Austin Friends of Folk Art

Upcoming event at Mexic-Arte:

Join Us Saturday, May 4th for the Reveal & Ribbon Cutting Reception for the Mural:
The Sisterhood of Two Hearts/La Hermandad de Dos Corazones

Date: Saturday, May 4th, 2024

Time: 4:00–5:30pm

Where: Mexic-Arte Museum, 419 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX, 78701

Parking: Visit our website to see parking options near Mexic-Arte Museum

About the Project

This mural is part of the Annual Saltillo Day in Austin celebration May 3-5, 2024. In 1968 the Mayors from Saltillo and Austin formalized the Austin-Saltillo Sister Cities relationship focusing on citizen diplomacy, friendship, education, and culture. This year's activities includes Saltillo-based artists, Chous and Ann Sofia Flores creating murals at Plaza Saltillo and Mexic-Arte Museum with the assistance of Austin Independent School District’s International High School students supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department. These two murals are the first public art installations on the 5th St. Mexican American Heritage Corridor & District connecting downtown to the eastside of Austin along 5th Street.

About The Sisterhood of Two Hearts

This piece is titled "The Sisterhood of Two Hearts" and portrays the scenic beauty of Austin and Saltillo as sister cities. It incorporates graphic elements such as cacti, flowers, a woman with a traditional Saltillo Sarape at the forefront symbolizing the reforestation of life and fraternity. Each part of this artwork contains elements that showcase the culture and history that binds these two cities together.

About the Artists

Julio Ávalos, also known as Chous, and Ana Flores Lavin are graphic artists and designers who specialize in large-scale murals and public art as well as traditional and digital illustration. Based in Saltillo, Coahuila, they have worked on major projects and explored their passion for the arts in Mexico and around the world. A main focus of their work is to engage in the recovery of public spaces and crime prevention through art and cultural management. In addition to their urban art projects, they have worked on branding for companies and produced creative output for various cultural festivals.

Coming this Sunday, April 28!

Some interesting items at this upcoming estate sale. Check it out!

Folk Art Bazaar & Estate Sale Explore a whimsical collection of folk art treasures and unique finds at our Folk Art Bazaar & Estate Sale - a feast for the eyes

Feast your eyes on these amazing creations from female artists in Central Asia.

A Global Tapestry of Craft: Championing Women Artisans of Central Asia in a New Lookbook Today, marking International Women’s Day, we are excited to share the result of a year-long collaboration.

https://mexic-artemuseum.org/event/totally-cool-totally-art-2024/

Totally Cool, Totally Art 2024! - Mexic-Arte Museum Totally Cool Totally Art is an annual exhibition presented every February in conjunction with the City of Austin and Parks and Recreation Department, featuring painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and photography done by youth in grades 7th through 12th.

Time is running out to see the charming El Nacimiento exhibit at Mexic-Arte Museum in downtown Austin! Over 400 separate pieces of Mexican folk art figures donated from the years-in-the-making collection of AFFA's very own Ed Jordan (below left) make up this wonderfully elaborate Mexican Nativity scene. It's actually the largest museum display in Texas! If you've ever marveled at the Girard Collection's folk art dioramas—such as Peruvian Festival and Mexican Town—at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, you owe it to yourself to see Austin's captivating Nativity installation. The exhibit ends on January 7, so hurry!

https://mexic-artemuseum.org/event/el-nacimiento-2023/

This looks like a must-see! Time to get your tickets! Click to open.

Austin Opera Austin Opera launches a collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin and Univision to host Noche de Bienvenida/Welcome Night on February 1, 2024, the opening night of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (Crossing the Face of the Moon).

Another popular belief debunked! "Tortilla" is not a Mexican or even Mesoamerican word. If you can read Spanish, read on to learn the origin of this word.

La palabra «tortilla» NO es una palabra mexicana ni proviene de ninguna lengua mesoamericana. La palabra «tortilla» proviene del latín y significa «pequeña torta de pan». Diminutivo de «torta».

We were contacted by the Associate Producer for the PBS series CRAFT IN AMERICA to let us know about an upcoming program of interest. They're aware of and supportive of our work with Travis County to create a Folk Art Museum for Austin.

PBS's new CRAFT IN AMERICA episode, MINIATURES, features folk art at the International Folk Art Market and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. The episode further features the art of Herón Martínez Mendoza, in a segment on Alexander Girard's Multiple Visions exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art. We have some of Mendoza's work in our collection (along with the work of many other incredible folk artists), so this episode will be of special interest to AFFA folks!

You can view the episode at the link below. The Girard segment begins at timestamp 34:30. Enjoy!

https://www.craftinamerica.org/episode/miniatures

A fascinating article on Verónica Castillo, an internationally recognized artist in San Antonio, Texas. She is most known for her Tree of Life, or Árbol de la Vida, sculptures. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded her the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship Award in 2013. Her ceramic piece "Latino Roots, History, and Justice" is now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino.

Rooted in Tradition, Reaching for Social Change: Verónica Castillo’s “Tree of Life” Sculptures While Tree of Life motifs appear in other parts of the world, the sculpted candelabra style she works in originated in Mexico.

Great article on the founder of Santa Fe's Museum of International Folk Art.

History The Museum of International Folk Art was founded by Florence Dibell Bartlett based on the belief that folk art would foster “an appreciation of the culture and craft of other countries” and provide “one avenue for a closer understanding between men.”

Re-posting this from Sylvia Orozco. Good article. Many AFFA members make their own Day of the Dead altars at home annually and have recognized the universality of this custom for a long time.

Day of the Dead isn't just for Mexicans (Opinion) Macario and Chrissie Dickerson Ramirez of Casa Ramirez have done their part to share the...

Great Smithsonian Folklife article on self-taught African-American artist Chris Malone. There's a palpable spirituality in his works.

Pieces of Life: Chris Malone’s Sculptures Tell Stories of Spirituality and an Unknown Past Malone, who is largely self-taught, credits his success to the power of creativity and a strong personal drive derived from his upbringing.

IT'S TOMORROW!
Time goes by fast! Tomorrow, Saturday, October 7th, you'll be able to shop at our Austin Friends of Folk Art Market Day Sale of world folk art and related collectibles! Join us from 10:00am until 3:00pm, at The Rosette, a wonderful indoor venue at 3908 Ave B, Suite 116, near 40th St. https://maps.app.goo.gl/KjRdWDyjf8sEgJmdA

Bring cash or checks; electronic payments also accepted via Square. Do some funky shopping for yourself, your family, and your friends!

Please visit our page .org to view this interactive video of items which will be on sale.

See you tomorrow!

IT'S ALMOST HERE!
In less than a week you'll be able to shop at our Austin Friends of Folk Art Market Day Sale of world folk art and related collectibles! Join us on Saturday, October 7th, from 10:00am until 3:00pm, at The Rosette, a wonderful indoor venue at 3908 Ave B, Suite 116, near 40th St. Bring cash or checks; electronic payments also accepted via Square. Do some funky shopping for yourself, your family, and your friends!

Please visit our page .org to view this interactive video of items which will be on sale. See you Saturday!

The Rosette is here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KjRdWDyjf8sEgJmdA

On Saturday, October 7th, from 10:00am until 3:00pm, stop by the Austin Friends of Folk Art Market Day Sale of world folk art and related collectibles! It'll be held at a wonderful indoor venue, The Rosette, at 3908 Ave B, Suite 116, near 40th St. Bring cash or checks; electronic payments also accepted via Square. Do some funky shopping for yourself, your family, and your friends!

https://maps.app.goo.gl/KjRdWDyjf8sEgJmdA

Trying to post a reminder.

In Saltillo, Coahuila enjoying the culture!

I have been in Austin’s Sister City, Saltillo. A friendship of more than 50 years continues. Celebrating the 446 anniversary of the founding of the city!

FOLK ART MATTERS: THE PLACE OF FOLK ART IN TIMES OF JOY AND TIMES OF TROUBLE

You are welcome to join UT’s August Lunchtime Lecture with Dr. Suzanne Seriff who will take a global look at the many ways art functions in times of joy and times of trouble, alike. This should be a fun and educational event!

Dr. Seriff draws on over 40 years in the field as an award-winning anthropologist and museum curator to bring you stories from Morocco to Mexico to Mexia, Texas.

This is a free event. You can register to attend here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/august-2023-virtual-lunchtime-lecture-tickets-664690315627?aff=oddtdtcreator

CORRECTION: Deadline for registering is today, July 26, at midnight, but it's not necessary to pre-register according to Texas Exes staff. We checked before we sent this notice out.

The event is Tuesday, August 1, 12-1 p.m.

Zoom link: https://texasexes-org.zoom.us/j/83065578645

COMING UP TUESDAY AUGUST 1, Noon-1pm: “FOLK ART MATTERS: THE PLACE OF FOLK ART IN TIMES OF JOY AND TIMES OF TROUBLE,"
a Texas Exes Virtual Lunchtime Lecture by Dr. Suzanne Seriff, Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts.

It's via ZOOM, it's FREE, and you don't need to be a registered Texas Ex to attend, but you DO NEED TO REGISTER! Read about it at the link below, where you'll see a REGISTER link to get your free ticket. (Make a contribution if you can!)

https://www.texasexes.org/get-involved/events/lunchtime-lectures?utm_campaign=July+2023+LL+-+Email+1&utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=https%3a%2f%2fwww.eventbrite.com%2fe%2fapril-2023-virtual-lunchtime-lecture-tickets-565638178017&utm_term=%%

Don't miss Mexic-Arte's wonderful exhibit, up through August 20, 2023: Expresiones de México, Arte de la Gente / Art of the People. Take a friend!!
https://mexic-artemuseum.org/miembros-newsletter-july-2023/

Join us for the Gustavo "Gus" L. Garcia Recreation Center Mural Unveiling Ceremony on Saturday, May 27 at 9 a.m. at 1201 E. Rundberg Ln. This is an outdoor park event, so please dress comfortably. More info: bit.ly/3ohwFX2

Created by artist Lindsey Millikan through Art in Public Places (AIPP), a program of the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department, the large-scale mural prominently features a portrait of former Austin Mayor Gus Garcia as well as members of the community at play.

Many AFFA members already know about our ongoing assessment and cataloguing of the many donations we have received for the Folk Art Museum. We have already catalogued several donated collections, but there are more to go! We can always use more volunteers to help with this process, which has been ongoing twice a week for several weeks.

The work involves going through our boxes of folk art, stored in an air-conditioned storage unit that we maintain, and working with one or two (sometimes more) other volunteers to separate the items into three categories:

• Art for the Museum Collection—These are the highest-quality or most unusual/rarest items, worthy of museum display. We do this work preparatory to the photography and research of the items by Travis County.

• Items for Auction/Sale—These are good, interesting items but not museum-quality, and some may duplicate items already in the collection. These items will be sold at our Market Day Sale in the fall and our Holiday Party auction. Items that fall into the Auction/Sale category also need to be priced and sorted.

• Items “For Display”—These are non-museum-quality items that can nevertheless serve a useful purpose as decorations or adornments for museum displays or other local folk art displays.

If you think you’d enjoy working with our Acquisitions Committee members and other volunteers to help identify, separate, and categorize our folk art items, let us know by putting a message in the Comments or sending an e-mail to info@austinfriendsoffolkart, to the attention of Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza. Volunteers generally meet weekdays in the morning from 10:00–12:30 pm and from 1:00–3:00pm. Please let us know if you can help out and we will send the sign-up schedule.

Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza, Meta Hunt, Susan Sternberg, and Martha Kull having a delightful time going through our boxes of folk art.

Check this out!

Muraling Austin | Dive into the murals of Austin, Texas Discover the vibrant world of Austin's murals with Muraling Austin, a multi-platform media project featuring a three-part documentary series, a companion website, and teaching materials for classrooms. Explore the imaginative artists who bring the city's walls to life, and witness the ways in which....