The 2024 Impact Report: A Year of Ritual
2024 HAS BEEN Future Front’s biggest year yet. Let’s get into it.
From welcoming 18,000 visitors to hosting more than 200 community events, we reached every milestone on our list. Continue reading for some of 2024’s highlights and takeaways.
Our 5 big wins:
Our TOP 10 growth moments:
No. 1 — Across 50 public markets, festivals, shows & community programs in 2024, we welcomed 18,000 visitors, opening up $122,000 in commissions and contracts for 1,550+ independent creatives and artists in Texas.
No. 2— We hosted 100+ free creative community gatherings atThe Future Front House—from craft workshops and art shows (including Madly Involved, A Path of Impermanence and Bring It From The Back) to panels and performances. We were also able to waive our sliding scale rental fees for Austin residents nearly 75% of the time. This is something we’ve been working toward for 10 years!
No. 3 — Across The Front Market’s Spring and Fall Seasons, we exhibited 437 independent creatives, designers, makers, artists, small business owners and chefs from Texas. We also took The Front Market to our largest public venue yet—Waterloo Greenway—in Downtown Austin. This was a landmark moment for our team and the future of the program.
No. 4 — The Front Festival had another record-breaking year, supporting 65 women and LGBTQ+ artists and 1300 visitors across four days of independent music, film and art.
No. 5 — 112 volunteers, board members, community curators and collaborators joined us throughout the year to contribute 1500+ hours of support Future Front’s programs. (This is the largest number of active volunteers in Future Front’s 9-year history.)
No. 6 — We doubled this summer’s Community Clubs, which saw 23 different Future Front members curate and host free creative sessions for 500+ community members.
No. 7 — We presented 25+ community partnerships for free arts healing and creative education workshops, like Broad Studios’ Clubhouse’s Ceramics Fellowship (which provided 16 Austin residents with free six-week ceramics programs) and Black Girls In Art Spaces x Anga Haus Palette to Pixel Workshop (which provided free Augmented Reality training).
No. 8 — We worked with Highlander Center, Plan C, Mutual Love Rest Fest, WATER Lit and Project for Empty Space to host interactive art exhibits and community teach-ins on the artistic, cultural and creative impact of southern people’s struggles for justice and democracy. This year’s themes centered Community-Care, Reproductive Justice and Trans Joy.
No. 9 — Through the The WORK Conference, we brought together 300+ creative leaders in Austin to skill-build and resource-share around community-building, small business education, storytelling and adaptive leadership.
No. 10 — We were recognized for our work by a number of partners, sponsors and grant-makers, including the Texas Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts (for the first time). We also received the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division and Economic Development Department Elevate Grant for a second year. We continued creative community design projects with Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, The Contemporary Austin, The LINE Hotel Austin, Pease Park, Red River Cultural District, Waymo, Waterloo Greenway and more, too.
For a CLOSER look at this year, head to Future Front’s blog & Instagram (@futurefronttexas).
your attention maDE THIS POSSIBLE.
thank YOU TO our SPONSORS, GRANT-MAKERS, DONORS, VOLUNTEERS AND MEMBERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
Future Front’s 2024 Season was supported in part by The City of Austin Economic Development Department, the National Endowment for the Arts (ArtsHERE), Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Texas Commission on the Arts, Waymo, Waterloo Greenway, The LINE Hotel Austin, Pease Park Conservancy, Liquid Death, Distribution Hall, the Red River Cultural District, Moontower Rentals, the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, Topo Chico, as well as Future Front’s donors, volunteers, members and you!
thank YOU TO our MAGNIFICENT staff, board and advisors, too.
