Well, sure, South by Southwest is a multipartite festival of international impact, and there’s so much going on that’s worth attending – you can grok that simply by clicking around this issue online. But maybe you’d rather not spend hard-earned ducats on the fancier South By bits that must be paid for, or you don’t care to partake of the many free opportunities within the annual cultural juggernaut? Citizen, fear not: You’re still in Austin, and there are plenty of other enriching diversions from quotidian drudgery waiting for you. Here, for instance, are five of those.
Davis Gallery: In the Wake of the Exodus
Here’s a new show of works that visionary sculptor Steve Brudniak has completed over the past decade or so. Witness this local venue of eye fodder filled with eerily gorgeous pieces of Industrial Age machinery and furniture and objects like something out of a Guillermo del Toro fever dream, painstakingly wrought creations that “aim to share glimpses of experiences we aren’t aware of through ordinary channels – into realms influenced by science, dreams, meditation, hypnosis, therapy, psychedelics, music, the subconscious, and spirituality.” Especially if you want to impress any in-from-out-of-town friends with the level of talent in Austin, Brudniak’s stuff is what you want them to see. Opening reception: Sat., March 12, 4-7pm. 837 W. 12th, 512/477-4929. davisgalleryaustin.com
Co-Lab Projects: VOLUMES
And here New York-based artist Ezra Masch presents an audio- visual instrument that uses a drum set to activate a site-specific, room-filling, fully immersive grid of lights – a stunning, near-synesthetic evocation of percussion that surrounds you with staggered rhythms of light and sound as drummers explore the relationship between temporal space and physical space. And who are those drummers? Adam Jackson, Chris Cogburn, Alton Jenkins, Julia Hungerford, Thor Harris, Lesley Mok, Brannen Temple, line upon line, Sean Ripple, Milo Tamez, and Greg Fox are those drummers. Sat., March 12. Julia Hungerford, 8pm; Thor Harris, 9pm. 5419 Glissman, 512/300-8217. co-labprojects.org
Terry Allen: MemWars
Many artists work in multiple mediums, but for Lubbock-raised Terry Allen, music, performance, writing, and visual artwork are all part of the same practice. For this ninth installment in the Blanton’s Contemporary Project series, the artist reveals a three-channel video installation and a related group of drawings. The show’s up through July – and there’s a live public discussion of the exhibition, featuring Allen in conversation with Blanton Deputy Director Carter E. Foster at noon on Wednesday, March 16. Through July 10. Wed.-Sat., 10am-5pm; Sun., 1-5pm. Blanton Museum of Art, 200 E. MLK, 512/471-5482. blantonmuseum.org
Ground Floor Theatre: The Lifespan of a Fact
Jarrott Productions returns to live, in-person performances with a limited engagement of the hit Broadway show by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell. It’s “brilliantly funny yet deadly serious,” this play about journalistic integrity and facts versus truth. (Oh, yes – journalistic integrity! One of our favorite tropes!) Directed by David R. Jarrott and starring Janelle Buchanan, Will Douglas, and Carlo Lorenzo Garcia. Through March 19. Wed.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2:30pm. 979 Springdale #122, 512/840-1804. $25. jarrottproductions.com
The Vortex: Peckin the Crown
This show is what happens when you combine witchcraft, puppetry, psychedelic drugs, and infuse it with imagery from the dark fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood.” The narrative, written by Chris Fontanes and performed by Bottle Alley Theatre Company, revolves around one of the last remaining members of a coven of witches and her descent into multiple realities, guided by a manipulative demon. Through March 12. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 6pm. 2307 Manor Rd., 512/478-5282. $15-35. vortexrep.org
This article appears in Guide to SXSW 2022.