A Long Time

Austin's Long Center celebrates its 15th anniversary and unique co-founder with maximal fanfare

Dr. Teresa Lozano Long was the first Hispanic woman to graduate from the University of Texas with a doctorate in health and physical education.

Photo courtesy of the Long Center

The Long Center has been around...for a long time. In many ways Austin's leading arts organization, it brings outdoor concerts, theater, cinema, awards ceremonies, and more to a beautiful, central venue in one of the more natural downtown areas. Most important, it doesn't let the hangups of traditional art get in the way of pop that people can actually relate to.

This year, the Long Center is celebrating its 15th anniversary with its first-ever "Teresa Lozano Long Community Day" on Saturday, September 9. This open house — turned into a party, the Long Center way — honors the late, multi-hyphenate Dr. Teresa Lozano Long, who co-founded the organization.

Perhaps Dr. Long knew how to straddle the line between fine and popular art because she embodied that same blend of highbrow and weathered hands her whole life. Raised on a dairy farm, it only took her until age 16 to become valedictorian of her high school.

From there, she worked up through her doctorate degree in health and physical education at the University of Texas, where she was the first Hispanic woman to do so, according to the Long Center. So as anyone raised on a farm with a doctorate in phys-ed would do, she made it her mission to support the arts, later giving the lead gift that got the Long Center started, with her husband's help.

“I know Terry is looking down with pride and appreciation for this free community day in her honor, as she was always the first in line to celebrate a major milestone for access to the arts in Austin,” said her husband, Joe Long, in a release. “It really is amazing to see all that has been accomplished in 15 years at the Long Center, and all that is in store for generations to come as this special place continues to unite the community with local, national, and global arts programming.”

The open house will invite Austinites into a space they've probably entered time and time again, for different programming every hour from noon to 5 pm.

Some of these programming blocks will highlight the talents and missions of:

Indie chamber music group Montopolis
Mexican folk dance company Ballet Folklorico de Austin
Music education nonprofit Austin Soundwaves
Professional theater company Austin Shakespeare
Classical guitar instruction nonprofit Austin Classical Guitar
Austin ISD's Northeast High School Band
Musicians of the Austin Symphony Orchestra
Ballet Austin's free community dance event, Rhythm on Stage
The Long Center's own Austin Opera
Music by DJ Mixer Rogers and crafts & games by youth development nonprofit Creative Action

Alongside all these things to see and hear, visitors can pop in and out of a cocktail lounge, get snacks from various food trucks, and explore a retrospective gallery honoring the Long Center's last 15 years. Long Center and Business Arts Council members can stop by the Member's Green Room for a complimentary cocktail, popcorn, and merch.

Since the purpose is to to get Austinites in touch with the arts, there will be some in-person ticket deals at the box office. The center secured support from H-E-B and AT&T to ensure that the event would be free for everyone to attend.

“Thanks to the vision and generosity of Dr. Long and her husband, Joe, the Long Center is proud to celebrate 15 years of realizing their dream of making the arts accessible to all,” said Long Center CEO Cory Baker. “The Longs have opened doors to the arts to those who otherwise would not have had the opportunity so in that spirit, it is an honor to open the Long Center’s doors wide for a free event for all to enjoy.”

No matter what's happening onstage, she encourages people to look around every bit of the property. “The Long Center is always yours," she adds, "but [it is] especially on Teresa Lozano Long Community Day!"

For more information about the Long Center and the open house, visit thelongcenter.org.

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New

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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