Big Medium's Shrinking Budget

Organization behind Austin Studio Tour shuts down with funding shortage

Big Medium named the loss of major sponsors like the City of Austin as the cause of its closure. Big Medium/Instagram

The arts organization behind the Austin Studio Tour, Big Medium, has announced that it is shutting down. In an open email to the community Friday, February 21, it said the decision followed "many years of financial hardships and tireless efforts to renew and rebuild Big Medium with limited resources." The letter is also visible on Big Medium's home page.

Austinites didn't necessarily interface directly with Big Medium — or realize when they were doing so — but the organization was influential all over town because it brought artists and admirers of the arts together on a large scale. The Austin Studio Tour set up showings all over town in galleries, home studios, and more, giving Austinites a chance to see behind the scenes and get to know local makers.

In addition to the tours, Big Medium also produced exhibitions, collected data for a survey of contemporary art in Texas, maintained the Canopy art studios in East Austin, and managed partnerships with local businesses that offered residencies, prizes, and more.

Big Medium's message promises the studio tours will continue, but does not commit to a specific "form or fashion." It promises that more explorations will come to figure out the best way to keep it running both for artists profits and art community relationships. The 2024 Texas Biennial (the contemporary art survey) will also be completed and handed off to new leadership.

A loss of sponsorship and inability to keep up with costs were the final blows for the organization. The letter specifically names the City of Austin as one of the major sponsors that "have redirected their funding priorities, leaving significant gaps in our budget." It does not cite the early 2024 fire that damaged its space as a contributing factor, but the extensive damage certainly couldn't have helped.

Finally, Big Medium thanked its artists, supporters, and community members for keeping the vision going for nearly 20 years.

"While this chapter closes, we believe in the power of art and remain committed to fostering and uplifting our creative community," the letter says. "We hope you will continue to support the arts and our city. Austin’s cultural identity was shaped by artists, and as the city rapidly changes, we desperately need meaningful investment in artists and creative spaces to preserve that identity and the soul of our city."

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Austin gallery hosts World Fair-inspired international street art party

Some of the show's featured street artists include RabbitSnake, Sistashhhh, CityKitty, Technique2012, WarClass, Smack, and Only Abrahams. Photo courtesy of Gallery Delytes

On April 5, Austinites can experience a variety of street art, live music, cuisine, and dancing from all over the world — without ever leaving South Austin. This World's Fair, presented by Gallery Delytes, will take over Propaganda HQ for one day only.

Like Chicago's famous World Fair of 1893, this event will bring together artists, food, and music from the world over, as a way to expose Austinites to various cultures without ever leaving home.

“Gallery Delytes aims to bring people together through the universal languages of street art, music, and food,” says curator of Gallery Delytes SR Meyers in a press release. “We are excited to create an event that highlights the creativity and rich cultural tapestry of street arts from around our world, right here in Austin.”

Some of the featured artists include:

The Postman: This anonymous street art duo comes from Brighton. They have a background in graffiti and photography, and their street art is a mix of spray paint, stencils, collage, and digital media.
Brady Black: Though Black was born in Texas, he has traveled the world creating public art and "community murals" that focus on bringing attention to marginalized communities. Black began his street art in Beirut, Lebanon, and these days he's based out of Seattle.
City Kitty: City Kitty has been pasting elaborate, hand-drawn scenes throughout the city of New York for the past 14 years. He's best known for his large-scale psychedelic drawings of cats and humans with extraneous facial features, which you can see all over North America and Europe.
RabbitSnake: RabbitSnake is a local Austin street artist best known for their signature cartoon-like, long-necked and slightly creepy Donny Darko-esque rabbit tag, but they also use stencils and mixed media like attaching stuffed animals and other objects to poles, in the style of a roadside memorial.
Sam Shrug: Another artist from the U.K., Sam Shrug comes from Essex and is a mixed media street artist. He uses a combination of nostalgic printouts, found photos, paint, and halftone stencil techniques to create psychedelic-looking black and white images with splashes of vibrant color.
Sistashhhh: Another local artist, Sistashhhh uses a combination of vibrant colors in a style her Instagram page calls "Nuevo Pastiche movement." According to her IG, "it snatches from the past tears at the fabric of time throws toward an abstract surrealist future." We'd just recommend checking it out.

The rest of the lineup includes about 30 more artists.

According to Meyers, "The actual event [space] will completely be transformed into International Art Fair Grounds that will spill out into the Warehouse."

This World's Fair will take place from 5-10 pm at 625 Industrial Blvd. on April 5. Admission is free and guests are encouraged to RSVP online.

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