Inner City Sanctums

The East Side's new Canopy studios aim to create a collective home for local artists

A rendering of Canopy Studios

“My first thought when I saw the construction was ‘condos,’” Miguel Alvarez, a local filmmaker, says about the time he first noticed the new Canopy studio spaces going up on 916 Springdale Road. “It was such a nice surprise to find out what was really going on.”

While the development of new high-rise condos is an everyday occurrence in our city, affordable studio spaces for local artists are few and far between. That’s why the East Side’s new Canopy Studios, a 40,000-square-foot complex of three large warehouses, offering 45 studio spaces (starting at $500/month), three galleries, more than 150 parking spots and (in the near future) a café, is such a pleasant anomaly for local creatives like Alvarez.

“We wanted a broad spectrum of creative professionals to find a home here,” says Shea Little, co-founder of Big Medium, which will relocate their headquarters to Canopy and act as the site manager and anchor tenant. And besides a few limitations (there isn’t adequate infrastructure for welding equipment, and raucous band rehearsals would disrupt neighbors), it seems like any creative type could find a place here.

“Austin’s art community is so dispersed all over town, so we hope this will help anchor things a little." - Shea Little

The design of the sprawling complex (previously a Goodwill warehouse, Blue Genie Art Industries and the Blue Theater), was created by Jay Colombo of the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, with the intent of keeping the spaces affordable for artists, hence the chic, yet unfinished aesthetic of the industrial building, featuring exposed, raw concrete, open-aired breezeways and spacious courtyards with broad skylights overhead.

There might not be floor-to-ceiling windows with views of downtown, but since when do self-employed artists expect to get that with their monthly budget? There are windows of various sizes in almost every studio; there are less than 10 studios without direct sunlight, but they feature translucent, polycarbonate walls that allow light to stream in and warm the space indirectly.

There are still studios available for rent and, so far, scheduled tenants include local acrylic painter Daniel Arredondo, Emdash, Studio Slomo, Fine Blend Media, BILLY and Jack King just to name a few. (Ceramicist, Keith Kreager, who reserved his space at the beginning of construction was even able to install and customize his studio’s specific equipment from the ground up.)

“Austin’s art community is so dispersed all over town, so we hope this will help anchor things a little,” Little says. “And there are still opportunities for more development in the complex. I can see more and more arts organizations moving to Canopy. I really hope it can sustain itself as an arts destination and district of sorts without completely changing the area or losing diversity.”

Rather, the Canopy complex will seek to retain East Austin’s unique culture and existing sense of community with the eventual offerings of artist residency programs (free of charge), regular First Thursday events, more space for smaller, contemporary galleries and a weekly farmers’ market — perhaps in conjunction with an East Side neighbor like Springdale Farms.

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Canopy presented its first of many onsite exhibitions on Feb. 9, featuring the work of Ricardo Paniagua.

A rendering of Canopy Studios

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Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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