E.A.S.T.-East Austin Studio Tour

EAST is obviously aiming to be the South by Southwest of local art, and they’re off to a reasonable start. This self-​guided tour takes place annually over two consecutive weekend afternoons in November, and features the work of local artists and artisans; e.g., paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry, and other crafts. They open their studios, galleries, and in some cases various benevolent sponsor homes to display their crafts, and occasionally give talks and demonstrations. Occasionally, food trucks and music are part of the scene, which is a great idea in Austin. Increasing the accompanying food, music and alcohol would probably be a good move for EAST, actually.
Virtually everything at EAST is for sale at a wide range of prices, but you can look for free, and be inspired by another angle of the artistic creativity for which Austin is famous. The latter was my agenda for the afternoon.
The bulk of the exhibitions are in – you guessed it – residential East Austin, where rents *may* still be semi-​affordable for artist studios. There’s also a section of the tour called West, which is really more Central Austin. The website offers a map to find each location, which is clearly marked with an official numbered placard so you don’t have to worry about wandering into the wrong house or workspace. You can drive, walk, or bike around to each location, but be prepared to be flexible finding parking, and bring a lock if you bike.
This was my second year exploring EAST, and I barely made a dent in the offerings in the time I had available. I visited Shoal Creek Gallery, where I saw paintings by abstract expressionists Shawn Camp, Sydney Yeager and others, as well as a printmaking demonstration by artist Alfonso Huerta, a likely candidate for The Most Interesting Man in the World, who had drawn a small crowd in his studio.
Just around the corner, I dropped in on Imagine Art studios, where a lively musical church service was also taking place. Imagine Art serves and displays art of local aspiring artists with disabilities, but they were renting space to local professional artists as well for EAST. I browsed a silver jewelry exhibition and painting displays by local artists including Lawrence Jolly (surrealism), Jan Pomeroy (mixed media/​fiber), and Lucian Richards (abstract impressionism).
More information and a map is available on the EAST website. If you enjoy visual art and you didn’t make it this year, plan to check it out next November. And if you don’t want to wait that long, you can browse some of the galleries on the tour anytime.