizations still reflects how AFTS builds both its artist base and its exhibition opportunities.

         

      Taken together, these enduring points and the updated 2025–2026 details give a clear, trustworthy picture: if you want to experience Austin art exhibits in a way that aligns creativity with compassion in 2026, Art From the Streets should be one of your first stops.



      Art From the Streets is an Austin-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was established in 1991 to give transient people a way to develop as artists and to use their creativity to climb out of homelessness. Purchasing artwork supports the artists directly. Donating to our program helps us to offer a free Open Studio for the homeless and at risk.