About the Museum

Arthouse at the Jones Center has a proud history of mapping the future of the visual arts in Texas. It is both the oldest statewide visual arts organization in Texas and the only one devoted solely to contemporary art. The mission of Arthouse is to promote the growth and appreciation of contemporary art and artists in Texas. Through its exhibitions and programs in Austin and statewide, Arthouse helps nurture artists’ careers and deepen public understanding of contemporary art.

2007-2008 Minigrant Projects

LTL Renovation

This project highlights Arthouse’s building design for the renovation of the Jones Center in downtown Austin, Texas. Lewis.Tsurmaki.Lewis (LTL), an innovative and award-winning architecture firm, was selected to design the renovation. In taking on this project, Arthouse looked at modern and contemporary architecture as an art form. This selection reflects Arthouse’s desire to embrace and promote new architecture just as it promotes new art.

Young Artists @ Arthouse

Young Artists @ Arthouse is a free program open to teenagers from underserved neighborhoods in Austin and Travis County who are interested in visual art. Over the course of a semester, the students develop a portfolio of artwork while working closely with a professional Austin-based artist who serves as their mentor and advisor. At the culmination of the semester, a small exhibition of their artwork is held in the Jones Center Office Gallery. To further augment this program, Arthouse exhibited “online portfolios” for the students.

Cult of Color: Call to Color

Cult of Color: Call to Color is a world premiere dance work developed through an exciting collaboration featuring the work of Houston-based contemporary visual artist Trenton Doyle Hancock, new music by nationally acclaimed composer Graham Reynolds, and original choreography by Ballet Austin Artistic Director/Choreographer Stephen Mills. The extraordinary production brings Hancock’s mythology to life in a new dimension through an innovative visual art/music/dance project that will inaugurate Austin’s newest dance theater space. This project was produced in partnership between Ballet Austin and Arthouse at the Jones Center. Arthouse will present an exhibition of Hancock’s artwork as well as material by Mills and Reynolds. The performance premiere occurred in the Austin Ventures Studio Theater at Ballet Austin.

2008-2009 Minigrant Projects

Matt Stokes: these are the days

these are the days is a commission and exhibition of new work by British artist Matt Stokes inspired by punk rock subcultures—past and present—in Austin, Texas. Stokes is the recipient of the esteemed 2006 Beck’s Futures Prize and these are the days is his first original commission and institutional exhibition in the United States. The exhibition, which involves a 16mm film production and installation, an original audio recording, and the collection of ephemera related to the punk, post-punk, and DIY movements, has been assembled over a series of trips Stokes made to Austin. The two-channel film installation features footage from an Arthouse-organized punk show held at the Broken Neck and a band session recorded at Sweatbox Studio, both in Austin. The newly created films will be concurrently presented at Project Space 176, a major new contemporary art space located in the Camden section of London — an area strongly connected to growth of the UK punk scene.

Goals and Outcomes

As a result of participation in the Edward and Betty Marcus Digital Education Project, Arthouse at the Jones Center has reframed the way its website is developed and used. Placing digital resources—including podcasts, videos, and interactive presentations—online has become a higher priority. Outreach activities that rely on the Arthouse website as an educational resource enable the museum to reach a broader audience and are having a positive influence on other areas of the museum, including development, marketing, and public relations.

LTL Renovation is available for visitor use in the Arthouse gallery space as a part of the exhibition about the renovation as well as on the Arthouse website. The museum also plans to use the presentation as a part of its capital campaign as a resource for potential funders to learn more about the museum, its programs, and their renovation project.

Young Artists @ Arthouse is featured on the Arthouse website, where participants can use it to share their artwork with friends and family. The online student portfolios provide a more complete record of the work created as a part of the Young Artists program because in the gallery exhibition, each artist had only one or two works on display, while the online format provides more space for all of their work to be exhibited. The portfolios may also be used by the young artists as they apply for college or other opportunities.

The Cult of Color presentation will be used as an educational tool by both Ballet Austin and Arthouse. This unique cross-disciplinary project offers a rich opportunity for both organizations to use online education to deepen and broaden their audiences.

Arthouse will measure the success of their presentations based on web statistics and feedback from patrons and other museums in their comments box.

Where in Texas is the Arthouse at the Jones Center?

View Larger Map