Celebrate World Art Day: Support Art From the Streets
Celebrate World Art Day: Support Art From the Streets
by Erika Mehlhaff
World Art Day is on April 15, 2023. It is a day reserved to celebrate the fine arts and promote creativity across the globe. This day was set aside to help reinforce the relationship between art and society and encourage greater awareness of art and the diversity of creative expression. Austin, Texas is known as a world art hub and, as such, has a lot of creative offerings for people who want to observe the day in the local community.
AUSTIN ART EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
There are tons of art exhibits in the Texas capital worth exploring. To celebrate World Art Day this year you can explore the Art in Public Places throughout Austin. Or check out a local art fair or festival. You also can take some time to visit one of the many world-class art museums in the city. From the Blanton Museum to the Harry Ransom Center to The ContemporAry Austin, there are museums with exhibits for every art lover to enjoy! You might also consider visiting open studios and galleries around the city, including the creative space of Art From the Streets.
Art From the Streets (AFTS) is a local non-profit organization that offers a place for homeless and at-risk artists to create art in a safe and nurturing environment. The organization encourages Austin’s transient artists to express their creativity and share their love of art with one another and the wider community; here, they can cultivate their artistic skills with an eye toward using their talents to find a way out of homelessness--AFTS has been providing creative refuge to Austin’s homeless artist community for over three decades with a mission to help them earn an income from their work. The organization is located in East Austin, in the Canopy community of artists, gallerists, and other creatives.
HELP AUSTIN'S HOMELESS ARTISTS
Homelessness is a huge problem across the nation, including in Austin. According to data from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), “at least 5,044 people experienced homelessness in Austin or Travis County on a single day in February 2023 [which] combines both unsheltered homelessness (people sleeping in tents, cars, abandoned buildings, and other places not meant to live in) and sheltered homelessness (emergency shelter, transitional housing, and other short-term indoor settings).” AFTS continues to do what it can to help combat homelessness, with the understanding that “focusing on housing alone does not achieve other equally important goals that are relevant and motivating to improving and sustaining a quality of life” and that they can create change through art. If you have wondered how to help Austin’s homeless and where to buy art in Austin, AFTS is an excellent place to start. You can also help by supporting AFTS through donations.
On World Art Day, many people take part in creative activities, from making art in workshops and classes to learning about art from presentations and exhibitions. There are so many ways for people to enjoy art in Austin--there is truly something for everyone!
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.