When Austin Got Weird

When Austin Got Weird: New exhibit is a trippy trek through counterculture history

Relive Austin’s own “Golden Age” at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum’s newest exhibit, opening this Friday, July 11. When Austin Got Weird is a collection of interactive podcast interviews and music poster artwork that defined the counterculture generation.

“We hope that visitors get to see when Austin really became the 'Music Capital,' when it really changed,” Jenny Cobb, exhibit assistant, tells CultureMap. “The exhibit highlights the time in history when all of these artists and musicians started finding out that Austin’s where it’s at. We really want them to experience the 'Golden Age' of Austin and see that the city still stands on that foundation today.”

When Austin Got Weird highlights the ever-popular counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s that transformed Austin into the musical mecca we know it as today. The collection of 29 posters is on exhibit through September 14 in the Third Floor Rotunda Gallery. It features the era’s famous musicians — including Pete Seeger and the Ramones — plus local legends like Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Other homegrown musicians including Willie Nelson, Texas Tornados, Shiva’s Headband and Asleep at the Wheel are also featured in the curated collection.

But the musicians aren't the only ones glorified by the exhibit. It also celebrates renowned poster artists of the generation, including Michael Priest, Gilbert Shelton, Robert Burns and Jim Franklin. “All of the posters are really amazing,” Cobb says. “When you see them in person they just come to life. You can hear the music and feel what it was like to be there just from looking at them.”

Opening night of When Austin Got Weird also marks the return of another musical endeavor at the museum, the annual Music Under The Star concert series. The three-week series appropriately kicks off its 11th season with psychedelic rock pioneer –– and Austinite –– Roky Erickson. The concerts take place each Friday from 6-9 pm. The full lineup for the series is as follows.

July 11: Roky Erickson and The Shiva's Headband Experience
July 18: Carrie Rodriguez and Tish Hinojosa
July 25: Ray Benson with Milkdrive and Jason Roberts Band

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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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