We hope you use these maps and guides to discover Austin’s Public Art Collection firsthand.

	In Austin, you can discover art in the most unusual places: libraries, parks and even hazardous waste facilities. Thanks to the Art in Public Places Program (AIPP), Austinites have been encountering sculptures, murals and surprising creations in public spaces since 1985.

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Updates & Events

2010 PEOPLE'S GALLERY EXHIBITION
Submission Deadline: January 4, 2010
Opening Reception: February 19, 2010
Artist Information Meeting: Wednesday, December 2, 2009; 6pm; (City Hall Room 1029)


The City of Austin seeks submissions of artwork from Austin visual artists, galleries and arts organizations for the 2010 People’s Gallery exhibition. For more information and the complete Call for Artwork go to www.cityofaustin.org/aipp/cityhall.htm. All applications must be made online at ASAPP! at www.cityofaustin.org/aipp/apply. Go directly to the tab that says “Apply for the Peoples Gallery”.
An Artist Information meeting will be held at 6pm Wednesday, December 2 in City Hall Room 1029. Deadline for submission is January 4, 2010. Exhibition opens on February 19.

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Texas Biennial: Temporary Outdoor Public Art
Exhibition Dates: March - December 2009
Opening Weekend: March 6-7, 2009
Locations throughout the City of Austin

Art in Public Places has partnered with the Texas Biennial this year to commission temporary outdoor public artworks by seven Texas artists. The temporary works will be installed from March through December, 2009. The official opening weekend of the Texas Biennial is March 6-7, 2009... Read More and download Maps!

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New Web-Based Application System and Registry

The new Application System for Art in Public Places (ASAPP!) is available now! Please click the colorful logo above to access this new web-based Registry and Application System.

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Deuce Gates at the Austin Tennis Center

Opening Celebration and Public Art Dedication
POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER: STAY TUNED FOR NEW DATE!
Austin Tennis Center (7800 Johnny Morris Road in NE Austin)

The City of Austin’s Art in Public Places (AIPP) Program commissioned artist, Martha Gannon, to design and create artwork for the newly constructed Austin Tennis Center in NE Austin. Gannon’s work, Deuce Gates, consists of two steel gate panels featuring abstracted tennis players, which greet visitors, users and staff at the entrance to the facility. The artist will be on hand during the dedication to discuss her work. The dedication will also feature guest speakers and a first-hand introduction to the programs and features of the new 12-court facility. Read the Press Release.

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Recently completed AIPP Projects

NORTH VILLAGE BRANCH LIBRARY: AIPP unveiled two artworks by renowned Austin glass artist, Kathleen Ash on Saturday, May 30, 2009, as part of the Grand Opening of the new North Village Branch Library, located at 2505 Steck Avenue. In the main browsing area, Ash created Sea of Knowledge as a window wall, using colorful laminated glass to depict children sailing on open books over an ocean of letters heading towards an island of discovery. In the library’s "living room" her creation Read More Books is a mobile of large laminated glass letters suspended by cables. These letters, comprised of translucent white glass which emulates parchment, are inscribed with quotes from literature. Read the Press Release.

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The César E. Chávez Memorial Project: AIPP dedicated Rayo de Esperanza – A Beacon of Hope: Sculpture, Community Information Kiosk and Benches, by Connie Arismendi and Laura Garanzuay, for the César E. Chávez Memorial Project at the Terrazas Branch Public Library 1105 E. César Chávez Street)on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. Arismendi and Garanzuay were commissioned to create permanent public art to commemorate the civil rights and labor leader at the Terrazas Library, which is to be the repository of Austin’s largest collection of books and videos regarding the life and work of Chávez. Read More!

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SPARKY PARK: The City of Austin, in collaboration with the North University Neighborhood Association (NUNA), dedicated Grotto Wall at Sparky Parka new public artwall by Berthold Haas, during the opening ceremony for the new pocket park at 3701 Grooms Street, on Saturday, March 28, 2009. Berthold Haas was commissioned to create permanent public art for the site of a former Austin Energy substation that was recently decomissioned and converted to a pocket park for the neighborhood. The Grotto Wall is a masonary "artwall" that transforms an existing cinderblock wall into a sculptural landscape of trees and curiosities. Berthold worked closely with the neighborhood throughout the making of Grotto Wall. Objects contributed by residents and sections of the old substation’s energy towers are playfully embedded in the wall, along with harvested and donated stone from a ranch in the Hill Country. Arches extend from the wall to define passageways for discovery. Berthold’s mélange of materials shape a whimsical totem to the history of the parkland and the community who made it happen. Read More!

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TRAIL OF TEJANO LEGENDS: The dedication of three artworks by artist, Connie Arismendi, honoring the cultural contributions of Austin Tejano music legends, took place on March 14, 2009. Read More and download a Map of the trail!

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES CAMPUS: The dedication for Letterscape, 2007, by Jimmy Luu, an earthwork commissioned by AIPP for the Health and Human Services Administrative Campus, took place on Friday May 9th, 2008 from 4-6 pm. This artwork is comprised of steel letters planted with wildflowers which together spell out the word "Onward". The artist also planted native grasses in arcs across the campus. The size of each arc is proportional to the population of Austin by decade since 1903 - the first year official birth records were kept in the Office of Vital records.

The Health and Human Services campus is located at 601 Airport Boulevard by Levander Loop.

GUS GARCIA REC CENTER: Saturday April 26th, at 11 am, the grand opening of the new Gus Garcia Recreation Center, located at 1201 E. Rundberg Lane, took place. The recreation center is 19,200 square feet in size and houses a gymnasium, a weight room, an aerobics classroom, arts and crafts area, a computer room, and a tiny tots' room.

Artist Lars Stanley was commissioned by AIPP to create Tribute to Gus Garcia, a forged steel and stone desk surround for the lobby.

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News Items

*AIPP Artwork featured in MSN.com's Best Airport Artwork. View the slide show!

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*KUT Radio featured a story on Austin's Art in Public Places program and interview with Jill Bedgood, the artist recently commissioned for the Northwest Recreation Center AIPP Project. Listen Now!

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View a short video of the opening reception for the 2008 People’s Gallery Exhibition. It includes interviews of artists Hank Waddell, Bob Wade and Cultural Arts Program Manager, Vincent Kitch.
(Flash Player required)

* AIPP is honored with 2 of Top 40 Public Art Projects of 2008
The Public Art Network, the national affiliate of Americans for the Arts, recognized two Austin public artworks among the nation’s top 40 public art projects in 2008 as part of their annual “Year in Review.” Commissioned through AIPP, Letterscape by Jimmy Luu (Austin, TX) for the Health & Human Services Campus and Grotto Wall at Sparky Park by Berthold Haas (Austin, TX) for Sparky Park were both selected from a pool of hundreds of public artworks submitted for review from across the country. Read More!

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*AIPP's 2009 summer workshops concluded with Public Art On Its Head: a day-long Discovery and Dialogue of Public Art on Saturday, September 12th. Read More!

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* The People’s Gallery was recognized in The Austin Chronicle’s "Best of Austin" 2007 issue. The Reader’s Poll selected City Hall as the Best Indoor Public Space, saying “within City Hall’s limestone walls and among the shimmer of her 66,000 square feet of copper, you’ll find a great indoor space, including the People’s Gallery, which showcases visual art.”

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*AIPP presented Temporary Public Art: Talk and Tunes, a panel discussion with the artists who created temporary public artwork through Art in Public Places and the Texas Biennial, on Friday, April 24th at 8 pm, at the Mexican-American Cultural Center (600 River Street). Risa Puleo, Art in Public Places Panelist and Assistant Curator of American and Contemporary Art for the Blanton Museum, served as the discussion moderator. An after-party, featuring a live performance by Rodeo HoHo, fronted by San Antonio artist, Ken Little (creator of "Homeland Security" near Butler Park, and pictured below), capped off the night. Read more!

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*AIPP presented Public Art "Round Robin" February 25, 2009, a workshop that invited local artists and businesses, to connect, one-on-one, to explore new materials, tools, technology and collaborations for the creation of public art in the City of Austin. Read More!

* AIPP presented AUSTIN'S PUBLIC ART WORKSHOPS 2008, July-October for artists and arts audiences. Click the banner for more information

* First piece of public art installed at the new Mexican-American Cultural Center, Benito Huerta's "SnakePath (Mexican Milk Snake)." Read More

* The Create Austin Community Cultural Plan was presented to City Council on June 5, 2008. Click the logo to learn more.

For additional news and information on AIPP, visit our News Archive.