On Community Stories, Black Art and Cultural Preservation: History In The Making

History in the Making poseD two questions — What does Black History mean to you? How are you making History today? — as an expression of solidarity, a celebration of existence and a desire for life. For ourselves and the futures of those to come after us.

Presented in collaboration with curator Taylor Danielle Davis and Austin-based collective Do Not Disturb, this interactive exhibit features artwork from five emerging artists in the Texas South, whose mediums draw on visual archives.

Following an opening night of music and libations in February 2025, the exhibit’s public programming centered multidisciplinary talks and workshops with Austin’s creative community on the exhibit’s themes of cultural preservation and celebration over the course of two months.

Continue reading to learn more about the show.

BEHIND THE CURATORIAL VISION

Artworks by Dontrius Williams. Photo by Jinni J

Featuring artworks by Dontrius Williams, Constance Y. White, Jasmin Porter, Karin Moss & Salihah Saadiq, history in the making was a curatorial collaboration between taylor danielle davis and do not disturb collective.

ABOUT TAYLOR DANIELLE DAVIS

Taylor Danielle Davis is an independent curator and landscape designer dedicated to amplifying emerging QTBIPOC artists through inclusive exhibitions and community engagement. Her work bridges art and culture, fostering diverse creative expression and meaningful conversations in the arts. Raised in Los Angeles, CA and based in Austin, Texas, Taylor’s work is deeply rooted in the celebration and amplification of emerging queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC) artists. With a dedication to creating inclusive and transformative spaces, Taylor’s curatorial practice is driven by a commitment to fostering artistic expression, elevating underrepresented voices, and sparking meaningful conversations through diverse works of art.

Her experience spans curating group exhibitions in both San Francisco and Austin, collaborating with various arts and culture organizations to bring bold and impactful projects to life. In addition to her curatorial work, Taylor is actively involved in the Austin community, serving as a board member for both Women and their Work Gallery and for the Trail Conservancy, where she chairs the Arts and Culture Committee. She also contributes her expertise as a panel member for Austin’s Art in Public Places program, is a member of MASS Gallery, and serves on the curatorial advisory board for Future Front Texas. Taylor’s multifaceted roles reflect her passion for integrating art, culture, and community, creating spaces where creativity and diversity thrive.

ABOUT DO NOT DISTURB COLLECTIVE

Jasmin Porter is an artist from Oakland, CA living in Austin, Texas. Most of her creative practices depict the intricate vibrancies of life through visual mediums. She seeks to tell the stories that do not often get told and to breathe life into living and still entities.

Karin Moss is a Detroit native with a profound passion for the arts, especially the works of Black artists. From an early age, they were immersed in a rich environment of poetry, paintings, statues, and fashion, within their childhood home which ignited their creative journey. As a child, skateboarding through their neighborhood served as a vital form of self-expression, blending movement and creativity in a way that would later influence their art.

VIEW ALL WORKS FROM THE EXHIBIT →

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM HISTORY IN THE MAKING:

WhAT IS EAST AUSTIN’S BLACK HISTORY?

History In The Making was held inside The Future Front House, a 1940s building located in historic East Austin on the corner of 12th Street and Chicon Street.

From its first owner Vera Barton to the exterior’s We Rise mural, our building has a long history that precedes us.

As we learned from conversations with former Six Square Executive Director Nefertitti Jackmon, Preservation Austin board member Miriam Conner and KAZI Station Manager Reno Dudley, historic East Austin has been defined by much more than the ramifications of the City of Austin’s 1928 City Plan, the rising pressures of gentrification, as well as the recent (and controversial) acquisition of 70% of land parcels on 12th Street by developers at Eureka Holdings.

Despite the lack of visible investment from local government and institutions (only 16% total of landmarks in all of Austin are BIPOC) in preserving East Austin’s history, the area’s roots are tied to:

a long and rich legacy of Black entrepreneurship
cultural centers and historic spaces like KAZI, the George Washington Carver Museum, The Dedrick Hamilton House (where The African American Cultural and Heritage Facility now stands) and Huston-Tillotson University
as well as nationally known icons like Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Jackie Robinson and Dr. JJ Seabrook

EXPLORE EAST AUSTIN HISTORY →

Over the last fifty years, community organizers, archivists and advocates have pushed the City of Austin to formally pursue establishing historic East Austin as a recognized, active and celebrated African American Cultural Heritage District.

Like many preservation efforts posted in rapidly changing communities, shifting goal posts and priorities have posed a number of challenges in honoring the past, present and future of Black History in the area.

“Our culture—my culture—is alive. We can’t just preserve Black History in museums, like we’re extinct.”

— RENO DUDLEY, KAZI STATION MANAGER

SO, How do we make history today?

Buy Black. Preserving Austin’s Black History includes actively supporting the businesses, organizations, collectives, artists, creatives and cultural leaders shaping Austin today.
When it comes to active preservation efforts between public and private stakeholders in our communities, we have to get creative with the priorities and parameters of the project, ensuring that there are active opportunities for community voice. It’s on us to pay attention to the preservation efforts championed on the governmental level. We have to go to council meetings, research ordinances and show up for landmarks and spaces experiencing erasure. “The community has to play a part in the decisions being made about preservation, public art and cultural programming. Not just informing or feedbacking, but deciding,” says public curator and Austin resident Keyheira Keys.
Self-determined land is important. When it comes to active preservation, “projects must do more than appreciate the Black aesthetic. Preservation projects should center, fund and support Black presence,” says Preservation Austin board member Miriam Conner.
Celebrating our communities’ Black History means practicing curiosity today. We have to be curious about where things come from—and we have to challenge ourselves to ask questions “We can’t just be reactive. We have to be proactive toward imagining and building the future we want to see today,” says former Six Square Executive Director Nefertitti Jackmon.
As artists, arts administrators, cultural strategists, urban planners, place-makers and community-builders alike, we have to center the prevention cultural loss and harm in our community plans, cultural planning and curatorial lens. “Curating means to care,” says Keyheira Keys. We have to be relentless in the ways that we listen, as well as expand our capacity for conflict to build actual relationships in the places we care about.