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The Front Market's Fall 2023 Season: The Official Recap

In November, we took over Ani’s Day & Night in Austin, Texas for three weekends—exhibiting 175+ creatives and welcoming 4,000+ visitors.

In November, we took over Ani’s Day & Night in Austin, Texas for three weekends—exhibiting 175+ creatives and welcoming 4,000+ visitors. Keep reading for a full look at this season’s impact.

All photos by Yvonne Uwah, Kate Nuelle and Tess Cagle

this season’s five highlights:

✰ No. 1 — 175+ Vendors Exhibited

We exhibited more than 175 women and LGBTQ+ creatives and independent business owners across Texas.

✰ No. 2 — 4,000+ Visitors Welcomed

We welcomed 4,000+ visitors over five days!

✰ No. 3 — All Supplies Redistributed (+ 1 Dog Adopted!)

Thanks to support from our partners at Ani’s Day & Night, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Topo Chico and The City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, we were able to give away all of the market’s equipments to our vendor community, including 50 tents, 60 chairs and 50 folding tables. We also worked closely with vendors and friends to help a stray dog (a sweet husky mix we temporarily named Noodle) find a new home! She now lives with a family a few blocks away from Ani’s Day & Night.

✰ No. 4 — $10,000 In Commissions & Contracts

The market’s production and programming generated more than $10,000 in commissions and contracts for women- & queer-owned creative teams in Austin, too.

✰ No. 5 — 100% Community-Led

It took two full-time team members, 30 volunteers and curators, 250+ collaborators and six months of planning to open The Front Market’s Fall 2023 Season.

 

THIS SEASON’S VISUAL RECAP:

view more photos
 

FOUR WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED:

✰ Head to thefrontmarket.com (click here) to tap into the Fall Season 2023 lineup at anytime.

✰ Shop this season’s gift guide (click here).

✰ Remember why spaces like The Front Market matter.

We dive deeper into what supporting women and LGBTQ+ vendors, as well as our local creative and small businesses communities, means at thefrontmarket.com/mindset.

✰ Explore all we do at Future Front—and find what’s for you—at futurefronttexas.org/programming.

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends.

✰

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends. ✰

We would not be able to use the market as a space to nurture the creative communities we care about without support from our sponsors, members, staff, volunteers, friends and you. Thank you.

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.

You can keep up with The Front Market here.

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Personal and Professional Resources For Anti-Racism Work

Our team has collected resources from friends, anti-racist organizations and activists below on starting and continuing anti-racism work in our personal and professional lives.

At bbatx, we serve a broad community of creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders. 50% of that community on any given day is white. In respect to the events of the last few weeks, we have felt a responsibility to both address that whiteness and hold space for our Black and Brown community members—and for ourselves. 

For those of us who are white and non-Black, what we do in this moment matters, because moments like these happen within our daily realities, even if they are not always visible or viral. Multiple community groups across the country have been gathering to protest the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of police and civilians—and in Austin organizations are also calling for the accountability for the death of Mike Ramos, whose life was taken a few weeks ago by APD and has yet to see accountability. Organizers are risking their lives to be heard here in Texas, as well as across the country in Minnesota and other states, because a response is urgent. 

White supremacy leads to more than police brutality—it determines who and what we assign power to and how we make decisions. So, our attention, critical thinking skills and commitment to long-term change is necessary. Our team has collected resources from friends, anti-racist organizations and activists on starting and continuing anti-racism work in our personal and professional lives. Commit to listening and learning from people who do this work everyday. 

For all of our team members, friends, family and extended community reading this who have been navigating the racism and mental health load of this, thank you for letting us share. It’s OK to rest, it’s OK to be angry, and it’s OK to be. Stay well and stay safe.

BEFORE YOU READ: THIS IS A LONG LIST, AND ANTI-RACISM WORK IS NOT DONE OVERNIGHT.

It can be tempting to look at this list and shut down. Start with one thing. Return the next day. Then, the day after that. We are all learning here. We will also be adding to this list as our board approves resources and recommendations shared with us. It will evolve and change, and you are welcome to bookmark this and revisit.

 

Personal and Professional Resources For Anti-Racism Work

First, watch Doing The Work: Anti-Racism As An Everyday Practice.

On August 15, bbatx hosted an action-oriented conversation with anti-racist educators and activists Briona Jenkins and Pamela Benson-Owens about implementing anti-racism practices in our personal and professional lives.

tune in for free at anytime
 
 

SECOND, READ THROUGH THESE PERSONAL RESOURCES FOR ANTI-RACISM WORK FOR WHITE AND NON-BLACK FOLKS.

 

THIRD, take time to sit with how this applies to your professional life.

 

FOURTH, WE’VE COMPILED SOME MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR BLACK FOLKS AND POC WHO HAVE SHARED THIS LIST WITH SOMEONE.

 

AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, PLEASE REMEMBER THEIR NAMES.

Racism and white supremacy needs to stop, because Black lives matter. We send our condolences to the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, as well as all other families, grieving lives lost to police brutality and racist civilian violence.

Breonna Taylor as illustrated by @broobs.psd

Breonna Taylor as illustrated by @broobs.psd

George Floyd as illustrated by @broobs.psd

George Floyd as illustrated by @broobs.psd

Ahmaud Arbery as illustrated by @broobs.psd

Ahmaud Arbery as illustrated by @broobs.psd

Curious about us and what we do?

Learn more here.

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Introducing 39 Latinx Makers, Artists & Creatives In Austin (And Beyond!)

Multidimensional, multicultural and multidisciplinary, we hope you support their (incredible!) work, as well as the deep impact Latinidad has on our community.

As we wrap up Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month, meet 39 Latinx artists, creatives and community collectives, living and working in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and beyond. Multidimensional, multicultural and multidisciplinary, we hope you support their (incredible) work, as well as the deep impact their Latinidad has on our community.

(This Fall, you can catch everyone you see here throughout The Front Market’s Fall 2023 Season, too!)

SCROLL TO MEET ALL 39 latinx CREATIVES.

Click on the hyperlinks to support their work.

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.

You can also learn more about our independent marketplace and fair for creatives, The Front Market, here.

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Hot, Texas Renaissance: A Conversation On Storytelling With The Contemporary Austin

Read for words of encouragement on living and working in Texas from artists and creative organizers based right here in Austin: Miriam Conner, Simone Raquel-Alexander, Bobby Pudrido (Jay) and Liz Moskowitz.

This summer has been hot and heavy—especially in Texas.

With recent legislation and threats on femme and queer identities, record temps and rising costs of living, it’s no wonder we all feel literally and figuratively heated. And yet, this summer has also marked a season of renaissance (and we’re not just talking about Beyoncé’s world tour).

In Future Front’s tiny corner of the world, we’ve watched small businesses go from backyards to big markets to brick-and-mortars. We’ve watched tiny, creative ideas turn into galleries and collectives. We’ve watched one thought turn into an art show—and neighborhood block parties turn into an annual festival. (We’ve even broken some of our own records with The Front Festival and our annual pool parties.)

It’s been a season of both joy and mourning, rebirth and rebuilding, growing up and returning to self. Thank you for being here for it.

So, as we reflect on the season, we want to highlight a few themes that emerged around living and working in Texas—from a conversation held at The Front Festival 2023 in collaboration with The Contemporary Austin—featuring artists and creative organizers based right here in Austin: Miriam Conner, Simone Raquel-Alexander, Bobby Pudrido (Jay) and Liz Moskowitz.

Keep reading from some words of encouragement on nurturing your own creative renaissance right here in Texas.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS

Simone Raquel Alexander (she/her) is a freelance artist, arts administrator, and arts advocate working in the nonprofit field and theatre community. She serves as Producing Artistic Director and Founder of New Manifest Theatre Company, where she has brought together an ensemble of interdisciplinary artists. Simone serves as the Senior Manager of Engagement and Accessibility at The Contemporary Austin Museum and the Development Director of Ground Floor Theatre.

Jay (they/them) is a drag king from Laredo, Texas who has lived in Austin for over 15 years. Their drag name “Bobby Pudrido” is an ode to Bobby Pulido, a Tejano artists who was a staple of their childhood. They are a member of Austin’s only drag king and gender-diverse troupe—the Boyz of Austin—and have quickly established themself as a drag king, producer, and show host in Austin. They co-created and produce Brokeback Cantina, a monthly drag king revue showcasing Latine drag kings. Jay also discovered their love for drag at the tender age of 32. Drag has been a way for them to explore their gender identity as a trans non-binary person and their culture as a person who grew up on the US-Mexico border.

Liz Moskowitz (she/her) is a documentary photographer and filmmaker. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY she has lived in Austin, Texas for over fifteen years. Her work aims to honor the dignity and nuance of people, places, and issues. She approaches each individual and community that she photographs with intentionality and an open-mind. Her films have won the Judge’s Choice Winner at the SXSW Faces of Austin Film Premiere, been a Vimeo Staff Pick, broadcast on the PBS "Frame of Mind" series, and shown at Woodstock Film Festival, AFI Fest, Dallas International Film Festival, and Sedona International Film Festival.

Miriam Conner (she/her) has curated and organized art and experiences for over a decade. She has been in Austin for 31 years by way of New Orleans, Louisiana. She has also worked with SXSW, Art Outside, Forklift Danceworks, Six Square – Austin’s Black Cultural District, the City of Austin, and more. She is the founder of Creative Policy, a firm recognized for its community-focused strategy that bridges policy-making and cultural engagement to achieve meaningful systems change.

 

THREE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ARTISTS and CREATIVES IN THE TEXAS SOUTH

1.) Support your lived communities—and work toward futures where we all thrive.

For each panelist, community storytelling is a big part of their journey and creative practice. Whether it’s involving community input on art projects, putting fellow community members on the mic or designing for better outcomes in arts and culture as an industry, stay grounded by connecting your work to creative organizations and communities all around you. You’ll build community along the way, too!

2.) Our stories are Texan stories—and they deserve to be told.

Throughout the evening, Simone, Jay, Miriam and Liz each reflected on the beauty of storytelling, from designing theater programs (Simone) to creating drag shows (Jay) to documentary filmmaking (Liz) and community program curation (Miriam). Finding the courage to boldly tell our stories and claim space in the world is a feat in and of itself. Remember this when you’re navigating new opportunities or taking your work into new spaces.

3.) Your creative work is necessary and your survival is enough.

When you share your story, when you make space for yourself and others, when you world-build the kind of culture you want to live, you are literally shaping history, the present and the future. You belong.

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.

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The Front Festival 2023: The Official Recap

We took over The LINE Austin, The Contemporary Austin—Laguna Gloria and Cheer Up Charlies for four days of music and film. Featuring 36 women and LGBTQ+ artists, filmmakers, performers and independent creatives, The Front Festival 2023 welcomed 1,600+ guests.

In 2023, The Front Festival took over The LINE Austin, The Contemporary Austin—Laguna Gloria and Cheer Up Charlies for four days of music and film.

Featuring 36 women and LGBTQ+ artists, filmmakers, musicians, chefs, performers and independent creatives, we welcomed more than 1,600 guests. To learn more about The Front Festival, as well as our 2023 lineup, head to thefrontfest.com.

Keep reading for a full look at this year’s impact.

All photos by Jinni J and Manny Frayre

thE FRONT FESTIVAL 2023 highlights:

✰ No. 1 — 36 Artists Exhibited

Meet every musician, filmmaker and artist in The Front Festival’s 2023 Lineup here.

✰ No. 2 — 1,600+ Visitors Welcomed

We welcomed a record number of 1,600 visitors across all four days of the festival.

✰ No. 3 — $1,500+ Fundraised

Thanks to donations at the door and our Cocktails For Good Bar by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, we fundraised $1,500+ for our community programs.

✰ No. 4 — $10,000 In Commissions & Contracts

The festival’s production and programming generated more than $10,000 in commissions and contracts for women- & queer-owned creative teams in Austin, too.

✰ No. 5 — 100% Community-Led

It took two full-time team members, 25 volunteers and curators, 50+ collaborators and nine months of planning to open The Front Festival 2023.

 

THREE WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED:

✰ Head to thefrontfest.com to keep tabs on next year’s festival (Labor Day Weekend 2024).

✰ Remember why spaces like The Front Festival matter.

We believe in good shows, incredible talent and the power of creative storytelling.

We also believe that women and LGBTQ+ artists, musicians, filmmakers, producers, entertainers, cultural organizers and performers deserve space to see themselves to reflected. To discover new sources of inspiration, To support each other’s work. And to learn more about our industries.

✰ Explore all we do at Future Front—and find what’s for you—at futurefronttexas.org/programming.

view all photos
 

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends.

✰

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends. ✰

We would not be able to nurture the creative communities we care about without support from our sponsors, members, staff, volunteers, friends and you. Thank you.

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.

You can keep up with The Front Festival here.

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Introducing The Front Festival 2023 Lineup: 36 Independent Artists, Musicians, Filmmakers & Chefs in Texas

The Front Fest is an end-of-summer festival, featuring musical performances, films and creative experiences curated by Future Front. Hosted annually in Austin, we put Texas women and LGBTQ+ artists at the front of our lineups.

The Front Fest is an end-of-summer festival, featuring musical performances, films and creative experiences curated by Future Front. Hosted annually in Austin, we put Texas women and LGBTQ+ artists at the front of our lineups.

In 2023, we’re welcoming 36 artists, musicians, filmmakers and chefs from the Texas South across four days of music and film in Austin, Texas. Keep reading to meet them all and support their work.

 

• FEATURED FILMS •

From Megz Kelli, little trumpet follows Javon, a 9-year-old kid growing up in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, dreaming of playing the trumpet in the marching band like his older brother while moving through grief and navigating the precarious social terrain of his neighborhood.

✹ littletrumpetfilm.com
✹ @kisstheteam

From Tracy Droz Tragos, Plan C follows a controversial visionary and a grassroots network's fight to expand access to abortion pills across the United States keeping hope alive during a global pandemic and the fall of Roe v. Wade.

✹ plancmovie.com

Caroline Rose's recently-released album, The Art of Forgetting, is their most dynamic and raw work yet. Via a series of time-warped loops, the album-turned-sonic-film weaves together a story of Caroline navigating through a transformative heartbreak. Today, the short—directed by Caroline Rose and Sam Bennett—has won Best Music Video at Hollywood Shortsfest, is a semi-finalist at Cannes Indie Shorts Awards and Venezia Shorts Italy, and has been selected for HollyShorts Film Festival and several others worldwide.

✹ @carolinerosemuzak
✹ @samuelaaronbennett
✹ carolinerosemusic.com

From Liz Moskowitz, Down Home follows a sleep-away camp in Elgin, Texas that gives adults with developmental disabilities the opportunity to escape societal barriers, while having a good ol' time dancing, loving and feeling free.

✹ @lizmoskowitz
✹ lizmoskowitz.com

In Meghan Ross’ Here To Make Friends, an anxious, aging millennial, Arab-American Austin transplant goes on a mission to find the platonic love of her life. After realizing she’s never had one lasting female friend, she will have to figure out how to befriend herself first.

✹ @meghanrross
✹ Here To Make Friends

From Deborah Valcin, Catharsis follows Deborah as she goes against her Inner Voice and expresses her rage in a very dangerous way. The story follows her cathartic decision to release the one emotion Black women are constantly told to suppress.

✹ @deborahvalcin

While on an odyssey to find her favorite childhood chicken fingers, Karen grapples with loss in a world that refuses to stand still. From Zoe Dahmen, Chicken Fingers is whimsical and absurd, with a sneaky emotional punch, suggesting that although life is ephemeral, it is also sweet. Like ice cream on a hot day.

✹ @zoedahmen

From Alisha Banks, Mannequins depicts a group of actors showing up to an audition, only to find out they've been hoodwinked into being extras on a big budget film.

✹ alishabanks.com

From Julia Barbosa Landois, Shell Composite uses video, photos, animation, and intimate family moments to explore humans' relationship to non-human life, the built environment, and what’s left to future generations. “Shell composite” refers to sidewalks in the artist’s mid-20th-century neighborhood that incorporate oyster shells dredged from Galveston Bay, a common practice until banned in the 1970s due to environmental impacts. Water footage was captured at Armand Bayou, one of the last non-channelized bayous left in the region.

✹ @jblandois
✹ julialandois.com

From Julia Barbosa Landois, Sidesteps (Purslane) contemplates a common native plant as a symbol of resilience in the face of environmental and familial trauma. This video poem honors the oft-overlooked just under our feet with cut paper animation, narration, and amateur piano.

✹ @jblandois
✹ julialandois.com

While witnessing the economic and social changes ushered in by the pandemic, MILEZ depicts eight Early Era Collective dancers inspecting the systems by which we abide, and the sameness required of average people to operate within those systems. Directed by Stephanie Patrick, and featuring Austin-based hip-hop duet Magna Carda, our artists must decide whether to stay within the boxes that confine them or break free.

✹ @earlyeracollective
✹ stephaniepatrick.me

From Millie Heckler, Pink Booth Confessions grapples with the complexity of being sexual human beings. We bring voice to secrets of shame through our music, dance and communion. We think that if maybe we spent more energy giving voice to our secrets, the weight our secrets carry might turn into something else. Honoring the confusing nature of trauma, we are reminded that answers lie in the effort of continuation and in the practice of speaking up to ourselves and to each other, in any way we can.

✹ millieheckler.com

From Alexis Hunter, Attack of the 300 lb Woman! is part of multidisciplinary artist Alexis Hunter's current series, HAVEN’T I GIVEN ENOUGH??!!. HAVEN’T I GIVEN ENOUGH??!! challenges the policing of women’s bodies under the patriarchy and the misogynistic history of the world. This series is informed by several factors, one of them being the artist's life-long insecurities about her body and how she sees that experience intersecting with social constructs like western beauty standards and fatphobia.

✹ @m00n_daddy
✹ alexishunter.work

From Victoria, A dreamer's discourse is a short film laid out in three acts; falling in love, birth, and heartbreak. Like a star in a silent film, Victoria set out to film without a script, letting their body language and set design do the talking. The audio overlaid, is in fact, a 2.5 hour conversation (condensed to 5 minutes) of Vic and their dear friend, Sheila discussing love and its potential.

✹ @onlinebedroom

 
 

• MUSICIANS + DJS •

Grace Sorensen (she/her) is one of the fastest-rising independent R&B artists in the Austin. Dubbed "Austin's Wonderkid" by the media, in her young career she has already landed features on both projects by Empire Record's BLK ODYSSY, opened for Diana Ross and surpassed 500K streams on her single "Digits.”

✹ @realgraces
✹ gracesorensen.com

Dorian Delafuente, a.k.a. Babiboi, is an Austin-based, San Antonio-raised rapper, artist, and Ballroom commentator for ballroom collective House of Lepore.

✹ @babiboibitch

Whitney Screwston (she/her) is a Salvadorian American disc jockey who has broken into the NYC scene thanks to her musical taste and talent. This Texas bred Brooklyn-based southern shawty uses an open format style to effortlessly flow between dembow, dancehall, amapiano, ballroom, R&B and hip hop to get the audience moving. Her DJ sets prioritize women in music hoping to honor their legacies and their contributions by cultivating community at her events.

✹ @whitneyscrew

Sussie Ramirez (she/her) better known as Suxxy Puxxy is a promoter, manager and DJ from Monterrey, Nuevo León. Suxxy (like her friends call her) started working in the underground party scene in Monterrey. Helped produce events with local artist focused in bringing international talent in town. That's how she met Peligrosa the Austin multidisciplinary Latin collective. She started to work with them by planning a tour around California in summer 2018 and then working in a series of releases for Discos Peligrosa which lead her to leave her hometown and move to Texas. Peligrosa members took her hand to start a new journey of her life which was the beginning of her Djing.

Between a mix of her melancholy of missing home and her passion for reggaeton, she started to throw Perreo parties, but what really set her aside was her way of mixing. After the pandemic, she officially launched Perreo Club, an inclusive Latinx party based in Texas celebrating the culture of Reggaeton & Perreo.

✹ @suxxypuxxy
✹ @perreo.club
✹ perreoclub.com

Poniboy is a Perreo Club DJ and nightlife artist, living and working in Austin, Texas.

✹ @poniboyyy

Brandix is a queer Mexican-American vocalist and musician raised along the Texas-Mexico border. She performs an extensive setlist of diverse genres ranging from Nu-Metal to Neo-Soul to Mariachi. She creates genre-bending experimental music centered around themes of healing, self-exploration, and planet Earth.

✹ @brandix.mp3

Austin-based DJ Dreamchild (she/her) was raised by funk, jazz, and soul music, listening nonstop to artists like Earth, Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder. While growing up in Los Angeles, she filled her library with hip-hop, rock, reggae, and electronic music, inspired by the city's skate, surf, and rave cultures. She blends these influences together in energetic, bass-heavy sets that make listeners feel good and groove.

✹ @dreamchildmixes

Clancy Jones (she/her) is interested in the application of sound and movement to explore the poetics and cultural parallels of dance culture as a revolutionary act of joy. Her dj work is akin to the work of translation. Often focused on the communicative inputs and outputs between mechanical languages and our human hardwares. She was born in Cali, Colombia, raised in Queens, New York and is currently based in Austin, Texas. Her sound reflects the intersections of her placehood in these landscapes and her identity as an immigrant woman.

✹ @forty1flip

 
 

• special guests, artists + POP-UPS •

Nicole Cardoza (she/her) is a magician and a storyteller. She’s collaborated with brands including Google, Patreon, and Soho House. She’s toured the country and performed at universities, exclusive venues, for corporations and private events. She’s also the founder of Reclamation Ventures, a venture studio creating and incubating ideas for our collective wellbeing. It also manages the Reclamation Ventures Fund, which provides philanthropic and early-stage investments in individuals and organizations making wellness more accessible. Over the past two years, it has granted over $500,000 in direct support to marginalized wellness leaders. Nicole’s first published book, Mindful Moves, a mindfulness book for children, was published in Spring 2021.

✹ @blackgirlmagician on IG, TikTok and YouTube
✹ blackgirlmagician.com

HOT, TEXAS SUMMER is a testament to the multidisciplinary and multidimensional roots of Texas art. Curated by Future Front for The Front Festival 2023, this temporary collection features vibrant pieces by Chantal Lesley, Steph Granillo, Tumi Adeleye, Tanya Zal, Darcie Book, Calder Kamin and Ani Bradberry on The LINE Austin’s lobby and second floor.

✹ futurefronttexas.org/linehotel

January is a Salvadorian-American performing artist and classically trained dancer from Houston, Texas that has been performing in drag for over 8 years in NYC. Using drag, dance, and music to compel her audience through storytelling she provides electrifying and high-energy performances. Through her drag showcases in 2019, digital livestreams in 2020, and upcoming events in 2023, January continues her collaborative efforts in the arts. She aims to bring attention to social issues affecting marginalized communities, including advocating for HIV testing. Each showcase centers and honors the work of LGBTQIA and BIPOC local drag queens, designers and multidisciplinary artists.

✹ @mizzzjanuary

Throughout the festival, enjoy a textured installation in The LINE Hotel Austin, as an exploration of maximalism and queer joy, thanks to our collaboration with Dallas-based artist Molly Sydnor.

✹ futurefronttexas.org/linehotel

Simone Raquel Alexander (she/her) is a freelance artist, arts administrator, and arts advocate working in the nonprofit field and theatre community. She serves as Producing Artistic Director and Founder of New Manifest Theatre Company, where she has brought together an ensemble of interdisciplinary artists. Simone serves as the Senior Manager of Engagement and Accessibility at The Contemporary Austin Museum and the Development Director of Ground Floor Theatre. Simone Alexander’s artistic vision is dedicated to sharing the art of the people of today through storytelling from a diversity of uniquely specific voices, styles, and perspectives. Simone’s practice centers harm reduction tools and collective agreements as a funnel to tackle challenging themes and hold space for creativity and collaboration to thrive.

✹ @simoneraquelalexander
✹ simoneraquelalexander.blog

Viva Vidalia is a Houston-based Drag performer of nearly 15 years. She began her career in Long Island, NY performing whenever and wherever she could and soon started performing regularly all throughout New York City. She is known for her high energy performances, her colorful costumes and wicked sense of humor whilst hosting. In 2018, Viva began a small costume design business that very quickly grew. Her costumes have been seen on TV shows such as RuPauls Drag Race, Dragula, Camp Wannakiki  and Dragnificnet as well as Drag and Burlesque performers all over the world. Currently you can find Viva Vidalia performing and designing costume all through Houston TX as well as Austin, San Antonio and New York City.

✹ @vivavidalia

Miriam Conner (she/her) has curated and organized art and experiences for over a decade. She has been in Austin for 31 years by way of New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating from St. Stephens Episcopal High School, she received a Bachelor of Fine Art in Photography from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. After college, Miriam came home to Austin and began managing the Pine Street Station (an Artist warehouse and gallery) for two years, and has since planned countless art shows, in addition to co-founding Topology Art Warehouse. She has also worked with SXSW, Art Outside, Forklift Danceworks, Six Square – Austin’s Black Cultural District, the City of Austin, and more. She is the founder of Creative Policy, a firm recognized for its community-focused strategy that bridges policy-making and cultural engagement to achieve meaningful systems change. Additionally, she holds positions on the boards of Preservation Austin, Big Medium, and Greater Austin Neighborhoods, and she has previously served as a commissioner on the City of Austin's African American Quality of Life Commission. She has been creating in the Austin Art community since 2008.

✹ @mconner512
✹ creativepolicy.com

Liz Moskowitz (she/her) is a documentary photographer and filmmaker. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY she has lived in Austin, Texas for over fifteen years. Her work aims to honor the dignity and nuance of people, places, and issues. She approaches each individual and community that she photographs with intentionality and an open-mind. Her films have won the Judge’s Choice Winner at the SXSW Faces of Austin Film Premiere, been a Vimeo Staff Pick, broadcast on the PBS "Frame of Mind" series, and shown at Woodstock Film Festival, AFI Fest, Dallas International Film Festival, and Sedona International Film Festival.

✹ @lizmoskowitz
✹ lizmoskowitz.com

Jay (they/them) is a drag king from Laredo, Texas who has lived in Austin for over 15 years. Their drag name “Bobby Pudrido” is an ode to Bobby Pulido, a Tejano artists who was a staple of their childhood. They are a member of Austin’s only drag king and gender diverse troupe, the Boyz of Austin. They have quickly established themself as a drag king and show host in Austin as the co-creator and producer of Brokeback Cantina, a monthly drag king revue showcasing Latine drag kings, as well as a monthly show, Drag Lab. Jay discovered their love for drag at the tender age of 32. Drag has been a way for them to explore their gender identity as a trans non-binary person and their culture as a person who grew up on the US-Mexico border. Their creative passion and favorite part of doing drag is creating spaces where queer Latine folks can feel seen and represented.

✹ @bobbypudrido

Sister Palm (she/her) Sister Palm offers traditional and astrological palm readings based on ten years of worldwide research.

✹ @sisterpalm
✹ sisterpalm.com

By Chef Cibelli, LLC is a multifaceted, LGBTQ-owned culinary experience-driven company specializing in all kinds of fun stuff.

✹ @chefcibelli

Women-owned, Calibrate Wellness offers gourmet, chef-crafted and legal cannabis products for your lifestyle.

✹ @shopcalibrate

The GoGo Yum Yum is a super cute, women-owned ice cream truck serving up classic ice cream novelties as well as vegan and dairy-free options.

✹ @gogoyumyumtruck

Women-owned, Bakery Siena brings joy and smiles to people’s faces through cookies and Malaysian sweet cakes.

✹ @bakerysiena

 
 

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here. You can also learn more about The Front Festival at thefrontfest.com.

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On Love, Drag And Parenthood: Gothess Jasmine

From Fall 2022 to Summer 2023, we partnered with drag artist, performer, and multidisciplinary creative Gothess Jasmine to produce a series of family-friendly, all-ages drag shows across Austin, Texas.

From Fall 2022 to Summer 2023, we partnered with drag artist, performer, and multidisciplinary creative Gothess Jasmine to produce a series of family-friendly, all-ages drag shows across Austin, Texas.

In this interview, Gothess Jasmine shares notes on drag culture, their commitment to affirming creative queer expression at any age and navigating artist life as a parent. Enjoy!

 

Courtesy of @gothess.jasmine

ABOUT GOTHESS JASMINE

Jasmine Beaty AKA Gothess Jasmine (they/them) is a full-time makeup artist, drag performer, host and curator based in Austin, Texas.

@gothess.jasmine

 

Q — How did “Gothess Jasmine” come to be?

A — About ten years ago, I started using art as a way to express myself and cope with trauma and depression. I used my love for obscure art, spiritual expression and interdimensional studies to name the passion that fuels my artistry and give them a name—Gothess. And Gothess uses art as a form of radical self expression, promoting self love, awareness and healing for all. 

Q — Any references or inspirations you look to within your work?

A — I am inspired by much and try to let the love I have in my life inspire all I create. I do constantly find myself turning to spiritual teachings, scientific discoveries, horror and spiritual artists. 

Q — What advice do you have for other artists trying to find their voice?

A — I would tell any new artist to explore all the different parts of yourself! We’re all complex beings and it’s beautiful to discover what you can create when you embrace your interests, strengths and weaknesses as inspiration. I would also tell every person interested in creating to start by falling in love with yourself and your life. Every part of it is an important part of the romance that is life. To create in your life is proof of love. 

Photo by Tess Leslie

Q — Any major takeaways from your journey in entertainment so far?

A — I’d say my greatest takeaway is the love and understanding I’ve built and grown in my community. I've been able to be vulnerable with my art and expression and find support and my chosen family in the most beautiful spaces! I've better recognized how sacred expression is and how amazing life is simply because art exists. 

Q — We’ve been working with you over the last year to introduce family-friendly drag into our all-ages programs. Although that work started well before Texas’ new drag ban bills, what were some of your initial motivations in doing these kinds of series at Future Front events?

A — Yes! I love the events we've worked on together because my passions have always been celebrated and supported at Future Front.

One of my missions is to embrace all the parts of myself and grow my art from all the love I have. I am a parent to an amazing 13-year-old and when I started curating family-friendly events, the goal was to create and be a part of environments that inspire joy and creation in family dynamics.

I believe it’s important to allow people to see art in many different ways at an early age. I believe it invokes awareness, understanding and creativity which are vital qualities that improve our ability to communicate. 

Q — How do you take care of yourself as a working artist?

A — REST! I’d say this is the second greatest takeaway from being a performer, I learned how to rest to better care for myself! I try to be mindful of having a balanced life so I don't have to experience burnout. I enjoy having a stream of creativity and can only keep it flowing with good self care. 

Gothess Jasmine and their drag family captured at PRIDE PICNIC 2023.

Courtesy of @gothess.jasmine

Q — Right now, our theme is homegrown, i.e. celebrating DIY energy and reflecting on where we started. With that, what does nurturing your inner child mean to you? What do you think younger you would be proudest of?

A — I feel like younger me would be most proud of the joy and inspiration that I share by embracing myself by creating all the magical creatures I dreamt of. I have always dreamt of a magical life. And I feel like I pursue those dreams through the art of creation! I don’t think younger me expected I’d be living a magical life at all, so I’m happy to know I would literally be little Jasmine’s hero if they only knew. 

Q — How do you bring a DIY spirit to your work and to your community? What does that look like to you?

A — Ever since I started being intentional with my art, I had to be adaptable and resourceful in order to execute my visions. I was a single parent to a young child, working endlessly to make ends meet. It didn’t feel as if art was even attainable for me. But I researched art forms I’ve always loved to discover affordable and effective ways to express myself through body art like henna and body paint.

I started volunteering with the community theater, volunteering for charity events and eventually my talent grew enough that I started working festivals and being contracted by the theater! I am proud that I was able to lean into my passions to actually grow a career. 

Q — Future plans? What’s next for the Gothess agenda and world domination?

A — I’d love to keep traveling the world and being involved in creative and wellness oriented spaces and continue exploring all the ways to keep the magic of creation, self love and joy alive! 

 

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.

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One, Big Pride Picnic In 43 Polaroids

A day of abundant sunshine, community vibes and a delightfully queer celebration of the summer solstice.

On Sunday, June 25, we partnered with Pease Park for its second-annual Pride Picnic—a day of abundant sunshine, community vibes and a delightfully queer celebration of the summer solstice.

This year, in partnership with Elijah Gray, we collected the picnic’s first yearbook. In these 43 polaroids, we hope to celebrate (and document) the presence of queer joy in Texas for future generations.

 

THE PRIDE PICNIC POLAROID YEARBOOK:

 

did you miss pride picnic?

You can learn more about all of the LGBTQ+ artists, makers, creatives and organizations who joined us in 2023 here. For details on future Pride Picnics, stay tuned on Future Front’s calendar.

Learn more about pride picnic
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Introducing 8 Women Makers Living And Working Right Here In Austin

Read for a delightful introduction to eight artists, designers and craftspeople in Texas from The Front Market's Spring 2023 Season.

As we wrap up The Front Market’s Spring 2023 Season, meet 8 women artists and creatives on our lineup based right here in Austin. Over the summer, you can catch their curated Pop-Up Shops in The LINE Austin lobby, as part of our EMERGE Program. Enjoy!

Meet the Makers:

No. 1 — Allegory Handmade

Iris Rylander (she/her) is a multimedia artist based in Austin, Texas. She draws inspiration from the line work of tattoo artists, pen and ink drawings, and other printmakers.

She believes the placement of a single line can define or destroy her work and is fascinated with the control and attention to detail that these works require. Iris often portrays elements of nature in her work. She has worked under several local artists based in Austin.

Her latest body of work is a series of linoleum prints under the name Allegory Handmade. She is part of Contracommon, an art collective and nonprofit organization that supports emerging artists.

@allegory.handmade

No. 2 — Terre Gaillarde

Run by Amanda Nwobu (she/her), Terre Gaillarde centers aromatic artists who are inspired by their sense of home, heritage, and lived experiences.

Through curation, they aspire to connect indie fragrances that broaden and reclaim olfactory narratives with people who use scent to enhance the joy, peace, and reverence in the spaces they occupy.

@terregaillarde

No. 3 — Chiquitas Clay

Founded by artist and designer Melissa Santos (she/her), Chiquita’s Clay is a Latina owned brand that specializes in handmade polymer Clay Accessories, apparel, and trendy home decor.

@chiquitasclay

No. 4 — Tak Tak Goods

Founded by multidisciplinary artist and glassblower Risa Recio (she/her), Tak Tak began over a Friendsgiving dinner in Chicago in 2018.

Their dream is to make glass more accessible for folks everywhere—and they hope these tabletop companions bring joy, humor and magic to your daily ritual.

@taktakgoods

No. 5 — MKLFRIED

Mikaela Friedman (she/her) AKA MKLFRIED is a multidisciplinary artist based in Austin, Texas.

Beyond creating hand-painted boots for customers and collaborations alike, Mikaela works on multiple creative community projects, including MUTINY MARKET and the Slow Fashion Fest.

@mklfried

No. 6 — Wavyroller Art

Victoria (she/her), creator behind Wavy Roller, is a self-taught artist residing in Austin, Texas. Her art explores both connection and lack of connection that is within self & her own traumas, others, and nature through her paintings.

@wavyroller.art

No. 7 — Sister-2-Sister Vintage

Sister-2-Sister Vintage is a second-hand vintage shop curated by sisters, celebrating sisterhood & creating a better world thru sustainable fashion.

”We offer a range of eclectic styles for every style of sister!”

@sis2sisvintage

No. 8 — Clayhouse Candles

Started by independent artist and designer Tai (she/her), Clay House Candles was born out of wanting to create candles that are truly one-of-a-kind.

“A lot of our creative process involves thinking "Why not?" and testing some of our most playful ideas, even when they seem impossible. All of our candles are hand-poured and packaged here in the U.S. as well as being vegan, Non-GMO, and Kosher friendly.”

@clayhousecandles

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here. You can also learn more about our independent marketplace and fair for creatives, The Front Market, here.

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The Front Market's Spring 2023 Season: The Official Recap

On May 13 and 14, we took over Distribution Hall in Austin, Texas for one weekend—exhibiting 150+ creatives and welcoming 3,000+ visitors.

On May 13 and 14, we took over Distribution Hall in Austin, Texas for one weekend—exhibiting 150+ creatives and welcoming 3,000+ visitors. Keep reading for a full look at this season’s impact.

All photos by Yvonne Uwah

this season’s five highlights:

✰ No. 1 — 150+ Vendors Exhibited

We exhibited more than 150+ women and LGBTQ+ creatives and independent business owners across Texas.

✰ No. 2 — 3,000+ Visitors Welcomed

We welcomed 3,000+ visitors at Distribution Hall over the course of two days (3,500, if you include dogs).

✰ No. 3 — $1,500+ Fundraised

Thanks to donations at the door and our Cocktails For Good Bar by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, we fundraised $1,500+ for our community programs.

✰ No. 4 — $10,000 In Commissions & Contracts

The market’s production and programming generated more than $10,000 in commissions and contracts for women- & queer-owned creative teams in Austin, too.

✰ No. 5 — 100% Community-Led

It took two full-time team members, 25 volunteers and curators, 200+ collaborators and six months of planning to open The Front Market’s Spring 2023 Season.

 

THREE WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED:

✰ Head to thefrontmarket.com (click here) to tap into the Spring Season 2023 lineup at anytime.

✰ Remember why spaces like The Front Market matter.

We dive deeper into what supporting women and LGBTQ+ vendors, as well as our local creative and small businesses communities, means at thefrontmarket.com/mindset.

✰ Explore all we do at Future Front—and find what’s for you—at futurefronttexas.org/programming.

view all photos
 

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends.

✰

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends. ✰

We would not be able to use the market as a space to nurture the creative communities we care about without support from our sponsors, members, staff, volunteers, friends and you. Thank you.

Want to stay involved with Future Front?

Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.

You can keep up with The Front Market here.

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