Crosstalk: Prizer Arts & Letters Closes, Besame Mucho Returns, and More Culture Headlines

Jim Franklin now, and at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1971. Top left: Alternate Route by Jim Franklin, 1971. (courtesy of Austin Museum of Popular Culture)

Prizer Arts & Letters has closed its gallery at 2023 E. Cesar Chavez. The studio, which prioritized displaying socially engaged art exhibitions like KB Brookins’ “Freedom House,” announced last month that photographer and curator Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon, now acting as director, plans to bring Prizer’s programming to other local arts spaces, while founder Carrie Kenny plans to develop an artist residency program in nearby Smithville.

Austin Film Festival and Armadillo World Headquarters have launched the Jim Franklin “The Armadillo Man” Film Fellowship. The program awards one filmmaker $25,000 to create a short film documentary about the storied artist, who entered the Austin Music Industry Hall of Fame earlier this year. The documentary will premiere at the 2025 Austin Film Festival. Applications are open now through Feb. 28 at filmfreeway.com/ArmadilloMan; filmmakers must submit a previously completed short, a writing sample, a résumé, and two references.

Besame Mucho has announced its 2025 lineup. Launched in Los Angeles in 2022, the Latin music festival returns to Circuit of the Americas for its second year on April 5, 2025, with Mexican regional artists Peso Pluma, Carin León, and Los Tigres del Norte; Norteño “King of the Accordion” Ramón Ayala; Spanish pop rock veterans Hombres G; San Antonio native Pepe Aguilar; Mexican rapper Tito Double P (Peso Pluma’s cousin); and more. Tickets to the one-day fest start at $275 at besamemuchoaustin.com.

SIMS Foundation announced this week that donations from Armadillo World Headquarters and C3 Presents will help the musician mental health nonprofit connect its “most vulnerable clients” to care during its ongoing service pause. In a press release, the organization said funding from the companies helped SIMS reach 30% of its Restore the Rhythm fundraiser, which seeks $500,000 total. The nonprofit declined to share how much Armadillo World Headquarters and C3 contributed to the campaign, which had raised around $150,000 at press time Wednesday. When asked how many services would be restored, SIMS told the Chronicle, “[Psychiatric and counseling] services are being provided based on individual client needs.” Substance abuse recovery services are still paused.