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First off, what is the East Austin Studio Tour? It’s a huge art festival happening all over East Austin. This free annual art festival kicks off soon on the east side of I-35. Over 150 studios, exhibition spaces, and galleries will be opening their doors to the public. from November 11 and 12 from 11AM-6PM.

Along with a great opening from Art From The Streets at 2832 E Martin Luter King Jr Blvd, there are countless other artists to see. Here are a few of our favorites:

You can see art inspired by the patterns of analog video feedback and the geometrical symmetry that comes out through it. There are turning patters and mathematical hallucinations painted into large pieces by the talented Paul Baker. You can see his art at the library at 4725 Loyola Ln.

Art represents life, and Augustine Chavez takes that very seriously. She depicts construction workers doing what society depends on, with a focus on race and work in our communities. None of the pieces show faces, to depict their anonymity yet their importance in our society. These pieces are on display at the Cepeda Branch Library.

Interested in woodworking? See Terry and Sarah Snow’s mixed media pieces at Chaos Woods Studio. Their pieces are unique wood sculptures, bowls, boxes, furniture and toys that explore the possibilities of what wood can be.

Want to wear the art? We’re loving the pieces by Emily Spykman Clementine & co Jewelry. They’re all based on the idea that jewelry should work with your body and be personally symbolic. The artist considers them to be like physical medicine in that the earth is supporting us.

Anywhere in East Austin you’re sure to find something great at this festival. Make sure you get out there this weekend!

Art From the Streets rely on generous donations of people like YOU! 

Purchasing artwork supports the artists directly. 

Donating to our program helps us to offer a free Open Studio 

for the homeless and at risk. THANK YOU!

 

Art From the Streets, a non-profit that provides a free art studio for Austin’s homeless citizens, will host their 25^th Annual Homeless Art Show and Sell on Dec. 2-3^rd at the Austin Convention Center from 11am - 5pm.

For the past 25 years, Art From the Streets has offered a safe space for homeless people to express their creativity and grow through painting and drawing within a supportive community.

“We’re very excited to have this 25^th anniversary show. We have 2,000 pieces of new artwork, thousands of pieces of artwork that we stored for the artists over a period of time, and we have about 35 artists that will have booths that are participating. But over 150 artists have worked in our program over this year,” executive director of Art From the Streets, Kelley Worden, said.

(Executive Director, Kelley Worden)

This non-profit has grown immensely over the past 25 years from 70 pieces of artwork to the now thousands that are expected at this upcoming show. The program started off with a few founders hosting in a small room at The Austin Resource Center for the Homeless or ARCH for short.

“One of our founders got together with some friends and decided that they wanted to go to The ARCH and maybe create a sandwich, some lunch maybe - just find something interactive to do with people that are living on the streets. One day they brought in pencils and paper and just wanted to do some interactions versus just sitting around and doing nothing all day and they came up with these amazing pieces of artwork,” Worden said.

(Open studio time)

The art studio is now hosted within the Trinity Center, a resource for the homeless population provided by St. David’s Episcopal Church in downtown Austin. Up until five years ago the Annual Show and Sell art show was also held within St. David’s but has since moved to the Austin Convention Center to allow room for growth.

“So about five years ago we became a 501 (c)(3). So twenty years of just friends of friends of friends making it happen and completely volunteer run. Ten years ago we started receiving funds from the city through the Cultural Arts Division which we still do. A lot of our funding comes from them,” Worden said.

While the building Art From the Streets is hosted in, the size of the program and the location of the art shows have changed, the overall goal has not.

“Success in our world is way different than success with a homeless person or someone who is at risk. Their successes are completely different than what our world perceives as success. You know, are you the CEO of something? Are you the executive director of something? Are you making millions of dollars? Are you donating millions of dollars? Success could be a day to day kind of thing. I successfully made it to art class this week,” Worden said.

(Donations to Art From the Streets)

Art From the Streets isn’t slowing down any time soon. Future goals include moving into their own space so that they can further serve the homeless population in Austin. They also hope to offer art classes and other mediums including sculpting and 3-D design.

*Eye See You Now is a proud supporter of Art From the Streets and the author of this article.

Art From the Streets rely on generous donations of people like YOU! 

Purchasing artwork supports the artists directly. 

Donating to our program helps us to offer a free Open Studio 

for the homeless and at risk. THANK YOU!

 

Have you seen signs all over East Austin that say EAST and have a little number on them? Well, you’ve stumbled upon something special. There is a huge art festival happening all over East Austin. This annual, and more importantly, free(!) art festival kicks off soon on the east side of I-35. Over 150 studios, exhibition spaces, and galleries will be opening their doors to the public. Walk or bike around East Austin and check out the magic. This is a great way to build your leg muscles, and your art appreciation muscles!

This will be happening November 11 and 12 from 11AM-6PM. The official boundaries are as follows: East of I-35, West of HHW 183, South of HWY 290, and North of Riverside.

You can see temporary exhibitions and pop-up shows made specifically for EAST in warehouse spaces, homes libraries and unconventional venues. There will also be all kinds of programming, performances, and art themed parties. If you find yourself in an artist studio, you can get a special glimpse into the process these artists go through to make what we all love- beautiful art!

The 2017 theme is flowers. These show an example of peace and regional support in our tumultuous cultural climate. Ten chosen artists for this festival have illustrated one of Texas’ best seasonal flowering plants. This is also in partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center.

Though we’re wildly excited about this festival, we’re most excited about our own contribution to it! We will be partnering with CambiaArt for this show, and hope to see you there from 11-6 at 2832 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Our show will be promoting art painted in our studio, Art From The Streets, by our homeless and formerly homeless artists. You can support homeless Austin artists and help them gain economic independence through their own creativity. We hope to see you there!

Art From the Streets rely on generous donations of people like YOU! 

Purchasing artwork supports the artists directly. 

Donating to our program helps us to offer a free Open Studio 

for the homeless and at risk. THANK YOU!

 

Emily Lewis won a full scholarship to Parsons, but it was a very different route than usual for her to get there. Emily was a high school drop out. She was addicted to drugs. Luckily, she met a mentor at a homeless shelter and was able to take control of her life again.

Her mentor, an employee at the homeless shelter was almost not permitted to start the art therapy program that pulled Emily back on her feet. The director only believed they were there to put a roof over people’s head, not to give them every amenity.

Luckily, with a lot of hard work and self trust, this program was created, and Emily joined in the fall of 2008. She soon was hired as the intern of the therapy program. She had never painted before that, but the directors of the program saw a special magic in her.

The director of the homeless shelter has changed her tune on art therapy. She now understands that you have to feed the should and the bodies of people for them to succeed. It is easy to overlook programs like this, but once you see their success in action they are impossible to ignore.

Emily was encouraged to apply for art school by an art collector from Princeton. This art collector saw Emily’s work at an art show and purchased six pieces, some of which are worth thousands of dollars. This collector encouraged her to do something she never even thought about- apply for art school. The collector helped her create a portfolio, get her GED and take the SAT. She was accepted on her first try on a full ride scholarship.

All it took was a community believing in her and the power of art to get Emily a new future. What could happen with a program like this in your neighborhood?

Art From the Streets rely on generous donations of people like YOU! 

Purchasing artwork supports the artists directly. 

Donating to our program helps us to offer a free Open Studio 

for the homeless and at risk. THANK YOU!

 

Finding his way from living in a truck to an art therapy group at his church, Dennis Jones found a way to turn his life around.

He now paints at his nearby Philadelphia Starbucks and you can see his work at the Gorshman YMCA.

These art based programs that focus on creativity, like the one that got Jones back on his feet, often are a large role in empowering those who don’t have anywhere to go.

Another man that benefited from a similar program was Keith Freeman. By his 30th birthday, he had already been to jail for both stealing and selling drugs.

He later joined the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, a program that is five months long and allows former prisoners and veterans to study improv, art, meditation and philosophy. Freeman now goes by the motto “Backwards is not an option.

Another similar story happened to Miky Solano in New York. He signed up with Art Start after being released from jail at 21.  He was determined to push forward, and this group that helps homeless youth through creativity was the thing that got him to it. Now, he’s recorded a few songs and he’s pushing on to a better life. He believes music is a way to express himself, and art has given him a whole new perspective.

At Art From The Streets, we’re all about creating an organization where people can grow and stories like this can happen in our home of Austin, Texas. Volunteer or donate to homeless artists today.

Art From the Streets rely on generous donations of people like YOU! 

Purchasing artwork supports the artists directly. 

Donating to our program helps us to offer a free Open Studio 

for the homeless and at risk. THANK YOU!