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Arden Ward

Arden Ward

Managing Editor

Arden Ward began her editorial journey while studying English at the University of Texas at Austin. She cut her teeth as a contributor for Austin Monthly Magazine, and assisted in the launch of its successful offshoot, Home, in 2006 before broadening her focus as a feature writer for Rare magazine. Her background includes extensive work in the digital realm — including branding, copywriting and creating multi-dimensional digital campaigns across a variety of industries.

She joined CultureMap Austin in 2011 to lead its digital marketing and branding efforts before becoming Managing Editor. In this role, Arden's focus shifts back to her first passion: uncovering and sharing Austin’s unique stories on a daily basis.

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All articles by this author.  291 Results. Showing 21 to 40
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Music Scene

HAAM Corporate Battle of the Bands raises awareness for Austin's music legacy

By Arden Ward

Friday, April 26 saw the return of HAAM’s Corporate Battle of the Bands at Antone’s. The sixth annual competition featured local companies boasting hard-rocking, guitar-shredding in-house bands. Employees ...


Hot Clicks

Restaurant openings, Progress closing, Toy Joy's new locale: The week's top stories

By Arden Ward

We know you're busy — especially on a weekend like this, when food, music and general Austin weirdness are all being celebrated in festival form. Between dashing from the Grand ...


New and Improved

Toy Joy leaves its campus digs for new home in the Second Street District

By Arden Ward

For over a decade, folks have enjoyed the treasure trove of fun at the corner of 29th and Guadalupe, where Toy Joy, local purveyor of trinkets for kids and adults ...


Psychedelic Preview

Music without limits: 6 bands to watch at Austin Psych Fest

By Arden Ward, Caitlin M. Ryan

Austin Psych Fest returns to the wooded retreat of Carson Creek Ranch for its sixth incarnation this weekend. A tribute to the psychedelic rock movement, Psych Fest spotlights the "best ...


Choose Your Own Adventure

West Austin Studio Tour returns with two weekends of self-guided art exploration

By Arden Ward

Art galleries and public spaces on the west side of I-35 will converge for two weekends of art exploration as part of WEST, the West Austin Studio Tour. Produced by ...


Behind the Music

AMP's first ever Austin Music Industry Awards celebrate local unsung heroes

By Arden Ward

We hear a lot about musicians and listen to a lot of live tunes in the Live Music Capital of the World. But it takes a host of behind-the-scenes folks ...


Dick Clark

The modernist architect shaping Austin's design aesthetic

By Arden Ward

One can imagine that Dick Clark was born hammer in hand. A lover of architecture since his earliest days, Clark’s work has been an integral part of the Austin ...


Earth Day

Celebrate Mother Earth with family-friendly fun at Austin Earth Day 2013

By Arden Ward

Earth Day 2013 is officially Monday, April 22, but Austinites can kick off a tribute to Mother Earth with a day-long family-friendly event on Saturday, April 20. Presented by the ...


Pet of the Week

Meet Gracie, a spunky Whippet mix full of energy and cuddles

By Arden Ward

Young Gracie is a ham in front of the camera, ready to share those contagious smiles with a new family. The spunky Whippet mix is looking for a home where ...


Breaking Texas News

Governor Perry declares disaster in McLennan County after West plant explosion

By Arden Ward

Just before noon on Thursday, Governor Rick Perry addressed the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion with a press conference held in Austin. Perry declared McLennan County a disaster area, and ...


Celebs Supporting Kids

First ever Mack, Jack & McConaughey benefit joins actors, musicians, athletes to empower kids across the country

By Arden Ward

Last weekend, Austinites witnessed a first-ever coming together of three Austin greats from the sports, music and film scenes. UT football coach Mack Brown, country musician Jack Ingram and actor ...


Hill Country Barbecue

Lamberts Barbecue heads to Wimberley for Argentine-inspired Vaca y Vino steer roasting dinner

By Arden Ward

Lamberts Barbecue will forgo its cozy Second Street District setting to set up shop against a Hill Country landscape at its second annual Vaca y Vino celebration. The event, taking ...


Come and Create

Austinites gather downtown for Art City Austin's block party celebration

By Arden Ward

On April 13 and 14, Austinites gathered in downtown's 2nd Street District for a two-day celebration of the Capital City's diverse art scene. Hosted by Art Alliance Austin ...


Hot Clicks

Top 5 stories this week: Worst travel destinations, Google Fiber, breastaurant wars & more

By Arden Ward

This was a buzz-worthy week for cultural news in Austin. From Huffington Post to Google and Lance Armstrong, the Capital City was in the national spotlight time after time. As ...


Celebrating Austin's Culinary Scene

Todd Duplechan, Lenoir & Jester King take top honors at 2013 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards

By Arden Ward

What better way to kick off food season in Austin than with an awards program celebrating the best of Austin's culinary and cocktail scene? CultureMap did just that with ...


Health Watch

Komen Austin announces over $1 million in funds for breast cancer treatment, education & research

By Arden Ward

On Tuesday, Komen Austin, the local affiliate of Susan G. Komen, announced its community partner grant recipients for 2013-2014. Despite a decrease in available funds, Komen Austin will grant over ...


Travel Talk

Austin sucks, don't visit here! Huffington Post calls Austin the most overrated travel destination

By Arden Ward

We all know that Austin is still considered the little dark horse in the great, big Lone Star State. We know that Austin is overwhelmingly proud of its unique identity ...


Education and Inspiration

Move that bus: The Nobelity Project launches bookmobile initiative in Honduras

By Arden Ward

Austin-based nonprofit The Nobelity Project may be locally rooted, but its reach extends far beyond state and national borders. Founded in 2006 by Turk Pipkin, The Nobelity Project uses a ...


Hot Clicks

The top 5 stories for the first week of April: It's food month in Austin

By Arden Ward

April is food month in Austin, and our top five stories from the past week don't disagree. Here are the most read stories this week, a food-centric list — with ...


Making the Grade

Austin tops list of best cities in the country for business, along with San Antonio, Houston and Dallas

By Arden Ward

Good news for Austin's booming business culture came from Forbes this week. Austin ranks as one of the best cities to do business in 2013. Based on data from ...


All articles by this author.  291 Results. Showing 21 to 40
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