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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.

New figurative paintings by Arye Shapiro, based on live models and his experiments with poses, props and light.

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!"

Those irrepressible atxGALS, a collective creating more exposure for women and nonbinary artists, embraces the season with exhibits from eight artists inspired by the colors, energy, and experiences of summer.

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!

Cloud Tree is sharing their elegant Eastside space for this summer series, dividing the main exhibition gallery into 21 stations and offering them to the creative community, with limited curation and a focus on new and upcoming artists. Variety? Yes. Excellence? We're betting on it. Suggestion: Don't miss this one.

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.

The legendary comedian, screenwriter, television and film producer, and actor swoops in for a two-night stand at the Moody Center, but Friday is just about sold out. Get tickets now for Saturday's can't-miss show.

Charles Heppner’s work looks to the power of the contour, the universal interconnectedness of all things. His assemblage works marry hard angles, cloudlike fabrics, and the natural world, held frozen in a moment in time. His complex composite photographs Forest Hug and Arboreal Jewels express his spiritual connection to the beauty in nature.

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.

Explore the Ney's latest exhibit, a one-woman show by the acclaimed sculptor Alejandra Almuelle, whose ceramic figurative sculptures exemplify the biological archive of experience through the human form.

Esther's Follies – Austin's not-so-secret weapon in the fight against ennui – the comedy gem that still dazzles this growing urban hub – returns to the weekly live and in-person stage of their club on Dirty Sixth, the whole troupe bringing back old favorites and debuting a new program of hilarity with topical, ripped-from-the-headlines sketches and musical numbers. And you do need a laugh or two, right about this time, don't you, citizen? (And how about a margarita to go with that?) We'd add that the mind-boggling illusions of magician Ray Anderson are a bonus in the night's clever spectacle … but, the way that arch maestro conjures mystery and delight, "bonus" would be an insult.

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.

This group exhibition of work was inspired by or created at La Romita by artists attending Flatbed’s summer residency workshop of 2022. The residency and workshop is held every two years at La Romita School of Art in Terni, Umbria, Italy.

Says the artist Conner Yarbrough, "These paintings were created over three years when destruction was integral for regrowth and balance had to be discovered amidst chaos."

Ground Floor Theatre is accepting applications for their new writers group, GFT Writes. The group will meet biweekly over the course of 12 months, with each playwright developing one new play. Playwrights will receive an honorarium as well as a paid workshop and public reading of their play developed in the group. GFT Writes will start meeting in late August 2023, with workshops taking place the following August. Note: Playwrights must be based in the Austin area. See website for details.

Explore the beauty and complexity of moviemaking through sketches, storyboards, and designs that illuminate the creation of motion pictures from the silent era to the present day in this new exhibition, featuring production art from iconic movies like Rebel Without a Cause, Raging Bull, Apollo 13, and Lawrence of Arabia, many connected with innovative directors Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Mike Nichols, Michael Powell, Nicholas Ray, Martin Scorsese, Stephen Spielberg, King Vidor, and more.

A collaborative photography show curated by Bianca and Riel Sturchio of 18 artists from Austin and its surrounding area. Focused on LGBTQ, chronically ill, disabled, and neurodivergent identities, ISYSM "embraces alternative approaches to photography through modes of making that honor the grit, the grime, the queer, the accidental, the immediacy, the power, and the magical potentialities of analog photography."

This is an exhibition of new works by Jonas Criscoe and Mai Gutierrez that explore the cultural connections between Texas and Mexico. Through the use of natural materials, found objects, and imagery, each artist expresses existence between the borders.

This summer group exhibition challenges the boundaries between fine art and craft, offering a range of functional objects made by fine artists – including furniture, eating utensils, clothing, and toys. Also, nonfunctional objects made by craftspeople – including paintings, photography and sculpture. With works by Jonas Criscoe, Ryan Thayer Davis, Jenn Hassin, Beili Liu, Dave McClinton, Steve Parker, Denise Prince, and more.

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.

Stephen L. Clark Gallery presents this new exhibition of works by Lance Letscher, the locally based artist internationally known for his vibrant, colorful collages of wood, metal, paper, and old books.

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.

Austin's most absurd and fun attraction will have its last day on September 24th, so visit while you still can! It's the Eureka Room, a participatory experience where visitors engage with curious and playful programming within a unique 100-square-foot room filled with light and sound.

This recently relocated bastion of elegance and superb curation presents a stunning exhibition of trompe-l'œil sculptures by Tamara Johnson — the artist's first solo project with the gallery.

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.

Zilker Theatre Productions presents the story of a girl who dares to take a stand and change her own destiny. Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda is a joyous romp for children and adults alike.

With inspiration drawn from historic Dutch Golden Age and Spanish Baroque still-life paintings, New York-based Audrey Rodriguez studies with a closer look traditional Latin American snacks and produce items such as churros, chicharrones, conchas, nopales, mangos, and bananas.

This new show features an impressive collection of artworks created via techniques and skills passed down through generations, especially highlighting work by master printmaker Sergio Sánchez Santamaría.

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.

Anne Bobroff-Hajal and Craig Campbell use art to explore legacies of conquest, resistance, and endurance in the context of the Russian Empire.

Ever have one of those days? Now you can fix it and rescue your embattled, world-weary spirit by catching this bit of brilliance on a favorite local stage. Chris Earle's acclaimed dark comedy, about a hotshot voice talent who falters while recording a 30-second radio spot, features a stunning performance by Mical Trejo (coincidentally, a hotshot voice talent and actor), sound design by Robert S. Fisher, and the whole gloriously unraveling thing directed by Ken Webster for Hyde Park Theatre. And, oh! Here's what the Chron's Patti Hadad said about the show's first run years ago.

For Leah Bury and Loria Mendoza's curatorial follow-up to their previous "Bodies of Work" exhibitions, they invited local creatives to showcase the human figure. Now witness this presentation of new images from more than 50 artists, including TVHeadATX, David Wehmeyer, Richard Samuel, and Manni Mora.

This is a weekly stand-up comedy showcase to help you pregame your Friday night on the town. (Snail Haven also features music shows, film screenings, and general hangs. Best bet: Follow @SnailHavenShows on Instagram and DM them for event details.)

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.

This first major exhibition to examine the overlooked impact of day jobs on the visual arts is dedicated to demystifying artistic production and upending the stubborn myth of the artist sequestered in their studio, waiting for inspiration to strike.

The Contemporary Austin presents an exhibition tracing the evolution of Eamon Ore-Giron's dynamic paintings over more than twenty years of creative practice, revealing how the artist mines the complex nature of Latinx identity, the history of the Americas, and the many legacies of abstraction in art. ALSO: The newest exhibition space here is called HOST and features work by María Fernanda Camarena and Gabriel Rosas Alemán (aka the Mexico City-based artist duo known as Celeste).

This snazzy spot for local and national stand-up acts has shows almost every night of the week.

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.

In this Tom Stoppard comedy classic from The Stage Austin, two feuding theater critics attend the premiere of a new murder mystery and soon find themselves drawn into the play-within-a-play.

Juliette Lepage Boisdron's first solo U.S. exhibition presents an aesthetic universe inhabited by expressive, majestic, and mystical women, caring insects, large observing eyes, exuberant plants, and plenty of animals.

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.

Joyce Howell's palette is informed by nature and its flux between calm and chaos, each color and mark applied to the canvas informing the next.

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.

Yard Dog presents an exhibition of new paintings from Toronto artists Scott Griffin and Rita Koos.