Home Events Arts
Recommended
-
Arts
Theatre
Always a Boy
Author of Never a Girl, Always a Boy and subsequent co-playwright of its stage adaptation Jo Ivester hopes the play written alongside her son Jeremy serves to “contribute to the growing awareness of what it means to be Trans.” After an industry presentation in NYC with Tony-Award winning A Strange Loop producer JJ Maley directing, this personal transition story comes home for its world premiere at Ground Floor featuring director Lisa Scheps and performers Laura Leo Kelly, Kaden Ono, Molly Fonseca, Nathan Jerkins, Max Green, Chelsea Corwin, Trace Turner, and Jeremy.– James ScottThursdays-Sundays. Through March 1 -
Arts
Visual Arts
“Unstill Life”
One of the most innovative dance companies ever to move through Austin’s performative spaces, BLiPSWiTCH joyously invades Austin’s historic Wolf House for the premiere of “Unstill Life,” wherein 14 dancers take over six rooms in that house, with each room embodying a specific point in time – “often through satire, occasionally with gravity, sometimes interrogating, but always exploring and never taking ourselves too seriously.” Experience an immersive, unforgettable night of movement evoking the past as this fierce troupe brings the choreographies of Taryn Lavery and Alex Miller to full kinetic power. – Wayne Alan BrennerThrough Feb. 24Wolf House, 1604 E. Cesar Chavez St. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Black Canvas: Beyond Boundaries
To create this photography exhibition featured at creative consultancy/gallery & studio space OFC Creatives, local artist and activist Jeremy A. Teel pulled from his wider “I, Too, Am Kink” series, which focuses on Black bodies within the BDSM/kink community to “consider the complexities of bondage, body positivity, and the liberation of the Black body amidst daily struggles and pleasures.” Last weekend, however, brought broken windows to the OFC gallery, who remarked it was no accident the only display damaged was the Black queer art. They plan to, in response, be “Blacker and Queerer,” so support them in that mission by catching this exhibition or attending their Friday, Feb. 16, discussion with ATX Queer Connection. – James ScottFridays-Sundays. Through Feb. 25OFC Creatives, 101 Colorado St. #102 -
Arts
Comedy
Byte Night
You know the legendary O. Henry Pun-Off, where lexophilic individuals compete with well-wrought wordplay for braggin’ rights in the realm of linguistic legerdemain? Imagine that sort of action in a comedy-club setting, except it’s not human against human – it’s human versus AI! Watch as local warmblooded wordsmiths wreak whatever havoc they can against the cold and cunning skills of ChatGPT, with prepared pieces and impromptu punmongering, in a series of prize-strewn games featuring humans Alison P. Tugwell, Blake Blauserman, Dav Wallace, Lisa Sperry, and Steve Lovelace. Bonus: live music from Henry Invisible. – Wayne Alan BrennerSat., Feb. 24 -
Arts
Theatre
Cassette Roulette
Beloved of Aughts theatre kids both queer and ally-identifying, El Paso-born John Cameron Mitchell takes to the Long Center stage with longtime collaborator, musician, and cabaret artist Amber Martin. Their game? Cassette roulette, where the songs, stories, and characters performed will be chosen by “the hand of fate” as well as you, the lucky audience member. Enjoy a tuneful evening featuring Mitchell and Martin’s musical mayhem, backed by Hedwig and the Angry Inch’s Broadway Music Director Justin Craig and his band. – James ScottSat., Feb. 24, 8pm. $29 and up. -
Arts
Theatre
Cirque du Soleil: CRYSTAL
When you Google this upcoming show, under “People also ask” is the question “What is so special about Cirque du Soleil?” My proposed answer: In CRYSTAL, these incredible performers of the circus arts will be twisting, flipping, twirling, and flying through the air above solid freakin’ ice! And not only will they be above the ice: You’ll find a tapestry of synchronized, freestyle, and extreme skating performed across the frozen tundra of the H-E-B Center as well. Now that’s pretty damn special. – James ScottThursdays-Sundays. Through Feb. 25 -
Arts
Theatre
Ira Glass
Oh, c'mon – you live in Austin, of course you know who Ira Glass is: the host and creator of the public radio program This American Life.Sat., Feb. 24, 7pm. $45 and up. -
Arts
Theatre
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
You’re a busy guy; you don’t have time to read all of War and Peace. But you’re also ashamed that you’ve not dug into the hottest Russian novel of 1869! Hark: A solution awaits at the Zach Theatre production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Dave Malloy’s musical adaptation of a 70-page section of Tolstoy’s great tome. Described by the theatre as an “innovative electro-pop opera,” this two-hour-and-thirty-minute love triangle will be available as pay-what-you-will until Feb. 4. Heads-up to queers: Thursday, Feb. 1, is PRIDE night!– James ScottJan. 30-March 3. Wed.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2:30pm. $25. -
Arts
Theatre
O. Henry Stories
“The Bard is just the beginning,” promise the irrepressible thespians of Austin Shakespeare; and now here they are, making good on their word with a play that showcases classic short works by Austin’s own William Sydney Porter – you know: O. Henry – to bring audiences at the Long Center’s Rollins Theatre an early-20th-century good time with “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Pimienta Pancakes,” “The Ransom of Red Chief,” and more. Bonus: Music and dance enhance the talented talespinning, and there are talkbacks with the director and cast after every show.: – Wayne Alan BrennerThursdays-Sundays. Through Feb. 25 -
Arts
Classical Music
Silent Wood, Deep River
Explore connections between the forces of the natural world and the music inspired by it, via works by Gabriel Fauré, Antonín Dvorák, Louis Ballard, Gabriela Lena Frank, and a world premiere by Daniel Temkin. Featuring cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins and pianist Michelle Schumann.Sat., Feb. 24, 7:30pm. $12-48.
All Events
-
Arts
Theatre
A Year With Frog and Toad
For generations of children, Arnold Lobel’s stories of amphibian best buds Frog and Toad have been a charming guide to the complexities and joys of friendship. Now the pair take to the stage for this delightful Tony-nominated musical. It’s truly a family affair, adapted by Lobel’s son-in-law Mark Linn-Baker with music by Robert Reale and book & lyrics by his brother, Willie. This new production, directed by Best of Austin winner Sara Burke, features Jillian Sainz and Victoria Brown donning the signature jackets and trousers of Frog and Toad, respectively. – Richard WhittakerFridays-Sundays. Through May 12 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Art & Parks Tour
This sweet opportunity comes to us from the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Pease Park Conservancy, and Ride Bikes Austin – so we know it's a damned good thing indeed. Take the self-guided Art & Parks Tour to explore the best of what Downtown Austin art and parks have to offer through this selection of curated murals, artworks, and green spaces. You can sign up anytime, so click that URL and get ready to learn the most vibrantly visual parts of your city soon – live and in person. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Atelier Dojo: Remote Studios
The local powerhouse of figurative painting, the art school that's the smart school for artists of all kinds, they've got a painting-along-at-home series going to help you keep your skills honed in these socially restrictive times, featuring live costumed models posing on camera and a thriving community of creatives rendering that lovely human biotecture from their separate studios. "Join us for a three-hour costumed-model drawing session. Use any supplies you wish, listen to music, share your work, chat with others. It’s a great way to stay connected with your art community!"Tuesdays, 1:30-4:30pm; Fridays, 6:30-9:30pm; Saturdays, 9:30-12:30pm. $5. -
Arts
Dance
Ballet Austin: Classes
Learn your way to physical grace with a dance class at Ballet Austin. There are so many varieties to choose among – ballet, barre, contemporary dance, hip-hop, tap, cardio dance fitness, Pilates, and more – and all taught by professional instructors. See website for details.$3-7 per class. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Big Medium: No Kings But Us
"The collaborative back-and-forth between artists Robert Hodge and Tim Kerr is as compelling and intriguing for what is on display as for what is not. This exhibition presents the vivid yet amorphous residue of a contested, negotiated, and ultimately collaborative chronicle. It gathers swatches of 20th- and 21st-century history as recounted by artists from different generations and backgrounds, who share as many crossovers as they do variations."Opening reception: Fri., Jan. 12, 8-10pm -
Arts
Comedy
Cap City Comedy Club
That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the longtime cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Click for details! -
Arts
Visual Arts
Carver Museum: Two Births and the Afterlife
You think it’s easy, being somebody’s mother? You think giving birth to another human being doesn’t put your own humanity and purpose under some fierce self-scrutiny? Milwaukee-based artist Aimée M. Everett, in her solo show at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, uses abstraction, minimalist line-making, saturated colors, and melodic compositions to explore “the profound transformations experienced during childbirth and the subsequent journey of self-discovery into motherhood.” Word – or, more appropriately, image – to your mother. – Wayne Alan BrennerOpening reception: Thu., Jan. 11, 6-8pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
Co-Lab Projects: Vast Is the Sea
Austin’s ever-innovative Co-Lab Projects and Barry Stone/Porch Swing Orchestra continue to reveal this weeks-long series from eight artists whose diverse works are united by their explorations of images and sound, with each artist “constructing new oceans through live performances, video, and sound processing. Viewers are invited to gaze at visions projected on the ceiling and swim among the sounds in real time.” Tonight’s pair of distinctly different shows, immersive as sensory oceans, are by Ariana Gomez (7pm) and Gavin Watts (8pm). Note: Each performance is ticketed separately. – Wayne Alan BrennerOpening performance: Sat., Jan. 20, 7pm -
Arts
Comedy
ColdTowne Theater
ColdTowne's new brick-and-mortar place is totally open, and who knows what they'll shake this city with next? But one truth remains: ColdTowne is a designated den of gold, baby, sweet comedy gold. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Creekside Studio
Creekside Studio is a women-owned printmaking studio and gallery, located in Canopy on the Eastside, specializing in fine art prints pulled by hand using archival materials and matrices: engravings, photogravure etchings, monotypes, woodcuts, copperplate etchings, and linocut.Saturdays, noon-1pm916 Springdale, Bldg 2 #103B -
Arts
Comedy
East Austin Comedy Club
Founded by comedians Raza Jafri and Andre Ricks, this club that operates out of Tiger Den on the Eastside is the city's only BIPOC-owned comedy venue. -
Arts
Comedy
Fallout Comedy
This hotbed of local performance is carrying on even more than usual, with an eclectic mix of live, mind-rocking comedy from some of Austin's best, all week long. Hey! The place is our cover story, as reported by Valerie Lopez! And, srsly, who would ever disagree with the sentiment of Monday night's Fuck This Week show? Check the website for details. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Flatbed Press: Carrying Things from Home
This is a solo exhibition of Annalise Gratovich's color woodcut series, “Carrying Things from Home," based on matryoshka dolls and the textile patterns from Ukrainian embroidery. Bonus: The artist's most recent collages and woodcuts are also on display in this show.Opening reception: Sat., Jan. 20, 4-6pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
grayDUCK Gallery: Cloud Shadows
This vibrant show is a visual conversation between artists Margaret Meehan and Jade Walker, drawing on years of friendship, shared research, and visual interests.Opening reception: Sat., Jan. 20, 7-10pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
Ivester Contemporary: Like a Circle, Like the Moon
Tsz Kam’s first solo exhibition with the gallery expresses their own hybrid self-identification by featuring mythological subjects, chimerical. monsters, and decorative motifs from around the world. "Kam’s exposure to the fluorescent, festive streets of Hong Kong and the aesthetics of the nightclub that employed their parents during Kam’s childhood, coupled with an eventual move to Texas, heavily influenced the work in this exhibition." Bonus: Beili Liu's installation, Inheritance, is also featured.Opening reception: Sat., Jan. 20, 7-9pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
Laguna Gloria
This local treasure of a venue, run by those Contemporary Austin folks who also bring us the Jones Center shows Downtown, is all about the outdoors – which is perfect for these trickily navigated times of ours, n'est-ce pas? Recommended: Stop by and breathe in the air, enjoy the lawns and gardens and the many examples of world-class sculpture arrayed across the property, and (as Frankie used to say) r-e-l-a-x.Thu.-Fri., 9am-noon; Sat.-Sun., 9am-3pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
Landmarks: Self-Guided Walking Tour
Use your smartphone to access self-guided tours of the outdoor public art sited by UT's award-winning Landmarks program any time you feel like it. BONUS: There's also a free, docent-led tour starting at Marc Quinn's "Spiral of the Galaxy" (1501 Red River) on Sun., Jan. 8, 11am. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Loverboy: Portraits on Vinyl by Rick Fleming
Back in 2020, Rick Fleming helped then-presidential hopeful Joe Biden campaign for the top spot by selling tote bags adorned with the politician’s portrait. Now, the local artist turns his attention to more musical inspirations, from Prince and David Bowie to Björk and Taylor Swift. United by his signature full eyes and round nostrils, Fleming’s homages take a more abstract approach to his subjects’ likeness – though accompanying lyrics, like to Queen’s namesake 1976 classic, give each piece away. Visit Springdale’s SAGE Studio Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to see Fleming’s paintings on vinyl discs – or buy one yourself for $200 a pop. – Carys AndersonThrough March 23. free. -
Qmmunity
Arts & Culture
Madly Involved
Curated by Texan Mueni Loko Rudd, this exhibition highlights art from Black creators like Audrey Lyall, Moses Leonardo, Sacugar, and Big Linda. Opening night is this Friday, but the show runs through April 14.Thursdays-Sundays. Through April 14Future Front, 1900 E. 12th -
Arts
Visual Arts
Martha's Contemporary: Hokey Pokey + What You See Is What You Get
Here's a two-person exhibition that features painting, installation, videography, and sculpture by Moll Brau and Wes Thompson. It's a deep dive into a pool of loneliness, triumph, and rebirth. It's a forest of mazes where fireflies provide the light. It's a show of creations from a pair of terrific, hardworking local artists and you don't want to miss it. -
Arts
Visual Arts
-
Arts
Visual Arts
McLennon Pen Co. Gallery: Art as Object
This is a group show curated by David Futscher, featuring Austin artists Jeffrey From, Lindsey Lascaux, and Peter McRury, and Kansas-based artist Slater Reid Sousley.Opening reception: Fri., Jan. 26, 6-9pm -
Arts
Comedy
Meet Cute
Of course the unstoppable comedy entrepreneurs of ColdTowne are going to leverage romantic synergy with a rom-com show that works lovey-dovey Hollywood tropes for all they’re worth this month, right? This one stars an all-Black cast of seasoned improvisers – Rudy Armstrong, Mykel Jewel, Tauri Laws-Phillips, Christian Lewis, Lex Okeke, Rochelle McConico, Irielle Wesley, and Terrence Yon – bringing the unscripted hijinks to movie-format hilarity, as directed by Jennifer Rosario, each Saturday in February. – Wayne Alan BrennerSaturdays, 8pm. Through Feb. 25 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Mix ‘n’ Mash: Celebrating Austin
Opening this Friday, Feb. 2, is Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art & cultural center Mexic-Arte Museum’s annual mega exhibition/art sale. Mix ’n’ Mash will feature over 200 artists utilizing a 12-by-12-inch Gessobord to explore “the large and small of what makes Austin weird, interesting, timeless, and robust,” according to Mexic-Arte’s website. Each board goes for around $150 each, but buyers are encouraged to buy at least three to create an ATX triptych to impress all your gallery-going friends. – James ScottMondays-Sundays. Through March 3 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Museum of Illusions
Enter the fascinating world of illusions in this new venue that boasts a stunning array of intriguing visual, sensory, and educational experiences among new, unexplored optical wonderments.$20-24.11010 Domain #100 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Old Bakery Gallery: Fantastical Flora
This multimedia exhibition is a comprehensive exploration of the beauty of botanical forms, expressed realistically and in the abstract, featuring the work of local artist Francine Funke.Opening reception: Sat., Jan. 20, 1-4pm. Free. -
Arts
Comedy
South Austin Comedy Club
South Austin’s first dedicated comedy venue is spearheaded by local comics Martin Henn, Andre Ricks, and Raza Jafri, and brings top-notch acts to South Austin every Wednesday through Saturday. Note: The upcoming comics – including nationally touring acts, local sweethearts, and everyone in between – will be listed on Instagram each night.Wed.-Sat., 7:30pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
Stephen L. Clark Gallery: Kate Breakey
This exhibition of new work by Kate Breakey showcases hand-colored photography of the natural world, particularly of Texan and Australian landscapes, animals, and insects. -
Arts
Books
Story Circle Network
Nonprofit organization for women, offering monthly reading and writing circles and more, in North, Central, and South Austin. -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Blanton: The Floating World
The opportunity to witness, in person, the creative expression of different times and diverse cultures is one of the perks of city-dwellers everywhere – and exemplified by the collections and traveling exhibitions hosted by UT’s acclaimed Blanton Museum of Art. The Blanton’s newest show displays masterpieces from Edo-period Japan, on loan from the Worcester Art Museum through June 30. These “pictures of the floating world” depict the lifestyle, pleasures, and interests of the urban population – samurais, geishas, kabuki actors, boat parties, palaces, and lush landscapes. As then, so now: Much of who we are is what we do with our lives. – Wayne Alan BrennerFeb. 11-June 30 -
Arts
Comedy
The Creek and the Cave
This snazzy spot for local and national stand-up acts has shows almost every night of the week. -
Arts
Comedy
The Hideout
The diverse lineup of hilarious, always surprising improv shows continues, with Pgraph and Maestro and the Big Bash and more, for the most unexpected delights of in-person entertainment.$10 and up. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Thin Spaces: Seeking Nature’s Ethereal Conduits
This three-person show of visual art at the venerable Dougherty Arts Center suggests ways in which “the natural world can serve as a conduit to a deeper understanding of the ethereal,” divulging liminal places where material and spirit intertwine. Local and simultaneously beyond locale, the layered oil abstractions of Rebecca Bennett, the stunningly manipulated photography of Leslie Kell, and Elena Lipkowski’s digital collages embellished with hand-stitched embroidery shift the gallery’s walls toward wonder and may open your doors of perception into a realm that’s downright seelie. Bonus: Meet the artists there tonight, 7-9pm. – Wayne Alan BrennerFeb. 3-March 9 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Treespell
This excellent gallery on East Cesar Chavez presents a solo exhibition by Elizabeth Chapin, inspired by the myth of the Greek goddess Artemis, who turned the hunter Actaeon into a stag and shot him full of arrows for sneakily watching her as she bathed. In “Treespell,” the Mississippi-born painter explores natural and mythological worlds “to comment on the transformative power of the gaze and the interconnectedness of all living things, incorporating personal, historical, and imaginative elements to wield and subvert notions of viewership and voyeurism.” – Wayne Alan BrennerThrough March 7 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Unchained Art: Struggle & Release
This solo exhibition by Austin-based artist Fernando Palomo invites you to immerse yourself in a transformative dialogue that navigates the tumultuous sea of human sentiment and experience.Opening reception: Thu., Jan. 25, 5-8pm -
Arts
Comedy
Velveeta Room
The legend of Ronnie Velveeta lives on at this storied 'stablishment of a stand-up stage, where some of the country's hottest comics come to make the floorboards quake with laughter every weekend on Dirty Sixth. Brandie Posey: Sat., May 20, 8 & 10pm. Jake Flores: Sat., May 27, 8 & 10pm.$10. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Wally Workman Gallery: Tiempo Sostenido
This is a solo exhibition – an extraordinary solo exhibition, we daresay – by Spanish artist Juan Luís Jardí, who uses a mix of magic realism with influences of Pop Art and surrealism to illustrate the contrast in our lives and the doubts we're faced with as humans.Feb. 3-25 -
Arts
Visual Arts
WPA: Elizabeth Olds
Minneapolis-born and -raised, Elizabeth Olds lived to a sturdy 94 but didn’t get the attention she deserved in her lifetime. The Harry Ransom Center’s new exhibit, which opened Feb. 3 and runs through July 14, aims to rectify that with a first-of-its-kind look back at more than 100 of her prints, paintings, drawings, and illustrations from the 1920s to the 1960s. Of particular note: her depictions of social and political change from her time as a Works Progress Administration printmaker. Want to go deeper? Drop in for one of the daily docent tours. – Kimberley JonesFeb. 3-July 14 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Wyld Gallery
This is Ray Donley's gallery of art by Native Americans, located in that company of artistic glory called Canopy and resplendent with creations from the original people of our struggling country.Call for appointment -
Arts
Visual Arts
Yard Dog: Paul Rodriguez
Yard Dog presents the vibrant works of Paul Rodriguez, a printmaker from San Miguel de Allende. "And some very cool new paintings by Harry Underwood."Opening reception: Fri., Jan. 19, 7-9pm