E.A.S.T. Goes West in Austin

I received an email this week from the EAST people, telling me that, “Yes, the rumors are true…Big Medium is looking west of east!” May 19 and 20, 2012, West Austin Studio Tour will launch!

E.A.S.T, or East Austin Studio Tour, has been a cornerstone of the Austin art scene since 2001, and constitutes the coming together of usually 100+ artists with a big opening celebration, often combining efforts with Pump Projects (an art gallery which contains studio space) in—you guessed it—East Austin. EAST was introduced by a few artists living/working in Austin, also involved in Big Medium, a sort of unofficial gallery/official artist collective that has made quite a splash with EAST, a small initiative that has grown exponentially with Shea Little, as Director.

In fact, I was talking to Hannah Roberts, Austinite helping with EAST, last year, and they have expanded to include exhibitions in Dallas on the tour, and it’s a sort-of peche-kucha effect with all the satellite events taking place throughout Texas, during the tour, plus exhibitions and discussions. The EAST folks have done an amazing job of collaborating with numerous venues in Austin to make the event grow, including the Arthouse, which is a huge supporter—just showing how powerful DIY truly is.

So, it’s not surprising that they are expanding their vision, which includes going West. Although the highest concentration of artist is surely in Austin’s East side, Big Medium would like to include artists in other areas of the city as well.

If you are interested in participating, visit: www.westaustinstudiotour.com.

Below, video from EAST: