A Letter From The Director: On Federal Programs & Funding Freezes
In response to recent rollbacks and bans on federal diversity and grants programs, Future Front (and many arts organizations like ours) will continue to be discriminately affected without cause. As familiar as the challenges are, nothing has changed at Future Front—and we will let you know if anything does.
In response to recent rollbacks and bans on federal diversity programs and federally funded grant opportunities across the country, we recognize that our communities are yet again facing unprovoked and unsettling harassment around cultural expression and identity.
Unfortunately, these federal bans are all too familiar, borrowing from Texas’ adoption of similar policies. Future Front has a few funding sources impacted by these changes, and we will, as always, let you know if anything escalates into a space of emergency.
In the meantime, nothing has changed at Future Front.
Continue reading for a note from our Executive Director, Jane Hervey.
“In 2016, our independent local film program was temporarily blocked from The Bullock Museum’s public cinema by Governor Abbott on the accusation that our work insulted stay-at-home mothers.
As bizarre and unthinkable the claim, that was not the first or last time that this love letter of an arts and culture project was irrationally (or dangerously) politicized due to bias.
The experience, however, remains sticky in my memory for its lessons.
When I’m confused, it’s been strong evidence that the brain can be soft-wired for misplaced hate over curiosity. When I feel intimidated or done, it reminds me that community love letters are still worth writing, especially for those who need to read them.
As artists and creatives, we are often tasked with reflecting our communities, our culture, our histories and the future. It is not—and has never been—an inconsequential or easy time to do so.
We will continue writing our proverbial love letters around here. Thank you for writing yours.”
LOOKING FOR RESOURCES?
Here are a few suggestions from our blog:
The 2024 Impact Report: A Year of Ritual
From welcoming 18,000 visitors to hosting more than 200 community events, we reached every milestone on our list. Continue reading for some of 2024’s highlights and takeaways.
2024 has been Future Front’s biggest year yet. Let’s get into it.
From welcoming 18,000 visitors to hosting more than 200 community events, we reached every milestone on our list.
Continue reading for some of 2024’s highlights and takeaways.
OUR 5 BIG WINS:
OUR TOP 10 GROWTH MOMENTS:
No. 1 — Across 50 public markets, festivals, shows & community programs in 2024, we welcomed 18,000 visitors, opening up $122,000 in commissions and contracts for 1,550+ independent creatives and artists in Texas.
No. 2— We hosted 100+ free creative community gatherings atThe Future Front House—from craft workshops and art shows (including Madly Involved, A Path of Impermanence and Bring It From The Back) to panels and performances. We were also able to waive our sliding scale rental fees for Austin residents nearly 75% of the time. This is something we’ve been working toward for 10 years!
No. 3 — Across The Front Market’s Spring and Fall Seasons, we exhibited 437 independent creatives, designers, makers, artists, small business owners and chefs from Texas. We also took The Front Market to our largest public venue yet—Waterloo Greenway—in Downtown Austin. This was a landmark moment for our team and the future of the program.
No. 4 — The Front Festival had another record-breaking year, supporting 65 women and LGBTQ+ artists and 1300 visitors across four days of independent music, film and art.
No. 5 — 112 volunteers, board members, community curators and collaborators joined us throughout the year to contribute 1500+ hours of support Future Front’s programs. (This is the largest number of active volunteers in Future Front’s 9-year history.)
No. 6 — We doubled this summer’s Community Clubs, which saw 23 different Future Front members curate and host free creative sessions for 500+ community members.
No. 7 — We presented 25+ community partnerships for free arts healing and creative education workshops, like Broad Studios’ Clubhouse’s Ceramics Fellowship (which provided 16 Austin residents with free six-week ceramics programs) and Black Girls In Art Spaces x Anga Haus Palette to Pixel Workshop (which provided free Augmented Reality training).
No. 8 — We worked with Highlander Center, Plan C, Mutual Love Rest Fest, WATER Lit and Project for Empty Space to host interactive art exhibits and community teach-ins on the artistic, cultural and creative impact of southern people’s struggles for justice and democracy. This year’s themes centered Community-Care, Reproductive Justice and Trans Joy.
No. 9 — Through the The WORK Conference, we brought together 300+ creative leaders in Austin to skill-build and resource-share around community-building, small business education, storytelling and adaptive leadership.
No. 10 — We were recognized for our work by a number of partners, sponsors and grant-makers, including the Texas Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts (for the first time). We also received the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division and Economic Development Department Elevate Grant for a second year. We continued creative community design projects with Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, The Contemporary Austin, The LINE Hotel Austin, Pease Park, Red River Cultural District, Waymo, Waterloo Greenway and more, too.
For a closer look at this year, head to Future Front’s blog & Instagram (@futurefronttexas).
Your attention made this possible.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS, GRANT-MAKERS, DONORS, VOLUNTEERS AND MEMBERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
Future Front’s 2024 Season was supported in part by The City of Austin Economic Development Department, the National Endowment for the Arts (ArtsHERE), Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Texas Commission on the Arts, Waymo, Waterloo Greenway, The LINE Hotel Austin, Pease Park Conservancy, Liquid Death, Distribution Hall, the Red River Cultural District, Moontower Rentals, the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, Topo Chico, as well as Future Front’s donors, volunteers, members and you!
THANK YOU TO OUR MAGNIFICENT STAFF, BOARD AND ADVISORS, TOO.
Thank you for another year nurturing local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future
Do you want to get involved in 2025?
Become a member or donate to our end-of-year fundraiser. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
On Creativity As Ritual: Five Artists from The Front Festival 2024
Keep reading for an introduction to five Austin-based artists and their thoughts on independent creative work, nurturing community and returning to oneself.
As we reflect on this year, we’re unearthing a few interviews on ritual from The Front Festival, our annual end-of-summer music and film festival (get the 2024 recap here).
Keep reading for an introduction to five Austin-based artists and their thoughts on independent creative work, nurturing community and returning to oneself.
✹ ON embracing CREATIVE METAMORPHOSIS with INDEPENDENT ARTIST Virginia L. Montgomery
Virginia L. Montgomery is an award-winning experimental filmmaker and multimedia artist working across video, performance, sound design, and sculpture. She received her MFA from Yale University and her BFA from The University of Texas at Austin. VLM is known for her surreal, synthesia-esque artworks which unite elements from mysticism, science, and her own neurodivergent femme experience. www.helloVLM.com | ig @skinnyaliens
Q — How do you view community building through your work? What does that look like?
In my artwork, I work with a community of Luna moths. Over the course of 6 months, I am with them from the time they are tiny eggs, through their caterpillar stage, their cocoon process, and their metamorphosis into big, beautiful, verdant green Luna moth beauties. On the first day that the Luna moth emerges from its cocoon, we'll work together on photos and videos while its wings dry. The next day, once the Luna moth is ready to fly, I thank them and release them. It brings my heart such warmth to see a Luna moth fly away into the night so she may join her own Luna moth community.
Q — Can you share a memorable or challenging experience that has influenced your artistic journey?
One of my favorite artistic journey memories occurred during the opening of my 2023 solo show at Women & Their Work Gallery when a little girl came up to me and said that after watching my Luna moth videos that she was no longer afraid of bugs because she now thought moths were fuzzy and cute. I was so touched by her! Because just knowing that this little girl no longer held fear in heart about bugs and that she now even cared about them from a positive perspective, made me feel like that as an artist I was doing the job that I was meant to do.
Q — What advice would you give to creatives starting out? Or even to yourself at the beginning of your creative journey?
Embrace the chaos! Remember to give yourself grace! Everyone is always in a state of metamorphosis.
Q — What or who inspires your work? Are there any particular themes or ideas that consistently appear in your art?
The 20th century surrealist filmmaker Maya Deren is an inspiration to me. Her dreamlike film editing style and use of experimental storytelling through symbols both energizes and soothes me. Themes of eco-surrealism populate my work. In my own films, I use recurring visual motifs like circles, holes, and spheres. I use circles because I see circles as a hopeful form. Every circle is a portal for something to appear.
✹ ON PRIORITIZING COMMUNITY with RECORDING ARTIST Promqueen
promqueen (she/they) is a second generation queer Vietnamese American artist based in Austin, TX. She is a daughter to Vietnamese born parents who immigrated to America post Vietnam war. promqueen draws lyrical inspiration from her family history and own experiences as a second generation kid raised in Texas.
Alongside music, promqueen thrives in collaborative environments as a co-writer and multidisciplinary artist across acting, community organizing and writing a memoir. Through her music, she hopes AAPI folks feel encouraged to process, express and share their art to the world.
promqueen is active in the community, performing at Asian Culture Fair (200+), Asia World Night Market (5k-10k), Silk Club 10th zine release anniversary (UT's Asian women/nonbinary/genderqueer creative organization), KUTX Free Week, and is set to take the ACL stage in October 2024.
Q — What do you think are some of the most inspiring things happening in your circles currently?
Conversations with other friends about how their artistic process is shapeshifting. How people are responding to each other and world events. I feel a pulse on people wanting to expand their ideas, conversations, actions and habits. I feel people are getting more creative with their art and becoming more multimedia which I absolutely love!
On AANHPI film and representation, I recently watched an indie film at AGLIFF about queer Asian males in a comedy setting. It was authentic, experimental and showed male vulnerability. There is a shift happening in the media where we are getting to see more vulnerability and process and I love that. It seems to me people are tired of polished algorithms and curation and want to see the messy real parts of being human.
Q — What advice would you give to creatives starting out? Or even to yourself at the beginning of your creative journey?
Everyone finds their own rhythm and pace that suits their journey and pacing so I’ll refrain from saying what others “should do” or “what works”. The moments I’ve had creative breakthroughs and peace come from being kind to myself, not putting overwhelming pressure on needing to “accomplish” or “achieve” where it starts to feel forced. When I have fun is where my creative process starts and I try to aim there. I do the things that give me delight.
In acting class, my coach reminded us that “product and presentation” rob us of the present moment and our artistry. When we try to achieve a result and worry about what others will think of us, we missed the point. The story is bigger than me. It’s not about me. It never was. I am purely the instrument the art plays through.
Q — How do you view community building through your work? What does that look like?
Community building is the centerpiece of the project. I intentionally wrote my songs in Vietnamese and English as an SOS call to other Vietnamese Americans. My ideal situation is a Vietnamese American hears my lyrics in a crowd and gets it, like they are in on a joke, to essentially feel included. Everyone else can still enjoy the music but at the end of the day I want to connect with those who are trying to figure out their cultural identity for themselves. My hope for my live shows is that people walk away with a greater sense of imagination for themselves, their journey and their own communities.
Q — What are you hoping to accomplish within your work over the next five years? Speak it into existence—we want to know!
I want to secure funds to tour with my team domestically and internationally to connect with other AANHPI communities outside of Texas with our own staging and lighting crew.
I want to work on a short indie comedy drama film about coming of age, self and cultural identity discovery with a predominantly BIPOC and persons with disability cast.
I want to explore ways to create a summer art exchange program between a university and a girls warm shelter in Vietam (where I previously worked at) where college students receive a fellowship to live and work at the shelter for 2 months.
✹ ON WOMANHOOD’S INFLUENCES with FILMMAKER ANA TREVIñO
Ana Treviño is an artist and educator based in Austin, TX. Her practice bends the rules of filmmaking and is informed by cultural histories. Through video installation and performance she explores how she can reinvent subjugated narratives.
Q — Tell us about your journey as an artist and how you ended up at The Front Festival 2024.
I'm originally from Galveston, TX but was raised in Brownsville, TX until I was 10 years old. This made a huge impact on my life as I constantly crossed the border to Mexico. I grew up in two very distinct places and quickly saw the differences. My mother really made me be proud of my Mexican heritage and I have carried that with me my entire life.
I was lucky to teach a workshop last year at The Contemporary Austin Laguna Gloria with my friend Mark Menjivar where we explored migration and place with eight participants. This turned into the film that [screened at] The Front Festival this year.
Q — What or who inspires your work? Are there any particular themes or ideas that consistently appear in your art?
Women are a big influence in the work I make. Oftentimes, we are surrounded by the male perspective in literature, art, etc. so I seek out perspectives coming from women. Lately, I have been very inspired by Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi and writer Toni Morrison. Themes that are common in my work are labor, injustice, migration, motherhood, and feminism.
Q — How do you get into a creative headspace? Any mindsets or rituals that work for you?
I don't have a very structured way of making work or getting into a creative headspace. For me, it's important to be viewing art, films, and reading to get me excited about making art. If I'm not doing this, I think my creativity starts to fall flat. It also comes in waves. As a working mother, I have very limited time to sit and make work, let alone film. So, I try to use my time wisely and jot down themes/ideas that I want to explore and research more.
For example, I was very impacted by the role of being a mother. I started to really analyze what I was watching and how mothers were being represented in media. I created a survey to get honest, insightful feedback from mothers and this drove me to make work based on my and their experiences. This is a project I am continuing to build and hopefully exhibit in a solo show sometime in the future.
Q — What advice would you give to creatives starting out? Or even to yourself at the beginning of your creative journey?
The advice I'd give is to keep making work. You will only grow and get better if you continue to push yourself creatively and intellectually. You will fail more times than you'll succeed, but that is part of the process. If you don't try, you will never know what could have been. I still tell myself this when I have doubts about my abilities. I am not the best, but I will always strive to do the best work I can.
✹ ON BEING THE MAIN CHARACTER with COMEDIAN, ACTRESS, HOST AND FILMMAKER AIRA JULIET
Aira Juliet is an award winning host and community organizer - creator of black and queer as fuck and host of queer trivia. She is a comedian, writer, trivia extraordinaire. She has also danced on stage with Janelle Monae + Meg Thee Stallion.
Q — In your own words, tell us who you are and what you do both in and out of work.
I am an Aquarius through and through. I’m an Aries Venus. Middle child. Trader Joe’s fiend. I’m an older sister. First born daughter. I’m a dog mom to a corgi/aussie mix that stresses me tf out. Stomach sleeper. I’m a former worship leader and former purity ring wearer. I am a comedic writer. I love to dance. Have danced with Megan Thee Stallion + Janelle Monae . I love to eat. I have a corporate job that keeps me being able to have the a/c at my apartment around 68° daily.
Q — What or who inspires your work? Are there any particular themes or ideas that consistently appear in your art?
Inspiration: Black women. Silly women. Audrey Hepburn. Megan Thee Stallion. Queen Latifah. Issa Rae! Gordon Ramsey. Lauryn hill! Julia Louis Dreyfus. Shrek 2. Gentlemen prefer blondes. My grandma. Jeff Goldblum. My best friend. My little sister. My chaotic youth. My purity ring. Sex and the city. Tony Soprano. Athena. Champagne on a patio.
Themes: Being the main character in your own life. Black women can be lead and every one see themselves in characters they play. Inclusivity! Being yourself.
Q — What advice would you give to creatives starting out? Or even to yourself at the beginning of your creative journey?
Surround yourself with people who inspire you! Also you need friends around you who will critique you. You don’t need a bunch of yes men in your corner. Apply for grants. Show up for your friends. Go to shows. Talk to people who inspire you. SUPPORT PEOPLE!!!!
Don’t be scared to fail!!!!! Try new things even if it scares you.
Q — What are you hoping to accomplish within your work over the next five years? Speak it into existence—we want to know!
I will be writing a TV show or hosting my own night time talk show??! I hope to meet Jeff Goldblum and work with him. Going to Greece! Maybe even making an album - been exploring my musical side again
✹ ON THE STRUGGLE FOR SELF-ACCEPTANCE with DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY WRITER BEO LERMAN
Beo Lerman is an award winning writer and director, and a lifelong native to Austin, Texas. Their work focuses on the inner lives of women and queer people, most often through a comedic lens. They enjoy campy monster movies and love colorful lighting.
Q — How do you view community building through your work? What does that look like?
In my opinion, filmmaking work can be as collaborative as it gets. Everyone has a hand in it. Writing, costuming, lighting, camera work, etc, etc, everyone is contributing. And through that collaboration and hard work, you build a community.
Being a gender minority in the film world, when I run my own sets I work hard to make sure that an inclusive environment is there. I want to collaborate, I want to work with all different kinds of people and I don't want anyone feeling excluded. But I will say that overall, the Austin film community is a caring community. There is a real level of trust and support there, and a lot of really cool inclusive people. I hope that through my career I can help strengthen that community more :^)
Q — What or who inspires your work? Are there any particular themes or ideas that consistently appear in your art?
I feel like the most recurring theme in my work is insecurity, and the struggle for self acceptance. On the inside, I am a pretty insecure person, and it's like this disgusting little creature that lives inside of me and I have to beat it down periodically. It sucks! And so it accidentally comes out in all of my work. All the things that come with being insecure: the self-sabotage, the delusion, being a generally unpleasant person, I think it makes for a good story. And naturally, it ends up being about people like me, queer and trans people.
Q — Can you discuss any specific techniques, mediums, or tools that are integral to your artistic practice?
I love comedy as a medium: I think it allows people to talk about what they're not comfortable with touching on directly. Comedy allows me to discuss my innermost feelings and work through my fears by holding them at a safe distance. If you're a broke queer person trying to have fun, you end up being camp.
In some ways I love going over the top: I love colorful lighting and quirky production design, but I want my characters to feel like real, regular people. I think blending the surreal and the mundane is where you get to have the most fun. Being realistic is boring anyways.
Q — What do you think are some of the most inspiring things happening in your circles currently?
Costume designer/super 8 visionary Ligeia Djanga immediately comes to mind. Check her out, her aesthetic is so honed, and I love how she combines her work in multiple different mediums. There's so many other cool people out there too, like Ivy Chiu and their studio/shared space 24 Cobras. I am so thankful that there is such a vibrant community of people in the arts here in Austin, and that I get to meet new people who inspire me so frequently.
The Front Festival will return in 2025.
Stay updated on announcements and applications for next year’s festival at thefrontfest.com.
Celebrating Seven Years of Swim With The LINE Hotel Austin
Through annual art shows and pop-ups to our award-winning parties at the hotel’s pool (also known as Swim Sessions), these strategic collaborations have generated $75,000+ in support for local arts and culture over the last seven years.
Since 2017, Future Front and The LINE Hotel Austin have presented an annual series of arts programming, celebrating independent creatives in Texas, as a love note to their work and an intro to the city we call home.
Through annual art shows and pop-ups to our award-winning parties at the hotel’s pool (also known as Swim Sessions), these strategic collaborations have generated $75,000+ in support for local arts and culture over the last seven years.
This summer, we were invited to take Swim Sessions to the West Coast, with a pop-up at The LINE Hotel’s Los Angeles location to celebrate their 10-year anniversary. The visit got us a bit nostalgic.
SO, Scroll for a visual flashback.
the line hotel has partnered with future front since 2017.
Missed out on Swim Sessions?
Get ready for our next season with this mix by DJ Violeta, one of the artists featured in Swim Sessions 2024.
PS — We are fundraising for our future. We have a goal of $10,000 by December 2024 and are halfway there. Find ways to support below:
On Mental Health, Burnout and Liberating Third Spaces
This Fall, we welcomed back Highlander Center for the second iteration of Future Lands, an all-day teach-in exploring the artistic, cultural and creative impact of southern people’s struggles for justice and democracy.
This Fall, we welcomed back Highlander Center for the second iteration of Future Lands, an all-day teach-in exploring the artistic, cultural and creative impact of southern people’s struggles for justice and democracy.
We dove deep into the third spaces we love and the impacts of healing and visioning in movement-building—all through the lens of Black Feminist resistance.
SCROLL FOR TAKEAWAYS.
this edition’s COMMUNITY NOTES & highlights:
✰ NO. 1 — Emotional literacy is crucial in movements DESIGNED for liberation and joy.
We began the day with a session on Mental Health and Burnout in Organizing, led by Dr. Seyi Amosu, on emotional regulation and emotional identification for leaders in movement work. By identifying and supporting our emotional environments, we create safer spaces to gather, challenge supremacist beliefs, as well as nurture our shared values.
✰ NO. 2 — THERE IS NO JOY WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE PRACTICES IN PLEASURE.
In a midday workshop led by Irma Garcia of Dirty South Sex Ed and Eden Hakimzadeh of Lavender Orange, we continued our exploration of leadership within movement-building. Through exercises in somatic grounding, a tea ceremony, as well as a group discussion, we were each prompted to map our relationship to pleasure in practical ways.
✰ NO. 3 — FIFTY YEARS LATER, THE COMBAHEE RIVER COLLECTIVE STATEMENT IS ANYTHING BUT STATIC. IT’S A LESSON IN LANGUAGE, SELF-IDENTIFICATION, COMMUNITY-BUILDING, transfiguring conflict AND exercising POWER.
We closed out the day with a close reading of the Combahee River Collective Statement and conversation between Jaimee Swift of BlackWomenRadicals and Monaye Johnson of Black Reading To Heal.
In revisiting the text on its 50th Anniversary, we examined the value of shared language as a space to identify shared values, embracing conflict as a necessity for community-building, welcoming difficult discussion and discomfort, as well as the vital role history plays in the present.
Through the Combahee River Collective Statement, we also explored the value of Black Feminist perspectives in the here and now—and how many issues presented in the text are still echoing through our organizing spaces today.
Explore the visual recap below.
Photos by Prasado Studio
Did you miss Future Lands?
Find the presentation slides and packets from this Fall’s teach-in here.
You can learn more about all of the artists, makers, creatives and cultural strategiest who joined us here. For details on future events, stay tuned on Future Front’s calendar.
On Collective Memory, Testimony and Austin's Changes: A Path of Impermanence
Learn about our 10-day exhibit, A Path of Impermanence, featuring archival photo prints by Future Front Resident Artist Liz Moskowitz.
For one week only in October 2024, Future Front hosted a guest exhibition by documentary photographer (and Future Front 2024 Resident Artist) Liz Moskowitz.
The archival photo project, titled A Path of Impermanence: life along a highway expansion, featured portraits of residents, workers and community members directly impacted by the construction of the I-35 Capital Express Central Project, alongside interview quotes and onsite artifacts.
Continue reading to learn more about the show, as well as Liz Moskowitz.
✹ ABOUT THE SHOW, A PATH OF IMPERMANENCE: LIFE ALONG A HIGHWAY EXPANSION
Liz Moskowitz is a photographer and filmmaker. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York she has lived in Austin, Texas for almost 20 years. Much of her work stems from a compassionate attempt to understand and honor the dignity and nuances of people, places, and issues. She approaches each individual and community that she photographs with intentionality and an open-mind. Her photo projects oftentimes include direct quotes from participants as a way to make the photographic process more collaborative and inclusive. Broadly speaking, topics her work has explored include access to mental health services in rural areas, criminal justice reform, efforts to mitigate climate change, reproductive health care, and the cultural consequences of urban development.
“A PATH OF IMPERMANENCE” features photo prints, interview quotes and on-site artifacts.
A Path of Impermanence: life along a highway expansion is a photo exhibit by local photographer Liz Moskowitz that includes archival photographic prints, interview quotes, and site-specific artifacts. Moskowitz’s images of the people, places, and landscapes impacted by the large-scale I-35 highway expansion speak to broader themes of displacement, community, memory, and change. All images were shot on 120mm film with a medium format camera.
The I-35 Capital Express Central Project is currently underway, the beginning of potentially a decade of construction to widen the main highway that runs through Austin, Texas. It is the largest expansion of I-35 in Austin’s history and more than 50 businesses are being displaced and countless lives are being impacted. During times of momentous change, it can feel like the future is happening now and the present is already a memory. How can we collectively remember what will soon no longer be here?
“The businesses that I focused on were really small, local businesses. Many of them have been around for decades, and they really have a cultural impact.
Some people got enough money from TxDOT to be able to buy a piece of property, and they’re excited that they’ll hopefully never have to move again. Some places don’t have to move ... but they might be impacted by the construction and feel a little uncertain. Some places are still in limbo.
I noticed what a lot of what existed was either just documentation of the buildings that were going to be relocated or torn down, or the end result: the fancy ribbon cutting. What I felt was missing was really portraits and testimonies of the people that were being impacted by a change outside of their control.”
*Read LIZ MOSKOWITZ’s interview with KUT austin HERE.
View select prints from the exhibit below (courtesy of LIZ MOSKOWITZ):
EXPLORE Photos from the exhibit’s COMMUNITY reception:
The reception—hosted in The Future Front House on Saturday, October 19—included a panel Q&A between Rosa Fry, Programs Manager at Preservation Austin, and small business owners Alma of Escuelita del Alma, So-Han of West China Tea and Jay of Cafe Hornitos. All photos by Jeffrey Jin
A Path of Impermanence was funded in part by a grant from Preservation Austin in support of its mission to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. This project is also supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department, Future Front Texas, and the Summerlee Foundation.
DID YOU MISS A Path of Impermanence?
Keep up with what we’re up to at Future Front—from events to membership—here.
The Front Market Gift Guide (2024)
With The Front Market’s 2024 Season officially wrapped, this year's Gift Guide—featuring 200+ women and LGBTQ+ creatives from The Front Market—is live.
It’s THE MOST WONDERFUL time of year.
With The Front Market’s 2024 Season officially wrapped, this year’s Gift Guide—featuring 200+ women and LGBTQ+ creatives from The Front Market—is live! Keep reading for how to shop and our favorites across each of this year’s gift categories.
SHOP SMALL. SUPPORT LOCAL. SHOW UP.
SHOP SMALL. SUPPORT LOCAL. SHOW UP.
NO. 1 — ACCESSORIES
Featured MAKER:
HANDMADE NAIL artist 10PIECEEXPRESS
10PIECEXPRESS was creative with the belief that nails are the ultimate accessory, even in the midst of a busy lifestyle. Homegrown in Austin, the brand aims to make custom-made, fun and premium quality nails more accessible and less time-consuming for everyone. Each nail is designed to be reusable, providing a sustainable option for those who want to switch up their style without creating unnecessary waste.
Featured Gift:
zone 9 nail set ($65)
NO. 2 — ART
Featured maker:
Print-MAKER AND PAINTER WAVY ROLLER
Victoria Cardenas (she/her), aka Wavy Roller, was raised in Buda, Texas and now currently resides in Austin. She is a self-taught artist that primarily works with acrylic on canvas but is constantly exploring other creative methods such as murals, screen printing, block printing, and more! Her love for sharing art began with vending and meeting others that can relate to her art, as it gave her the courage to keep going creatively. Her art explores connection (and lack of connection) that is all around her; with herself & her own trauma, others, and nature. She explores these feelings through fun calming colors and shape. She believes it's important to find her relation to everything in existence no matter how big or small!
Featured Gift:
RADIATE KINDNESS print ($5 to $35)
NO. 3 — APPAREL
Featured MAKEr:
SUSTAINABLE APPAREL BRAND livelihood
Based in Austin, Livelihood has used its goods to plant thousands of native trees in public parks and green spaces throughout our city.
“We launched Livelihood Apparel with a simple goal: to help you do the things you love, how you love, more sustainably. That’s why we craft high-quality apparel made from natural, recycled, and biodegradable fibers that move, breathe, and dry with every stride. And because making better apparel isn’t enough, we invest 25% of our profits into Livelihood Projects to restore native habitats in urban parks and trails, helping us bring nature back to where we encounter it and need it most: in the cities we call home.”
Featured MAKER:
Knitwear brand sweater p*rn
Handmade in South Austin by artist Kate Greene, Sweater P*rn’s range of design-forward knitted pullovers and sweatshirts are one-of-a-kind.
Size-inclusive, you can custom order a sweater from Kate at any time of year.
Featured Gift:
SWEATER P*RN PULLOVER (price varies)
Featured mAKER:
screenprint brand emsbrynart
100% sustainabiy sourced and hand-printed, Emsbrynart is the apparel and accessories brain child of Austin-based artist Emily Lawson.
From celebrity sightings to sold-out drops, their tees have circled the world this year.
Featured Gift:
ONE-OF-A-KIND EMSBRYN TEE ($30 TO $42)
Featured SHOP:
AUSTIN-BASED BOUTIQUE dylan wylde
With a brick-and-mortar concept in Central Austin, DYLAN WYLDE offers an array of independent designers and thoughtfully curated closet additions.
Items are available in-store only.
Featured Gift:
DYLAN WYLDE BELT & JEANS (prices vary)
NO. 4 — Ceramics
Featured maker:
fletcher ceramics
Handthrown and designed by Sabine Fletcher—a full-time artist in ceramics, photography, set dressing and production assistance—Fletcher Ceramics features palette-forward takes on functional ceramic classics.
Featured Gift:
FLETCHER MUG ($55)
NO. 5 — HOME GOODS
Featured MAKER:
honeywood home decor
Honeywood is a Latina-owned and operated woodworking company based in Austin, Texas. Founder, Kaliegh Benck, launched Honeywood in March of 2022 after years of dreaming of becoming a full-time artist. Her work strives to create unique and sustainable pieces that add warmth to the home. Often incorporating recycled and reclaimed materials, Benck focuses on making one-of-a-kind art pieces and reducing product waste.
Honeywood produces small batch, handcrafted wooden goods and art for the home. Benck’s work often relies on clean lines, wood’s natural grain intricacies and a fusion between past and present silhouettes and techniques.
Featured Gift:
chelsea cutting board ($80)
NO. 6 — JEWELRY
Featured MAKER:
CHAUNCEY AND COCO JEWELRY
Chauncey and Coco IS a lifestyle brand founded by sisters Mehek Ahmed and Nida Ahmed in 2016. Based in Texas, the duo specializes in constructing noteworthy jewelry and home décor that integrate a passion for color, contemporary art and modern design. As self-taught visual artists, they have always been inspired by the principles of color theory and form. Their journey began with a desire to create functional art pieces that not only serve a purpose but also spark conversations. Each collection they design is a testament to artistic evolution, personal style and community.
Featured Gift:
CHAUNCEY AND COCO SOLSTICE EARRINGS
NO. 7 — SELF-CARE
Featured shop:
fragrance curator terre gaillarde
Founded by Austin-based creative Amanda N., Terre Gaillarde (formerly 8-12) is a concept shop offering scents from origins near & far, new & familiar. Their curation of perfume, candles, incense, & bath immersions centers aromatic artists inspired by their sense of home and heritage.
Featured Gift:
fayoum fragrance ($132)
NO. 8 — FOODS & SIPS
Featured Vendor:
BEEBEE’S FLAVORED SYRUPS
“Like most people, I love my flavored lattes. Some of my favorite things to do are making lattes for friends & family (it’s my love language), and trying different coffee shops around town and when traveling.
In my search for the best ingredients for my at home lattes, I noticed a lack of high-quality syrups. Everything seemed to be loaded with artificial flavors, dyes, and preservatives. While there are clean label options, they still didn’t match the syrup quality and taste crafted in-house at thirdwave coffee shops. I resorted to making my own syrups at home, using all-natural, high-quality ingredients - fast forward three years, and the idea of sharing these recipes was born.
At Beebee’s, we hope to help bring comfort, community, and customization to your daily ritual. We can’t wait to see the yummy beverages you make!”
Featured Gift:
Beebee’s mexican hot cocoa syrup ($19)
NO. 9 — PETS, PLANTS & PAPER GOODS
Featured shop:
the green room atx
Owned by Austin-based plant enthusiasts, Ale and Hector, The Green Room ATX is a backyard shop in Austin Texas, specializing in rare and columnar cacti. Beyond their hard-to-find varieties, the shop also offers everyday indoor and outdoor plant options (for the gardening and plant parent newbie alike).
Open by appointment or popping up around town, The Green Room ATX also offers plant care and lawn care services.
Featured Gift:
THE GREEN ROOM SUCCULENTS (PRICES VARY)
Future Front’s Gift Guide features entirely women and LGBTQ+ vendors from The Front Market, which opens every Spring and Fall to feature more than 400 Texas-based creatives and small business owners per year.
Learn more here.
The Front Market's Fall 2024 Season at Waterloo Park: The Official Recap
For The Front Market’s Fall 2024 Season, we exhibited 175+ creatives and welcomed 4,000+ visitors at our largest location yet—Waterloo Greenway—in the heart of downtown Austin.
For The Front Market’s Fall 2024 Season, we exhibited 175+ creatives and welcomed 4,000+ visitors at our largest location yet—Waterloo Greenway—in the heart of downtown Austin.
Keep reading for a full look at this season’s impact.
All photos by Yvonne Uwah
this season’s three highlights:
✰ No. 1 — 175+ CREATIVES Exhibited & 4,000+ Visitors Welcomed
From ceramicists and fiber artists to woodworkers and jewelry makers, we exhibited more than 175 women and LGBTQ+ creatives and independent business owners across Texas, with 2,000+ visitors joining us each day (a record high since our reopening in 2021).
✰ No. 2 — 100% Community-Led CURATION & PRODUCTION TEAMS
It took four staff members, 25 board members, 19 event volunteers, 250+ collaborators and six months of planning to open The Front Market’s Fall 2024 Season at Waterloo Greenway for the first time.
✰ No. 3 — $2,000+ DONATIONS RAISED, $10,000+ In Commissions & Contracts DISTRIBUTED
Thanks to support from our members, volunteers and sponsors at Waterloo Greenway, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Waymo, The City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, Moontower Rentals, Miscellaneous Rentals, Topo Chico, Red River Cultural District, the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation and Texas Commission on The Arts, 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.
You can read about this season in KVUE, Austin American-Statesman, Austin Chronicle, KXAN and CultureMap Austin, too.
BASK IN THE VISUAL RECAP:
Four WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED:
✰ Shop our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide (click Here) for a list of Texas-based creatives that exhibited with The Front Market this year.
✰ Head to thefrontmarket.com (click here) to tap into the Fall 2024 Season lineup of vendors, workshops, DJs, and collaborators 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.
The Front Market will return on May 3 and 4, 2025 at Distribution Hall.
Applications will open in January at Thefrontmarket.com/apply.
Global Art Exhibit—Body Freedom for (Every)Body—Makes A Tour Stop at The Future Front House
In November 2024, we hosted Body Freedom for Every(Body), a cross-country art exhibition tour that takes place inside a 27-foot box truck.
In November 2024, we hosted Body Freedom for Every(Body)—a cross-country art exhibition tour that takes place inside a 27-foot box truck—for its official Austin, Texas tour stop.
Presented by Project for Empty Space, the exhibit took place in the parking lot across the street from The Future Front House, spotlighting global artists’ works on themes of Reproductive Justice, Queer Liberation and Trans Joy.
In celebration of the exhibition, we welcomed Austin’s creative community, as well as a special guest performance by Future Front Resident Artist Olivia Komahcheet, throughout the weekend.
SCROLL FOR A visual recap.
About Body Freedom for Every(body):
As a traveling art exhibition, BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) explores bodily autonomy, with a specific emphasis on intersecting themes of Reproductive Justice, Queer Liberation, and Trans Joy through contemporary art.
Over 100 artists’ visions are represented in this project: the aim is to reinforce community(ies), create safe spaces, and cultivate joy. The project emerged as a response to a relentless wave of conservatism that continues to politicize queer liberation and restrict reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare. The overarching message of this program is broadening awareness of the right to Safe, Legal and Accessible healthcare that allows us to live in our power and choice.
BODY FREEDOM FOR EVERY(BODY) is a project in many parts. Our cross-country exhibition tour takes place inside a 27-foot box truck, sharing the work of over 100 artists to cultivate community coast-to-coast. There is also a space towards the truck cab to record ‘Truck Talks,’ a series of monologues and dialogues reflecting on Body Freedoms, eventually becoming an oral history archive.
Explore photos from the TOUR STOP (BY YVONNE UWAH):
Did you miss Body Freedom for Every(Body)?
For details on future events and guest exhibitions at Future Front, stay tuned on Future Front’s calendar.
How To Support Creative Small Business Owners: A Five-Step Guide
What conditions are best for our communities’ growth? In this guide, we break down proven ways to show up, shop small and sustain local.
What conditions are best for our creative and small business communities’ growth?
Keep reading for five tips from our research and experience on how you can best support women-owned, LGBTQ-owned and POC-owned businesses.
This article was written and compiled by our Founding Executive Director Jane Hervey.
HERE ARE FIVE WAYS TO PUT ON BUSINESSES YOU CARE ABOUT:
1.) SHOP LOCAL.
Take a peek at your expenses and bank statements over the last few months. What businesses do you spend your money on? An even better phrasing of this question is: What businesses do you assign value to?
Are local businesses on that list? If not, that’s a good place to start. Local businesses better support our communities’ economies. Reports show that local businesses generate 70 percent more local economic activity per square foot than big box retail, because they hire locally and typically do not outsource labor. And the businesses in your local community are more likely to be owned by women, people of color, LGBTQ folks and more. When it comes to diversity in ownership, small businesses beat large corporations and Fortune 500s by a long shot.
2.) BE LOUD ABOUT IT.
Women, LGBTQ and POC small business owners, solopreneurs, freelancer and side hustlers are part of the largest growing segment of entrepreneurs, yet the most underserved. They deserve community support, visibility and opportunities to market to larger audiences.
So become part of the movement by becoming a fan. Advocate for the business owners that you know, research businesses you could better support in your community and amplify the spaces and places that put diverse business owners on.
Whether you post on social media or tell your friends, spreading the word works.
3.) VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR AND PAY FULL-PRICE.
This one’s tough. So many of us make our lifestyles work by shopping large retailers, getting those big box discounts on groceries, or relying on Amazon for cheap solutions and deliveries.
When we pay a little more to go local—when we pay small business owners for services and products that we *might* be able to get cheaper elsewhere— we are doing our part to ensure they can earn a living wage and pay a living wage to their own employees and staff. Studies show that our economies and communities only stand to benefit from more gender-equal business ownership, as women are also more likely to advocate for equal pay, create socially conscious businesses and media and employ more diversely.
Also, when we consciously support racially and culturally diverse businesses, we have the opportunity to redistribute economic wealth and value within our communities more equally. And that’s something we can get behind.
4.) SHOW UP.
When we pay attention to the small businesses in our immediate communities (like the grocery store down the street or the barber shop around the corner or that nonprofit community center in our neighborhood), we create a sense of place. The small businesses and organizations around your physical home often double as community spaces, too; you can physically see and be around other people who live in your area. Moreover, in times of crisis or gentrification, small businesses’ successes or failures may be a significant indicator of changes that will impact you or neighbors.
So, when budgets are tighter than usual, you can still support businesses you care about by showing up to their events, opening emails, reading their announcement and/or paying attention to what’s going on.
5.) CHECK YOURSELF.
If you want to build supporting local, diverse businesses owners into your lifestyle, make it real. Audit your bank statements once a quarter, take stock of where you’re assigning value with your spending and then adjust.
Being mindful—and realistic—about how you participate in your local economy and community will make you a better advocate. You’ll better understand how you contribute to the ecosystems around you and how you can continue to show up and support. :)