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Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven
The Vortex production of acclaimed playwright Reina Hardy's first National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere moves to the Carver stage for a final held-over weekend. "This remarkable play engages young adults and audiences of all ages, bringing science and imagination into the theatre." Directed by Marcus McQuirter and Rudy Ramirez, and starring Jeremy Rashad Brown, Oktavea LaToi, Dane Parker, Christina Blake, and Eva McQuade.July 15-17. Thu.-Sat., 8:30pm. Free, but you've got to RSVP. -
Arts
Theatre
Bring It On: The Musical
After 15 months of mostly digital theatre, Summer Stock Austin combines high school and college students from the Austin area and all around the country to produce, live and in-person, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2002 musical.Through Aug. 1. Thu.-Fri., 7:30pm; Sat., 2 & 7:30pm; Sun., 2pm. $15-45. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Northern-Southern: Baton
This is a group show by relay, begun in July of 2020 as a method of socially distancing a community in the height of the pandemic: Artists took turns alone in the space, each adding to the exhibition. Now, as it nears its close, the exhibition resembles a community in which work converses and overlaps. With Adreon Henry, Vy Ngo, Dawn Okoro, Leon Alesi, Matt Steinke, Sev Coursen, Stella Alesi, and more.Closing reception: Sat., July 24, 3-9pm -
Arts
Theatre
Young Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare Austin's teen company returns to the Curtain Theatre for its 14th season, presenting seven public performances of this romantic comedy. Co-directed by Nancy Eyermann and Ann Ciccolella.Through July 17. Thu.-Sun., 8pm. $14-22.
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Arts
Theatre
A Portrait of My Mother
An artist remembers their mother, spinning a modern Mexican Cinderella tale as we follow the trials and tribulations of one woman's journey into motherhood – from her humble beginnings in the town of Laredo, Texas, to her journey to Chicago, and everything between. Written and performed by Carlo Lorenzo Garcia, directed by David R. Jarrott. Note: Now available for viewing on Vimeo.Through July 31. $5. -
Arts
Theatre
AISD Summer Theatre Series
The Austin ISD Visual and Performing Arts Department presents the 2021 AISD Summer Theatre Series – and this year the district-wide program is live, in-person, and bigger than ever. Coming up: Mamma Mia (July 22-25).$10. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Art for the People Gallery: Thrive!
Here's a showcase of work by more than 40 Austinites who’ve created art with an exuberance of color and energy over the past 15 pandemic months.Through Sept. 30 -
Arts
Visual Arts
ArtUs Co. Gallery: Kent Burress
Kent Burress uses oils to capture the big skies and broad vistas of Texas in a style that often pushes the boundaries between representational and abstract art.Closing reception: Sat, July 24, 5:30-6:30pm10000 Research #118 -
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
Visual Arts
Behind the Scenes: Hollywood's Sistine Chapel
Following the sold-out exhibition of Texas Performing Arts' collection of mid-century MGM film backdrops this spring, TPA now presents Behind the Scenes: Hollywood's Sistine Chapel, featuring 18 enormous backdrops from the Art Directors Guild Backdrop Recovery Project that form a nearly complete replica of the Sistine Chapel. See these master illusions in an immersive space designed for personal contemplation and up-close examinationThrough Aug. 1. Thu.-Fri., 2:30-5:30pm; Sat.-Sun., 10:30am-4:30pm. $10-20. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Beyond Van Gogh
This traveling spectacle of art, a multimedia exhibition currently ensconced at the COTA, uses cutting-edge projection technology to create an engaging journey into the world of Vincent Van Gogh. Repurposing the artist's dreams, his thoughts, and his words to drive the experience as a narrative, this huge installation will move you along projection-swathed walls wrapped in light, colour, and shapes that swirl, dance and refocus into flowers, cafes and landscapes. As a certain Dude might comment, "This is extremely fuckin' trippy, man." Make your reservations now, citizen, and if the price seems a bit steep, hell, you can probably tap your brother Theo for a loaner, amirite?Through Sept. 5. Daily, 11am-9pm. $37 ($24, children). -
Arts
Visual Arts
Big Medium: Austin Studio Tour
No, it's not happening right now, citizen, but it's preparing to return this November. Big Medium's humongous socioartistic success of an annual event – the free, self-guided art adventure through dozens upon dozens of local studios and galleries, enhanced by live demos and performances – will now combine the West Austin Studio Tour and East Austin Studio Tour to provide opportunities for artists all over Austin to connect and for the public to experience art safely both in person and virtually. Note: The tour boundaries have been extended to include all 10 districts of Austin for in-person participants, plus a 15-mile radius from the Capitol for virtual participants. And if you're an artist who wants to be part of this action: Applications are being accepted through July 19.Apply through July 19 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite
In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Kwame Brathwaite used photography to popularize the political slogan "Black Is Beautiful." This exhibition, the first ever dedicated to Brathwaite’s remarkable career, reveals the story of this key figure of the second Harlem Renaissance – and the Chronicle's Robert Faires has a review of the show right here.Through Sept. 19 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Cloud Tree Gallery: Splitting an Order
Here's a new solo exhibition of paintings by Hannah Lee. "Lee's work is figurative with a limited pallet and may get in your head. She creates striking portraiture that conjures dream states, a fuzzy reality, and a familiar ambiguity."Through July 18 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Co-Lab Projects: NI DE AQUI, NI DE ALLA
In her first solo exhibition – curated by the astute Rebecca Marino – San Marcos-based Analuz Guerra unearths materials and techniques in conversation with her maternal ancestry, both before and after the colonization of Mexico. Harvesting the seemingly small pieces (a puncture, clay, thread, a kernel of corn) that ultimately connect to a much larger existence, Guerra reignites and reexamines the value of tradition, the inherent mysticism of our roots, and her own physical body as a bridge between cultural realms.Through July 245419 Glissman -
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
Contracommon Gallery: Séjour en Couleur
Here's a wonderful new exhibition of work by Molly Knobloch, who uses bold gestural marks to build painted spaces, and Amanda Witucki, whose repeating patterns of colorful, interlocking paper shapes form larger structures.Through July 16 -
Arts
Visual Arts
DAC: Luminous Mo:ments and River Story
In these new exhibitions at the Dougherty Arts Center, Sarah Luna's "Luminous Mo:ments" explores the inner life of ordinary materials as revealed through the photographic process and Michelle Gardella's "River Story" is an ongoing portrait series of women that spans twelve years and multiple rivers across the United States.Through Aug. 28. Mon.-Fri., 11am-5pm; Sat., 11am-3pm -
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: The Way Back Show
Flatbed's first 15 years (1990-2005) were awash with experimentation and risk. These attributes, along with Flatbed's ability to produce pristine impressions, became hallmarks of the place. Now here's an exhibition of works curated from that heady time, featuring prints by Terry Allen, Michael Ray Charles, Melissa Miller, Kelly Fearing, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Jack Hanley, Sandria Hu, Luis Jimenez, James Surls, and more.Through Aug. 21. Wed.-Fri., 10am-5pm -
Arts
Visual Arts
ICOSA: In Character
This new show explores the physical and psychological masks we wear and how these versions of ourselves overlap and diverge as we navigate our relationships with others. The exhibition features a new body of work by Amanda Linn McInerney, complemented by works from Veronica Ceci, Rodell Warner, and Michael Villarreal. Working in a variety of media, each artist provides a unique stance on perception of the self, with perspectives contradictory or complementary, encapsulating a range of emotions like confusion, grief, duplicity, and empowerment.Through July 31 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Ivester Contemporary: Through a Hinge Made Oblique
This new show of collaborative work by Big Chicken & Baby Bird explores ideas of blurred boundaries and futility of containment by depicting the grotesque as the embodiment of conflict between art and nature. "Patterns become the spells that open fictive portals through which the grotesque is observed, confined to, and defined against the beauty of an imagined world – where there exists a place in which they can be works of nature, works of art, or both at the same time."Through Aug. 7 -
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
Link & Pin Gallery: Listening to Stillness
New and recent works by Austin-based abstract artist Greta Olivas.Through July 24 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Lora Reynolds Gallery: Hypocrisies, Accommodations, and Polite Twaddle
Colby Bird returns to Austin as artist-in-residence at this excellent Downtown gallery, to create an exhibition of new works that will be his sixth solo project here.Through Sept. 11 -
Arts
Visual Arts
MACC: Colores de Mi Alma
The Mexican American Cultural Center presents this: vibrant new show of works from Austin native Amado Castillo III.Through Sept. 4 -
Arts
Theatre
Mamma Mia
ABBA's timeless songs propel this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship.Through Aug. 8. Fri.-Sat., 7:30pm; Sun., 2pm. $17-36. -
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
Neill-Cochran House: The Struggle and the Glory
Cornelius Carter’s paintings capture the struggle and glory of African-Americans along with the artist’s faith in the dream of equality and opportunity for all – including portraits of Muhammed Ali, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.Through Sept. 5 -
Arts
Books
Poetry Jam: Open Mic & Showcase
Spoken word poets take the stage for an evening of provocative vibes. This night's featured performer is Waco's own April Neal.Fri., July 16, 8pm-12mid. $10. -
Arts
Visual Arts
Prizer Arts & Letters: Has Been
This new show at the intimate gallery on E. Cesar Chavez features the work of JB Fry, Ana García Jácome, Carlos Ortiz-Gallo, and Unyimeabasi Udoh – artist residents from Chicago's ACRE Projects – as curated by Austin-based Lindsay Hutchens. The objects and images here spotlight "both public and private archives of what-has-been that just aren't cutting it anymore. Each artist in has responded to glaring lacks with human-scaled vulnerability, poignant variation, and loving homage." Recommended.Through July 31 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Sage Studio: Call Me Tony
This is a solo show from Philadelphia-based Anthony Coleman, whose distinct style "combines the color and mood of cartoons from the '70s and '80s with his own personal style and keen eye for portraiture."Through July 25916 Springdale -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Blanton: From the Collection of Jack Shear
In 1999, the photographer and art collector Jack Shear co-organized an exhibition at New York’s Drawing Center: "Drawn from Artist’s Collections." This new show at the Blanton is curated by Shear "in an exploratory, free-flowing manner in which the forms, compositions and colors on the sheets respond to one another in a playful, non-traditional hang."Through Aug. 22 -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Blanton: Sedrick Huckaby
Texas-based artist Sedrick Huckaby explores psychology, community, and the human condition in his powerful portraits painted from life. The catalog notes say: "Through his virtuoso facility with oil paint, Huckaby utilizes texture, dimensionality, and intensely saturated colors to extraordinary expressive effect." Says the artist himself: "The African-American family and its heritage has been the content of my work for several years. In large-scale portraits of family and friends I try to aggrandize ordinary people by painting them on a monumental scale."Through Dec. 5 -
Arts
Visual Arts
The Bullock Museum: Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow
This powerful show, a traveling exhibition organized by the New-York Historical Society, explores the transformative years after the Civil War and the rise of Jim Crow, centering on stories of African Americans who pursued the ideals of Reconstruction and persevered in the face of a developing legal system promoting racial inequality.Through Nov. 28 -
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Visual Arts
The Contemporary Austin: "I'm" and "Bible Eye"
Austin-born and internationally acclaimed, Deborah Roberts critiques notions of beauty, the body, race, and identity in contemporary society through the lens of Black children. (Her first solo museum presentation in Texas, "I'm," is part of The Contemporary Austin's participation in the Feminist Art Coalition – a nationwide initiative of art institutions to generate awareness of feminist thought, experience, and action through exhibitions and events.) Norway's Torbjørn Rødland works with analog technology and readymade spaces to create photographs that render the everyday uncanny. His images blend the cool, seductive aestheticism of commercial and fashion photography with the layered complexity of a conceptual practice, resulting in ambivalent perspectives that both attract and repulse.Through Aug. 15 -
Arts
Visual Arts
Wally Workman Gallery: Moments
And here's a two-person show with painters Lindsy Halleckson and Revi Meicler, featuring Halleckson's ethereal colorscapes and Meicler’s vibrant explorations of layered elements, netting, and botanical forms that obscure and reveal dynamic intricacies.Through July 31 -
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