We’re a little over a week away from this year’s 13th annual Austin ArtWorks Festival, but before we get there, there’s an important celebration just days before that.
From 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, the Austin ArtWorks Center will celebrate 10 years at its Main Street Location, marking a decade of bringing more art and music opportunities to Austin and the surrounding area.
“Ten years have flown by and we’ve done so much that it feels like I started not long ago,” said Interim Executive Director Kelsey Ritchie.
Though Austin Area Arts has its roots reaching back into the 1990s, it wasn’t until 2014 that they consolidated under one roof at its current location.
At that time, Austin Area Arts was located in the Paramount Theatre and the need for a move resulted from a lack of office space and the desire to do more in the community. At the same time, the art center in what was then the Oak Park Mall was closing.
“We took a lot of the people, artists and ideas and transitioned into something new,” Ritchie said.
After being able to lock down what was formerly known as the Bank Building, volunteers and staff began the work of renovating the ArtWorks Center into what it is today while at the same time opening up the opportunity for growth.
Austin Area Arts had just one full time employee then — Director Jennie Knoebel. Since then, staff has grown to five full time employees while at the same time art and educational opportunities have grown.
“Over the 10 years, we’ve had so many people specifically work on clay downstairs,” Ritchie said. “The education program has kind of exploded. Ever since we decided to make the kids studio $5, it just opened up the door for a lot of families and that is because we get grant funding. We are able to keep costs to a minimum for people who want to take it while still paying instructors a wage.”
The number of those artists selling wares in the retail portion has also grown from 20-30 people on average early on to over 100 now. That number has also increased in terms of people showing their work at the center.
Ritchie said that the growth and establishment of the ArtWorks Center downtown has allowed for a healthier growth of the arts.
“I think having one place is really helpful,” she said. “Just so people know where to go. People still do get confused that we are also the Paramount, because it’s its own building, but between the two we are Austin Area Arts. All of that happens in one place. People know where to direct others. We have a little bit of everything.”
And Ritchie expects the successes over the past 10 years to continue to grow.
“We need to continue to grow,” she said. “I expect our education program to grow even more. I see us growing and expanding to every inch we have. Any space they will give us here, we will make it into something. We have a good base here.”
Wednesday night’s event, organized with help from Belita Schindler, Mary Anne Wolesky and Gretchen Ramlo — all three of which were heavily involved in the original opening, will include a wine/beer bar along with a clay demonstration in the Clay Cavern downstairs and live music upstairs. The retail space will be open for purchasing items, there will be a painting activity with artist Katie Stromlund and Katie Hunderdosse will be outside creating chalk art.
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