On Ballroom, Texas Nightlife And Expression: Bring It From the Back
Bring It From The Back features a curated selection of portraits and scenes from Austin-based photographer ScamLikely’s archives. On view at The Future Front House throughout Summer 2024, the exhibit celebrates the profound impact of ballroom and queer nightlife on Central Texas arts and culture.
Bring It From The Back features a curated selection of portraits and scenes from Austin-based photographer ScamLikely’s archives. On view at The Future Front House throughout Summer 2024, the exhibit celebrates the profound impact of ballroom and queer nightlife on Central Texas arts and culture.
Continue reading to learn more about the show, as well as Manuel Frayre.
✹ about the show, bring it from the back
From spontaneously captured death drops to curated portraits, Bring It From The Back documents the transformational power of Austin-based ballroom collective House of Lepore, as well as a number of event producers, curators, tastemakers and performers shaping Texas’ ballroom scene, through the lens of photographer ScamLikely (Manuel Frayre).
Documented in Texas Monthly and local publications, House of Lepore has become widely recognized and known for popularizing ballroom in Austin’s underground, bringing the queer cultural practice from New York to Texas. As a member of House of Lepore himself, Frayre’s archive is a unique and clarifying window into the collective’s mission, vision and creative practice through the artists’ own perspectives, stories and lenses.
“BRING IT FROM THE BACK” FEATURES 29 ARCHIVAL MATTE PRINTS by scam likely (@__scamlikely__).
Each print is its own archive, documenting the people and places that have defined Central Texas Ballroom culture from 2019 to 2024. View select prints from the exhibit below (provided courtesy of the artist):
✹ ON ballroom as resistance WITH photographer scam likely
ScamLikely aka Manuel Frayre (he/him) is a Latinx, Austin-based photographer, artist, DJ and event producer. He is a member of the legendary House of Lepore, one of Texas' premier ballroom collectives shaping Central Texas nightlife. Through his work with House of Lepore, as well as producing his own balls, shows and parties at venues like Cheer Up Charlies and Coconut Club Austin, Frayre has become a renowned events photographer and curator trusted by the Austin community. With this unique access and lens, he has built an elaborate documentary archive of queer cultural impact in Texas.
“Ballroom is resilient. It’s the fight of the unheard. It takes commitment and true passion to dedicate to this scene and I have tried to respect it as such.
It’s not just an experience or a party for these people, it’s a livelihood and for some the only way they can exist in this unfair world. The theme is really Queer Expression.
Every performer has a story to tell, with their identity, their looks and their body movements.
’Bring It From The Back’ is a love letter to our fight and an invitation to future generations. Every loss is followed by an invitation to progress. So, this exhibit is also dedicated to all of the Trans and Queer people of color who have been taken from us by the hands of suppression. They live through us, through every trophy.”
Read the entire interview with the Austin Chronicle here.
DID YOU MISS Bring it From the back?
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On Queer Community-Building: Pride Picnic 2024
It was an ecosystem of tie-dye, snow cones, plant swaps, and splash pads. A day of drag fairies, family time, makers’ markets, basketball courts and summer camp queerdom—all strung together by DIY friendship bracelets and shaded park benches.
Pride Month is a party, a protest, an intergenerational conversation, a community invitation, a dance alone and with friends, a belly laugh, a politic, a practice in amplification and celebration, a moment for maximalism and a time for rest.
this year’s pride picnic IN PEASE PARK was no different.
It was an ecosystem of tie-dye, snow cones, plant swaps, and splash pads. A day of drag fairies, family time, makers’ markets, basketball courts and summer camp queerdom—all strung together by DIY friendship bracelets and shaded park benches.
Together, we welcomed 2,000+ visitors to Pease Park, all while highlighting more than 35 LGBTQ+ creatives in Austin’s community. As we reflect on the picnic, here are a few of the day’s highlights and takeaways. Scroll to keep reading.
THIS YEAR’S PRIDE PICNIC takeaways:
✰ 6 Practices to build queer community
“If you’re good at something, give a little away for free.” — drag artist and curator Gothess Jasmine
“Learn to create safety—and spaces of bravery—so you can show up.” — Pease Park COO Chuck Jones on building community when it’s hard to be visible in Texas
“Burnout is real in community work. Be patient with yourself… and unanswered emails.” — The Little Gay Shop co-founder Justin Galicz
“Make time for joy and hard conversations. Learn your capacity and build skills to do both.” — Tabitha Hamilton, co-founder of Black Trans Leadership Austin
“Listen. Welcome feedback and embrace the trust that is built when people feel comfortable bringing feedback to you. Feedback can be a form of collaboration.” — Emmet Hunker, founder of Thee Gay Agenda
“Cultures of consent—cultures of intersectionality—are vital to queer culture. If I like it, I love it. I make that known. But if I don’t feel represented, I make that clear, too. Setting boundaries within community work is a way to prevent harm and violence. It’s also a way to honor, respect and reflect the diverse LGBTQIA+ identities that make our communities beautiful.” — drag artist and curator Gothess Jasmine
HAPPY PRIDE. Learn more about every artist & creative involved IN PRIDE PICNIC 2024 here.
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"Transcendent Reality" Presents 15 Emerging Artists At The Future Front House
Over the last month, The Future Front House presented Transcendent Reality, an exhibit curated by Maria Romero and Rewon Shimray of woman-owned fine art collective The Gallery ATX.
Over the last month, The Future Front House presented Transcendent Reality, an exhibit curated by Maria Romero and Rewon Shimray of woman-owned fine art collective The Gallery ATX.
Featuring works from 15 Austin-based artists, Transcendent Reality commented on the interplay of technology and the implications it has on our interpretation of reality, including interactive pieces that invited the audience to create their own parallel universe within the pieces through animations, personal testimonies, and moving installations.
BEHIND THE GALLERY ATX
The Gallery ATX is a woman-powered Austin, Texas based fine art collective devoted to exhibiting original and profound works of art from a carefully curated group of artists. Our mission is to impact new audiences through creative collaborations, popup exhibitions, and brand partnerships. By providing a platform to display our artists’ message, we connect a community of diverse creators and collectors.
Find out more at www.linktr.ee/thegalleryatx
MEET THE EXHIBIT’S CURATORS:
Maria Romero (she/her) is a curator, community builder, musician, and seasoned Business Development professional. Originally from Medellín, Colombia, she now calls Austin, Texas home. She founded The Gallery ATX, a local arts non-profit, and serves as its Executive Director. Additionally, she co-founded Mujer Manifesto Zine, a feminist independent publication. Maria also contributes to the Austin creative community as a guitarist/vocalist for the local band CorMae and has been published in Glaze Zine for her creative writing.
Rewon is an autobiographical creative raised and based in Austin, Texas. Whether designing a zine or painting a self-portrait, Rewon’s work reflects her experiences as a queer woman of color, a daughter of immigrants, and a soul in constant evolution.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, studying journalism, religion, and studio art. Rewon has exhibited work across Austin galleries. She is passionate about building communities through art, investing her time in the Austin art community as a freelance art educator, full-time graphic designer, Director of Artistic Programs for The Gallery ATX and the Mujer Manifesto Zine editor.
Missed This Show?
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On World-Building With Mueni Loko Rudd, Sacugar Edwards & Moses Leonardo
In commemoration of Madly Involved and our Spring Season, we interviewed curator Mueni Loko Rudd, as well as artists Sacugar Edwards and Moses Leonardo, on the world-buildling creative rituals that define their practices.
From February 16 to April 14, we hosted Madly Involved, an exhibit curated by Texas-based cultural producer Mueni Loko Rudd. Kicking off two months of events at The Future Front House for Black History Month and Women’s History Month, this immersive group exhibition interrogated dynamic interplays of race, identity, symbolism and global influences within the contemporary art landscape.
Featuring works by sacugar edwards, Moses Leonardo, Audrey Lyall and Melinda Griffith, Madly Involved explored the intricate relationship between artists and their creations through an array of disciplines and materials—from oil painting and sculpture to bobby pins and building debris.
In commemoration of Madly Involved and our Spring Season, we interviewed curator Mueni Loko Rudd, as well as artists Sacugar Edwards and Moses Leonardo, on the world-buildling creative rituals that define their practices.
✹ ON CURATING YOUR OWN WORLD WITH MUENI LOKO RUDD
Mueni Loko Rudd (she/her) is a Kenyan-American community champion, cultural preservationist, scholar advocate, and tastemaker based in Texas. Throughout her career, she has contributed to community and scholarly work that promotes reimagining liberation for historically oppressed communities. Mueni’s curatorial practice acts through intentionality and mindfulness, challenging the white centered colonial patriarchal art space. She has curated six visual arts and live music shows at Martha’s Contemporary, serves as a grant reviewer for the Texas Commission on the Arts, and is a member of The City of Austin African American Resource Advisory Commission. Deeply committed to her values she has pursued a path in the art space that is rooted in intentionality.
Q — How do you find new artists, new ideas as a curator?
Art is happening everywhere I look so finding new isn’t necessarily my goal. I would prefer to say I keep a curious eye out while just living my life and enjoying. That spirit of exploration has always allowed me to be surprised by what’s on the other end of my openness so to speak. Doesn’t matter if I’m in the South or somewhere new, my eyes are open. As a freelance curator, I often work from the bottom up because my planning is with respect to location. I try to be like water in these situations. So I may enter with certain ideas but usually very collaborative with the venue and participating artists. I want my collaborators to feel proud and correctly represented in my offerings.
Q — What does being a curator regarding creative expression and social responsibility mean to you?
My creative expression and contributions reflect my values already. My values are like my North Star. Even outside of creative spaces, the audience can see these same themes in my written work or research for example. It’s important to me to be in alignment and harmony with myself and the world around me.
Q — What do you think are some of the most inspiring things happening in your circles currently?
I enjoy seeing activism in all my intersections of work and play. I have a behavioral science educational background so I’m used to seeing more critique there but I’m seeing a more creative part of that dialogue. Free them all!
Q — In what ways was this exhibition fulfilling, and what messaging was important to highlight?
The rationale of this show is rooted in my prioritization of reshaping the art landscape by exploring themes related to race and identity. The relationship Black women and Black queer communities have in the art world is complex and multifaceted. Madly Involved is an exhibition that by practice and intention honors the intersectionality and representation observed in the works and lives of the participating artists. We know Black women and Black queer artists face challenges related to visibility, recognition, and the intersectionality of their identities. I challenge art and non-profit spaces alike to engage in breaking down hierarchies and challenging the dominant narratives in art to create space for diverse voices. Future Front invitation to their space and audience is instrumental in challenging traditional norms and fostering a more empathic and equitable art community.
Q — Describe the curating process for this exhibition, how did the central themes come to be?
This group exhibition explored the intricate relationship between artists and their creations through the lens of various sociological perspectives. This collection showcased diverse works that reflect the dynamic interplay of identity, symbolic interactionism, and global influences within the contemporary art landscape.
Q — How do you overcome creative blocks? What rituals do you implement in this scenario?
I do my best to let thoughts and feelings come and go with ease. If I feeling stuck on anything I’m working on I pivot to something else and return when my spirit is back settled. I never stop processing it but forcing myself in a new head space is helpful to refresh. I try to be gentle with myself.
Q — How do you view community building through your work? What does that look like?
A time and a place is something I value. Where I’m doing work matters to me just as much as with whom. Future Front had a focus and I was excited to amplify my own values within their parameters. The social and culture worker in me wants to build community by supporting folks how they see fit. So deep listening and rapport building are at the foundation.
Q — Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you're particularly excited about?
I’m excited to share that I’ve been invited to curate at SWIM Gallery in San Francisco this summer. Definitely check out the work Yarrow and his team have done with emerging artists all over the country. Honored to join them and add folks I value to their story.
Q — What do you hope the viewer experience is for this exhibition?
Through the exhibition, audiences witnessed how participating Black women and Black queer artists, deeply immersed in their creative process, draw inspiration from symbolic interactionism. Symbolic elements, both personal and cultural, serve as the building blocks for their expressions, transcending conventional boundaries. The exhibition delves into the impact of identity, social class, and cultural capital on artistic preferences, highlighting how individuals from different backgrounds engage with art uniquely. The spectrum of artistic choices mirrors the socialization processes that mold artistic identity.
✹ ON Creating your own world with sacugar & moses
SACUGAR EDWARDS is a lullaby to the black epic, a hum on a mission to reimagine paradise as one that understands our presence in the future. An ode to their school days in Jamaica, her inspiration begins at memories in the streets with the sun. As Isah Edwards, based in Texas; the (she/her) behind the iPad, they tackle the strenuous stares of anxiety that come with our unwavering radical fight for freedom. Paired with a passion for tech, cultural shifts in our environments, and furthering the conversation on afro-surrealism; she uses Procreate, paint, and any trash she can accumulate to create a militant merge of the dream and its reality. SACUGAR tells the story of the tender black smile and its gold-toothed zeal.
MOSES LEONARDO is an artist born in New York City, New York and raised around the East Coast. They have a BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art and their work focuses on sexuality, race, nightlife, music, spirituality, and gender.
Q — Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you typically approach a new project or piece of art?
Sacugar: I use everything around me to fossilize the vision in my head by letting the ideas devour me in a frenzy. I take lots of breaks and welcome distractions so each piece is completed by various reworked versions of myself and environment.
Moses: My creative process starts by living life. I have all these experiences and ideas that always end up expressed in some form on the canvas, in video, in writing, etc. After I know what I wanna say I keep working and thinking about what I’m saying until I feel that the thought is complete.
Q — What or who inspires your work? Are there any particular themes or ideas that consistently appear in your art?
Sacugar: I incorporate ideas of what freedom can look like in my work. Our incarcerated populace and the worker’s who clock in, especially the ones who are kids, inspire me greatly. I like to believe they would be my audience if they were free.
Moses: I’m inspired by love, gender expression, metropolitan life, black people, queer people, spirituality, and being alive. All of these themes appear in my art in one way or another.
Q — Can you share a memorable or challenging experience that has influenced your artistic journey?
Sacugar: I had to toss half my portfolio in the trash because I was moving and couldn’t afford to store or keep them. I have friends who are musicians who often lose all their tunes from some tech malfunction but they always just keep making music. Knowing that helped me move on from the paintings in the dumpster, more confident to make it all again.
Moses: Any time I’ve fallen in love or had sex or traveled or took a breath is in my art somehow. Of course most of my paintings encapsulate poignant aspects of my life or queer life or black life, life has the greatest influence on my art.
Q — How do you see your art impacting or connecting with your audience or the wider world?
Sacugar: I believe everybody can relate to some desire to fight for freedoms, my work is propaganda for that front so I hope it ignites a blaze in the kids who see it.
Moses: Whenever a person comes up to me to tell me about their interpretation of my work I get excited to see where my intentions actually took them. It also makes me think about the people engaging with my work when I’m not there, they have their own interpretations and ways that the work may connect to their lives. I focus on that kind of impact but I’m engaging with very universal themes- just through a queer lens. I suppose not everyone is used to that kind of perspective but I think there's a lot that people can learn from by looking at many kinds of perspectives. My niche audience and the world broadly.
Q — Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you're particularly excited about?
Sacugar: This summer I am doing a residency with studio two three in VA to work on some prints that honor fight scenes in vulnerable spaces. I’m also doing a series on picket signs for strippers with The Shed in NY. Both those projects will be fun to work on.
Moses: Yes I have two upcoming shows this month that excite me. I have a video project I’m working on with a friend and music on the way as well- all while I still work on new paintings.
Q — How do you navigate the balance between artistic expression and commercial viability?
Sacugar: I don’t do commercial viability because I don't draw for profit so artistic expression always comes first.
Moses: I refuse to make work I’m not excited about- sometimes that means less money and sometimes that means more. The world is a fickle place and the art world is even more fickle but I feel grateful knowing I’m not in a position where I have to compromise the integrity of my gifts to make something I don’t feel proud of or excited by.
Q — Can you discuss any specific techniques, mediums, or tools that are integral to your artistic practice?
Sacugar: I use an ipad and the procreate app to do most of my sketches and the internet has all the references in the world so it’s like a second brain in terms of imagining stuff from stuff.
Moses: Of course paint but really the most integral tool to me as of late is traveling. I get so enriched and inspired by the things I learn and see and do while traveling and it makes me want to make more work in the end.
Q — What advice would you give to aspiring artists based on your own experiences and learning?
Sacugar: Don’t take it so seriously, be lazier, more loose and acquire some intent beyond the ‘art’ act.
Moses: You must live life in order to birth art.
Q — What do you think are some of the most inspiring things happening in your circles currently?
Sacugar: I’ve been hanging out on an army base recently and with all the wars going on the soldiers seem pretty chill about it, it’s pretty inspiring because I don't think i’d be chill about it in that position.
Moses: The New York club scene has always been hot and has always birthed new sounds and aesthetics that the masses consume. I’m inspired by my friends who help shape the landscape of the new wave. I’m surrounded by creatives who are pushing everything that we’ve learned from our predecessors. It’s incredible. Whenever a friend is booked to DJ at a place we frequent or showing work in a gallery or institution- someone who’s from around the way, it makes me proud.
Q — How do you overcome creative blocks? What rituals do you implement in this scenario?
Sacugar: I don’t get creative block because there's always so much to draw about and so many ways to do it. It's the opposite for me. I get so overwhelmed by ideas that I have to lay dormant like a volcano so I don't explode.
Moses: I just ingest more art lol- I’m also blessed to have other mediums in my life that’ll always inspire creativity to flow into my other disciplines. Writing for example has helped me with my music which in turn has helped me with my paintings because of the content inside of the music. It really all flows together with some patience and perseverance.
Q — How do you view community building through your work? What does that look like?
Sacugar: Community building through my work would look like people using everything around them to move towards freedom. I’m really introverted so I'm not skilled in communal hijinks but if my work can serve as a suggestion, that’d be a job well done.
Moses: I think because my work is coming from me, a person with so many intersections. The work inherently becomes sociopolitical. I’ve embraced that in a way that echoes the work of my predecessors. Films like Tongues Untied or Watermelon Woman or shows like Noah’s Arc- made me feel like I was seen, validated and alive. My hope is that my work can reach people of the same intersections who may need to connect or heal by seeing themselves through whatever medium I choose. My hope is also to reach people outside of my intersections who are open to learning or empathizing with another human being going through the same things under a different set of social circumstances and with perspectives they haven’t themselves thought about or had to think about.
photos by jinni j (@heyjinnij)
Missed the MAdly Involved exhibition?
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On Community Fashion Shows and Queer, Texas Design: Hannah Varnell of Bloodbath Studio
Over the last two years, Future Front has proudly supported Bloodbath Studio’s community fashion shows. As Bloodbath prepares for their third-annual show in 2024, we chatted with the studio's co-founder Hannah Varnell about their origin story, the importance of queer representation in art and cultural gatherings and hopes for a sustainable, vibrant and subversively expressive scene.
Over the last two years, Future Front has proudly supported Bloodbath Studio’s community fashion shows.
Created by and for queer artists in 2022, Bloodbath’s annual fashion shows began as a way to amplify the DIY ecosystem of underground fashion in Central Texas. Each show features a range of rising designers and fashion stars—including voices like DASHE, FLAMER and ALIVE—evolving year over year to reflect an emerging, growing and established fashion community, as well as a spectrum of LGBTQ+ designers, models and producers.
As Bloodbath Studio prepares for their third-annual community fashion show in 2024, we chatted with Bloodbath Studio co-founder Hannah Varnell about the Bloodbath’s origin story, the importance of queer representation in art and cultural gatherings and hopes for a sustainable, vibrant and subversively expressive scene in Central Texas.
Photos by @wne2uu
Hannah Varnell (center in white) at Bloodbath’s Veneration Fashion Show in 2023
Meet Hannah Varnell.
Hannah Varnell is a director, cinematographer, and creative producer.
She enjoys creating worlds that exist in a magical, dreamlike subset of reality and is most inspired by media that creates empathy and provides opportunities for healing. She has produced and shot for BBC, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Bravo, and Travel Channel. Recent directing work premiered at Tribeca as part of “Battleground,” a film about reproductive rights by Cynthia Lowen. When she’s not making films or throwing Bloodbath fashion shows, you can find her at a thrift shop or resetting her nervous system at an electronic show.
Q — What was the catalyst in creating BloodBath?
The first Bloodbath Studio event was in 2022 as part of Lucktoberfest - a fall festival hosted on Willie Nelson’s Range out in Spicewood, Texas. After years of working the festival, I had magically found an invite to attend Luck Reunion as a guest for the first time. I remember wandering down the iconic main dusty road during the festival surrounded by tiny western buildings with the sun setting behind the Luck sign thinking - this would make an insane runway.
When one of Luck’s creative directors, Matt Bizer, asked if I had any ideas for events that would draw LGBT+ Austin’s queer community for Lucktoberfest, I flashed back to that moment, and set my sights on building our first fashion show.
Q — How would you describe the work BloodBath produces?
Our first show was inspired by what I saw designers like DASHE and This is Sloane doing. The models they were collaborating with were not only their muses, but these powerhouse icons of Austin’s queer community - musical artists, nightlife icons, designers themselves.
The process of inviting everyone together for the purpose of art felt like a sort of communion. It felt surreal. I wanted to keep that magic present, and working with Bloodbath now we aim to create art experiences whose structure lends itself to hearing the voices of all of the artists involved.
Q — Describe the collaborative nature of producing each show.
I’d never produced anything of that scale, so Bloodbath had an extremely collaborative nature from the beginning. It was a lot of me inviting people to be a part of it, not only for their artistic skill but for their expertise and this impressive, world-building type approach to executing their art. For our first independent show, the designers and I co-creative directed, and Danielle Shepherd of Dashe and I were able to team up for the producing — which has been honestly a dream. How to create an event with a cohesive throughline while maintaining space for individual expression is an evolving process we are always learning from.
Q — What is a grounding value that is expressed in each collaboration?
F*ck it, let's try.
Q — Elaborate on ways you stay in touch with your creative endeavors when doing collaborative work.
When I'm don't feel in touch with creativity, it's usually because I haven't gifted myself with enough time alone. When I am alone, I can tap into the source — life, energy, God, whatever you want to call it — and that's where all my good ideas come from. I got rid of my car because I love biking and walking for that reason: you are left alone with the world.
Q — How has BloodBath grown as a production and where do you see it going in the future?
Bloodbath went from a psychedelic-fueled idea to a full-blown grassroots production whose production quality was compared to New York Fashion Week. We’re blown away and humbled by what happens when a good idea meets the right community. We’ll keep finding our way with the help of the community that has come along the ride with us, and we will continue to be inspired by our friends from other organizations also building the fashion scene. We have ideas of how we could join forces with other show producers to make shows more attainable for artists, but for now, we’re focused on our next show — which will be this October.
Q — What is your hope for Bloodbath with Austin’s constantly evolving culture and art?
The independent art culture is what drew me to Austin and it’s the reason I’ve stayed here for 9 years. My hope is that even in the midst of the city’s growing pains, our independent art scene evolves to stay alive and we find ways of executing events that attract international attention to the insane fashion and film talent here. Austin has a growing thirst for thoughtfully-curated, artist-centric events, and is positioned to develop a fashion scene that not only pays homage to our artist roots, but also our entrepreneurial spirit to ask how to evolve a historically-wasteful industry towards more ethical and sustainable solutions.
Q — Where do you see BloodBath in the coming years as a movement?
We want to support a thriving art, fashion, and film industry that prioritizes the well-being of queer people, and we want to continue centering queer beauty as not only the inspiration, but the backstage teams, creative decision-makers, and featured talent of our events.
Photo by @brittanynofomo
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Introducing The Community Clay Fellowship: Broad Studios Club House x Future Front
Open to makers, artists, designers, creatives or creative-curious types of any kind in Austin, Texas, the fellowship covers 18 free six-week ceramics courses at Broad Studios Club House. Released for the first time this Spring, we received 170+ eligible applications for the fellowship.
Generously funded by the independent artists behind women-owned Broad Studios Club House, The Broad Studios Club House x Future Front Community Clay Fellowship has emerged as a pay-it-forward way to make ceramics more financially accessible as an artistic practice and/or a form of creative entrepreneurship.
Open to makers, artists, designers, creatives or creative-curious types of any kind in Austin, Texas, the fellowship covers 18 free six-week ceramics courses at Broad Studios Club House. Released for the first time this Spring, we received 170+ eligible applications for the fellowship. Over the course of two months, our team engaged in a community-led curatorial and rank-choice voting process to select recipients for the six-week class fellowship.
Today, we’re proud to introduce you to this season’s recipients!
Photos by Yvonne Uwah of Broad Studios Club House x Future Front Clay Fellowship Pop-Up
Broad Studios Club House x Future Front Community Clay Fellowship
MEET 2024 COMMUNITY CLAY fellowship recipients
SPRING 2024 COMMUNITY CLAY FELLOWS:
Jazz Hills
Ibiye Anga
Kiara Harris
Kamilah Smith
Bernadette Castillo
Sommer Raynei Henderson
SUMMER 2024 COMMUNITY CLAY FELLOWS:
Leslie Nguyen-Okwu
Elena Carolina Williams
Adrienne Sanchez
Nirvana Haifa
Gerlin Leu
Noelle Thiering
FALL 2024 COMMUNITY CLAY FELLOWS:
Ciprianna Arevalo
Victoria Cardenas
Marley Zollman
Tabitha Guardiola
Nahzaria
Cyber
ABOUT BROAD STUDIOS CLUB HOUSE:
Broad Studios Club House is a team of ceramic/multidisciplinary artists who opened up a ceramics studio and learning space to create a community where artists at every level can feel welcomed, empowered, and inspired.
Learn more here.
ABOUT FUTURE FRONT:
Homegrown in Austin, Future Front is a community space and exhibition series — with women and LGBTQ+ creatives at the front.
As an arts and culture nonprofit, we’re mother to The Front Market, The Front Festival and The Work Conference. Beyond our flagship exhibitions, we host year-round shows, gatherings and workshops at our creative community space in historic East Austin. Everybody and every body are welcome. You can learn more about how it all works, our team and what we do: futurefronttexas.org.
P.S. WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN future UPCOMING CALLS? check back year-round.
The Front Market Spring 2024 Season at Distribution Hall: The Official Recap
As our Spring 2024 Season Finale, we took over distribution hall in Austin, Texas for one weekend only—exhibiting 160+ creatives and welcoming 3,500+ visitors.
As our Spring 2024 Season Finale, we took over distribution hall in Austin, Texas for one weekend only—exhibiting 160+ creatives and welcoming 3,500+ visitors. Keep reading for a full look at this season’s impact.
All photos by Yvonne Uwah
this season’s three highlights:
✰ No. 1 — 160+ Vendors Exhibited & 3,500+ Visitors Welcomed
We exhibited more than 160 women and LGBTQ+ creatives and independent business owners across Texas, with 3,500+ visitors joining us each day. (Even in torrential rain!)
✰ No. 2 — 100% Community-Led CURATION & PRODUCTION TEAMS
It took two full-time team members, four part-time staff members, 30 volunteers and curators, 250+ collaborators and six months of planning to open The Front Market’s Spring 2024 Season.
✰ No. 3 — $1,000+ DONATIONS RAISED, $10,000+ In Commissions & Contracts DISTRIBUTED
Thanks to support from our members, volunteers and sponsors at Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Topo Chico, The City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, Waymo, Texas Commission on The Arts, Moontower Rentals and Distribution Hall, we were able to keep the market free and open to the public, with complimentary community workshops each day. The market’s production and programming generated more than $10,000 in commissions and contracts for women- & LGBTQ-owned creative teams in Austin, too.
THIS SEASON’S VISUAL RECAP:
three WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED:
✰ Head to thefrontmarket.com (click here) to tap into the SPRING 2024 Season 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.
Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends.
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Thank you to our sponsors, partners and friends. ✰
THE FRONT MARKET WOULD NOT BE ABLE to nurture creative communities without support from our sponsors, members, staff, volunteers, friends and you. Thank you.
How To Host A Community Club with Future Front
From drawing sessions to unconventional book clubs to summer period series, learn from our 2022 Club Hosts on how to bring a Community Club to life.
Community Clubs are intimate gatherings hosted by Future Front members in Austin, Texas.
Grounded in nurturing creativity, community, professional resilience (or all three!), clubs are a way to make space for the things we need to learn, the habits that support our growth and the people who remind us why we’re here.
We launch a new round of clubs every summer, and this year our Open Call for ideas has returned. Whether you’d like to host a club or attend a club, keep reading for some background on these sweet series, as well as meet a few of our 2022 Club Hosts.
FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON COMMUNITY CLUBS.
⭑ What is a Community Club?
01. Community Clubs are designed to nurture creativity, community or professional resilience.
02. Meeting regularly, all clubs work to achieve one purpose, like:
Mastering a skill
Nurturing a habit
Celebrating / supporting something everyone in the club loves
03. Clubs usually have 10 to 20 active members throughout the year—and they’re seasonal. A club might meet once a month from February to October, for example, or maybe they’ll meet every other week during the Spring, etc.
04. Clubs must be hosted by Future Front members and available to all members to attend. (They can be open to everyone to join, though—it just depends on whether or not the host decides to make their club public!)
⭑ How often do Community Clubs meet?
In order for a Community Club to thrive, it’s got to meet on a regular basis! For a Community Club to be listed with Future Front, it must run on a weekly, bimonthly, monthly or quarterly schedule.
⭑ What does a Community Club host do?
A club host sets the tone and the purpose of their club. A club host selects the intention and overarching goal of the club.
A club host runs their club autonomously, with support from Future Front. A club host sets the agenda, location, medium and/or topic for every club meeting using Google Calendar or an alternative calendar tool. They also check in with members of the club at least once a month via email, text or some other communication method.
A club host wants to be a good host. If you’ve become a host, you’re interest in community-building as a practice, sharpening your facilitation skills and practicing curatorial work! Hosts meet with the Future Front team once a quarter to check in on their club, share resources, learn from growth edges, have fun and hang! Hosts are responsible for:
Keeping the club free and safe by staying curious and asking for feedback
Having and starting conversations, as well as facilitating space for others to share
Understanding everything that is going on within the club, etc.!
⭑ Can’t imagine what makes for a good club? Or what joining one might look like? We got you! Let’s take a look at Hike Club.
Two years ago, Future Front member Stephanie of Storied Series decided to list her own bimonthly Hike Club as a Future Front Club. The club met every other Sunday at different trails in Austin, and the goal was simple. The club was designed for people who wanted to get outside—and just needed to find the time, space and company to do it. (After listing the club with Future Front, Hike Club doubled in size and Stephanie still runs it today!)
second, hear from some of our 2022 hosts.
This Is Not A Book Club — Hosted by Amanda Johnston, Founder and Executive director of Torch Literary Arts, an organization supporting creative writing by Black Women in Texas
✹ How would you describe This is Not A Book Club?
This Is Not A Book Club is a low-key meet-up where book lovers come together to support local independent bookstores, learn more about Torch Literary Arts, and meet new people. It’s not a book club, but we do talk about all things literary and encourage everyone to find a great book to take home. We have treats and book giveaways, too!
✹ Why do you think sharing literature within our communities is important?
Authors and freedom of speech are under attack. Most books being challenged, censored, or banned are overwhelmingly by and/or about BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ people. What gets published becomes our perception of the world.
Representation matters in publishing and across media, so it is vital that we support diverse writers who dare to tell the stories that make us think and ask questions. It is vital that our communities read and support our indie bookstores and local libraries so free thought and imagination can inspire generations to come.
“We have an abundance of creators, organizers, and heart workers in our community. Feed into them and receive the bounty that will grow in return. ”
Summer Period Club — Hosted by Kate Morton, a dietitian, menstrual health advocate and the founder of Funk It Wellness
✹ How would you describe Period Club?
Period club was a chance for everyone to come together and build community around menstrual education. We had so much fun—we did a different craft each month and just hung out and talked about all the things that society tells us are "TMI.”
✹ Talking about menstrual cycles and things can be a bit intimidating! How do you creatively approach these kinds of subjects? What got you interested in periods from the start?
I have to give our club members a lot of credit. They came 100% ready to dive in and talk about all things cycles. One thing we found helped everyone feel comfortable and have fun was doing a different craft activity each month. I think having something to do with your hands and creating something new can help you feel more comfortable and bonded to the people around you.
✹ What kinds of topics did you explore in the Period Club? Why are they important?
We explored cycle tracking, what is a normal period, how to advocate for yourself in a health care setting and many many other important aspects of menstrual health but most importantly we all shared our lived experience and I think that is where the most valuable education came from.
Money Moves Club — Hosted by Lina Zuluaga, artist, UX designer and Future Front Texas board member
✹ Talking about money can be a bit intimidating! How do you creatively approach these kinds of subjects? What got you interested in making this a community conversation from the start?
It really IS intimidating! There is no formula for everyone because our stories are so different but the thing we have in common is the fact that we all have to deal with money. Money means different things to all of us, it might mean security or a way to measure success but at the end of the day, we’ve all made mistakes and have had wins when it comes to money, whatever that means to you personally. I try to approach from a place of curiosity and kindness every time we get together. There is a lack of education around money and most of us have to hope what our parents told us about it is true, and figure it out ourselves. Sometimes learning the hard way is what we have in common and I use that commonality to have a conversation and share what we’ve learned because someone else is probably going through it.
✹ Any interesting stories from your club or things you’ve learned through your club that you’d like to share with us & the community?
There are too many and that’s why I started a Money Moves blog! I wanted to keep track of what our conversations are about for the members who can’t make it in person, I definitely try to encourage people to come to the chats but it's nice to look back in the blog and see all the resources we’ve shared in one place. Here is the link to it, if anyone is interested!
Skechers Drawing Club — Hosted by Cynthia Muñoz, artist, social impact leader and Future Front Texas board member
✹ What’s your favorite thing to make as an artist?
I've always been drawn to images of people. Most of my work focuses on self-portraiture simply for convenience because I'm a cheap model!
✹ What do you like most about drawing with other people? Or just collaborating creatively with others in general?
As a procrastinator, having a specific event or reason to draw forces me to actually do it versus just thinking I should do it sometime. A lot of people have told me that they feel the same way, thus Skechers was born! I really enjoy that the majority of people who attend are people I don't know so it's nice to see new faces and it's fun peeking at what they're drawing because everyone's style is so unique. I feed off other people's energy and enthusiasm so having collaborators keeps me motivated and inspired.
✹Do you have any advice for people interested in attending Community Clubs, or just being in community, in general?
Just show up! Community Clubs are meant to have a low barrier to entry so if you're interested at all, just try one and see if you like it. Being in community in general is a bit harder, but I find that attending events is an easy way to check out a group that allows you to show up as you are. You can be quiet and observe or you can start mingling right away!
*To host or join a Community Club in 2023, head to futurefronttexas.org/clubs for more information.
On The Mycelium Of Cultural Movements: Highlander Center x Future Front
While Austin celebrated SXSW during Spring 2024, Highlander Center popped up at The Future Front House for all-day sessions, exploring the intersections of storytelling, movement-building and the artistic, cultural and creative mycelium of southern people’s struggles for justice and democracy.
While Austin celebrated SXSW during Spring 2024, Highlander Center popped up at The Future Front House for all-day sessions, exploring the intersections of storytelling, movement-building and the artistic, cultural and creative mycelium of southern people’s struggles for justice and democracy.
From an experiential pop-up library (straight from Highlander’s archives in Tennessee) to an evening film screening and panel discussion, the day reflected conversations among artists, organizers and friends inviting us all to imagine the future.
a few highlights:
✰ NO. 1 — RESONANT cultural strategy starts with our stories.
Throughout the day, Highlander Center’s youth team created space for us all to voice the strength of our stories and the storytellers who have shaped us. Our favorite storytellers were often our caretakers, our mothers, our movement-builders—the people who remind us that we are alive and here and now. Many of us touched on the power of truthful, supportive gossip in an oppressive South, too, and the healing that comes when a quiet story gets the chance to be loud.
✰ NO. 2 — we are the mycelium we want to see in the world.
Throughout the day, we explored the somatics of movement-building. We broke bread with Highlander Center’s culinary team, we clapped hands and improvised with Jenae Taylor. Like the mushrooms in our meals, we were a tiny but mighty network of energy all day long—witnessing and testifying.
✰ NO. 3 — our personal & public movements DESERVE OUR BEAUTY and our honestY.
To close the day, we reflected on “A Place of Rage,” with Futurelands organizer Emma Robinson and guest speakers Eden Hakimzadeh and Breya Monae. Together, they invited the audience to encourage emergence, integrity and beauty in our movement work, modeling in real-time the art of a welcoming and safe conversation among organizers.
Through their shared dialogue, we witnessed grief, disappointment, gratitude and hope for the justice principles that shape culture today. Their conversation was a reminder that our movements deserve more than our apathy—they deserve honesty, brilliance and beauty, too.
FUTURELANDS’ VISUAL RECAP:
Did you miss Futurelands?
You can learn more about all of the LGBTQ+ artists, makers, creatives and organizations who joined us in 2024 here. For details on future events, stay tuned on Future Front’s calendar.
Information Is Care: An Evening With Artist Autumn Breon
For one day only during SXSW Spring 2024, we were the official tour Texas stop for Care Machine, Los Angeles-based artist Autumn Breon’s latest installation, a traveling beauty and sexual health vending machine. To celebrate, Future Front became The Care House: a literal and figurative community salon, in collaboration with Plan C.
For one day only during SXSW Spring 2024, we were the official tour Texas stop for Care Machine, Los Angeles-based artist Autumn Breon’s latest installation, a traveling beauty and sexual health vending machine.
to celebrate, Future Front became The Care House: a literal and figurative community salon, in collaboration with Plan C.
Together, we hosted the community for an evening of art (and adornment), exploring reproductive justice, featuring a talk with Autumn Breon herself, community-care panels, an art show, mini-facial stations, tooth gems and more! (You can learn more about Autumn and everyone involved here.)
CARE HOUSE’S VISUAL RECAP
INFORMATION IS CARE.
did you miss the care house?
You can learn more about all of the artists, makers, creatives and organizations who joined us in 2024 here. For details on future events, stay tuned on Future Front’s calendar.