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The East Austin Studio Tour is an annual event that is free to the public and lasts for two weekends during the month of November. During this event, the public can meet many of Austin' artists and artisans in their own unique creative spaces.

It runs from November 10 and 11, as well as November 17 and 18 from 11AM until 6PM.

The tour is organized by Big Medium, a non-profit organization designed with the goal of both cultivating and championing artists and contemporary arts itself throughout not just the city of Austin, but also the entire state of Texas as well.

On average, this event features over 1,000 artists and 100,000 attendees every year. Big Medium considers it a priority to offer access to these types of experiences so that they will be able to continue hosting these types of events for free and ensure that they are open to all members of the public.

New for 2018 is the launch of Creative Standard, which is a professional development program designed for artists. The goal of this program is to enable them to regularly convene, as well as provide various opportunities, information, and resources. The program is also designed to maintain and create standards of both integrity and professionalism which the creative community will uphold and adhere to.

Come find your new favorite local artist, support the local art community and maybe find the perfect piece for that one lonely wall in your house.

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!

 

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Throughout the past couple of decades, there has been a lot of research conducted in regards to the overall relationship between homelessness and general health. In one way, experiencing homelessness is something that can lead to all sorts of various health issues, while in another way, there are also some similar issues that can cause someone to end up becoming homeless.

Here are three of the most common health issues that homeless people generally tend to face.

Hunger

Hunger is something that can often be hard to recognize as being an actual issue; however, poor nutrition is something that can lead to a number of different chronic conditions as time goes on, such as weakness and fatigue.

Dental Issues

Oral health is something that can also be greatly affected by homelessness as well. Not having access to simple items such as a toothbrush and toothpaste is something that a lot of homeless people tend to face, and unfortunately, this can end up leading to issues such as tooth decay and other types of oral health issues.

Bruises/Burns/Cuts

Many homeless people can end up suffering injuries such as falls or being hit by a car, as well as injuries related to drug and/or alcohol use. Inclement weather conditions can also lead to injuries as well, especially thanks to hypothermia and frostbite in cold weather, and heatstroke and severe sunburn in hot weather.

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!

 

Nearly 60,000 people are homeless in Santa Monica, California. With a number that large it can be hard to imagine how to help. Jan Shepard set out to do what she could to help by taking homeless community members out to lunch two to three times a week.

“I first became aware of homelessness when I gave up my car and started walking everywhere. The more I walked, the more I saw the city from a different perspective. I saw homeless people everywhere. It was quite an eye opener,”  Shepard said.

It is easy for some people to look past homeless people on the street and continue to ignore them. For others it’s not as easy because they can relate to being invisible.

“I can see beyond people’s outer because I used to be 350 pounds. I know what it was like to feel that you’re not your body,” Shepard said.

 As Jan continued to meet the members of the homeless community in Santa Monica, she learned that they weren’t so different from her.

“I learned that everybody needs connection. People are lonely. People want to be heard. People want to share and that people are loving,” Shepard said.

The more Jan learned about their lives and their situations she learned that there is a large diversity in causes for homelessness. Some people were just out of prison, many had lost their jobs and a few were schizophrenic.

The solution for homeless that Jan discovered was one-to-one caring and support for the local homeless community. What homeless people want more than anything is for people to be kind and not look down on them. To be treated like a human being.

If you want to help your local homeless community take a homeless friend to lunch OR donate to AFTS so we can!

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!