*This event is part of Open Learning, Future Front’s ongoing series of workshops, clubs and pop-ups on creativity, craft & community-care. This session highlights various hosts from Community Clubs.
Community Teach-In: Mini Workshop Day
Welcome to Community Teach-In, a mini workshop day led by queer creatives based in Austin, Texas.
Hosted at The Future Front House—and curated by Nonbinary Paints—Community Teach-In first-ever pop-up will include:
Four mini creative skill-swapping workshops, from figure drawing to playing with clay
Time to learn from (and connect with) queer artists in your community
Low-pressure, summer-camp style creative retreat vibes
get creative and slow into summer—this is our shared space to learn.
The Community Teach-In will be on Saturday, September 28 from 9 AM to 7 PM CT, with earlybird day passes starting at $25 (regularly $40) and individual workshop sessions only $10.
Scroll for more details.
WHAT TO EXPECT
✰ 9 AM — Coffee & Community Welcome (open to all passes)
✰ 10 AM to 12 PM — Creative Writing x Zine-Making Workshop with Mari Blanchard: Learn about the queer history of zine-making as well as how to make your own! Attendees will learn how to design zines, as well as practice making their own.
✰ 12 to 1 PM — Lunch
✰ 1 to 3 PM — Block-Printing with Regine: Learn how to create your own design on styrofoam printing blocks and print onto paper (and more!)
✰ 3 to 5 PM — Figure Drawing with Lu: Learn the basics of life drawing and how to apply your new skills! Attendees will work through a short drawing tutorial and then have the opportunity to practice their drawing skills with a figure model.
✰ 5 to 7 PM — Play With Clay Workshop with Tanya: Come learn clay basics, practice sculptural skills using your hands as the primary tool, and have FUN!
MEET YOUR TEACH-IN HOSTS
Lu Farrell (they/them) is a Chicanx trans nonbinary artist, community organizer and digital strategist living in Austin, Texas. Lu began their work with Future Front as a volunteer during the summer of 2022 as a way to engage with their new city and build a creative community. Since then, they joined the Future Front network as a Community Club host and, now, as a Curator. As a Curator with Future Front, Lu seeks to celebrate Austin’s local creative community and create more spaces for queer creative exchange.
Tanya Zal (she/her) is an Austin, Texas-based artist whose practice includes holding space for others and creating things to hold. In both her work as a care provider and her art making she is curious about how we engage with ourselves, others, and the objects around us. Originally from upstate NY, where she completed her BFA in 2010, Tanya has spent the last decade building a ceramics art practice and connections within the Austin creative community. Her ceramics are colorful, decorative, and celebratory. Familiar and inviting, they tell stories about imagined girlhood, community ritual, and cycles of magical transformation.
Regine Kalala is an elementary art educator with a particular interest in 3D art, printmaking, and zines. She teaches students kindergarten through 5th grade in Pflugerville, TX. What she loves most about teaching is getting to witness her students’ boundless creativity, especially seeing what they make during after school art club. She has a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in ceramics from the University of North Texas. Wheel thrown pottery was her primary focus in school, with a lot of attention paid to comfortable functionality of her pieces as well as aesthetics. As part of her degree plan, she took a variety of studio art courses including screen printing, watercolor, beginner and intermediate figure drawing, and weaving. While at UNT, she began modeling for figure drawing and painting classes part time. In her free time, she still enjoys modeling for drawing and painting classes around Austin.
Mari Blanchard is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer who graduated from University of Texas with a BFA in Design in 2022. Her senior thesis project was a series of booklets created to guide beginners through the book design process, from ideation to binding. At UT, Mari managed the art department’s experimental printing press, the Risograph Lab. In her two years as manager, she printed bi-annual commemorative publications, held regular teaching seminars on print design, and assisted the annual Guest Artist in Print by printing exhibition chapbooks and other ephemera. Since 2023, Mari has taught introductory bookbinding and decorative paper making at the Austin Waldorf School.
HOW TO ATTEND
Passes* for this event require a $25 (pre-sale) donation for all-day programming or $10 per session. All-day passes will be $40 at the door.
*Passes are free for Future Front members.
Name your own ticket price (minimum of $25) at check-out to donate below:
*If you are a Future Front member, please provide your name at the door for entry or head to members.futurefronttexas.org or futurefrontmembership.squarespace.com to access member rates for event tickets, applications & other perks at anytime.
PREPARE YOUR VISIT TO THE TEACH-IN
The Future Front House is located at 1900 E. 12th Street.
WHERE TO PARK: The Future Front House has a large paid parking lot across the street and is directly accessible by bus line. There’s also free parking up and down the street and in surrounding neighborhoods. Carpool, if you can!
WHAT TO DO: The Future Front House is located within the historic East 12th Street District, which is home to many other creative spaces and businesses, as well as organizations like Six Square. Explore the District while you’re around.
AVAILABLE LANGUAGES — ASL interpreters can be provided upon request. Si necesita traducción al español para participar en este evento, envíenos un correo electrónico a hello@futurefronttexas.org.
OUR COMMUNITY SAFETY GUIDELINES —
All Future Front staff, volunteers and guests will be required to practice mutual respect, as well as demonstrate an alignment with Future Front’s code of conduct and values.
Capacity is limited to reduce crowding of any kind and all events will be held in primarily outdoor and open-air spaces or have access to proper ventilations and well-maintained A/C systems.
At Future Front events, all guests are expected to follow Austin-local health and safety guidelines for gatherings, as well as practice consideration with the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and any other legal, mind-altering or dangerous substances and objects. This includes:
As Future Front strives to be a good neighbor, we also discourage the use of tobacco products on the property of nearby businesses and residences, to improve air quality, throughout our events.
Tobacco use and electronic smoking device use are not permitted at any time within Future Front properties and event spaces at least 15 ft from entrances, exits, operational windows, or ventilation system intake vents.
Littering of tobacco-related products on the grounds or parking lots is also prohibited.
Concealed or open weapons and firearms (including handguns) are not allowed at any Future Front venues.
GOT QUESTIONS? Shoot us a note at hello@futurefronttexas.org. We're happy to help and will get back to you!
BEHIND FUTURE FRONT
HOMEGROWN IN AUSTIN, FUTURE FRONT IS AN AWARD-WINNING CULTURE SPACE AND EXHIBITION SERIES—WITH WOMEN AND LGBTQ+ CREATIVES AT THE FRONT.
As an arts and culture nonprofit, we produce two community-led exhibitions, The Front Market and The Front Festival. Beyond our flagship showcases, we host year-round shows and workshops at our creative space in historic East Austin, welcoming 20,000+ visitors per year.
Through these programs and collaborations, we invite the public to dream of a future where creativity, curiosity and intersectional design thrive in Texas—where we see ourselves and our cultures reflected in our communities. Learn more at futurefronttexas.org.
THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY The City of Austin Economic Development Department, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Texas Commission on the Arts, Waymo, The LINE Hotel Austin, Pease Park Conservancy, the Red River Cultural District, Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, Topo Chico, as well as Future Front’s donors and members. THANK YOU!