One Night Only With Richie Shazam’s “I Was Never Meant To Survive This”
In April, we gathered for one night only within Richie Shazam’s “I Was Never Meant To Survive This” for a site-specific performance of ILOVEYOU by Austin artist and icon María.
In April, we gathered for one night only within Richie Shazam’s “I Was Never Meant To Survive This” for a site-specific performance of ILOVEYOU by Austin artist and icon María.
Thank you to our long-time collaborators McLennon Pen Co. for the invitation and guided tour! Austin was truly lucky to host this ground-breaking debut collection of Richie Shazam’s mixed media works.
ENJOY THE VISUAL RECAP.
All photos by Sarah Bork
BEHIND THE SHOW
“I Was Never Meant To Survive This”
Richie Shazam’s debut solo exhibition in Austin presents a new series of self-portraits exploring identity as a continual state of becoming and means of survival. Across seven characters Shazam, like a modern La Castiglione, transforms herself to examine shifting perceptions, memory, and the dualities of existence—where dreamscapes and disruptions collide.
Each character was shot within the confines of an eight-by-ten-foot wooden box complete with seven unique sets, costumes, hair, make-up and prosthetics. The result is seven tableaux each occupying a domestic interior, forming an immersive environment that reflects the character's self-constructed world. Richie is a collector, she stockpiles and accumulates things, scraps and ideas which go on to adorn her future work. Flowers, objects, hair and ornaments spill out of the wooden frame, which eventually broke down as a result of constant creation, renovation and demolition within it.
The pieces function as a study in survival, an intimate psychological landscape shaped by a relentless quest to create images of our deeply ingrained inner worlds. A soft violence of memory runs throughout, revealing the complexities of how memory operates and how experience imprints itself onto the body. Here, the flesh is divine—a site of reclamation and consciousness regained.
Novelist Garth Greenwell said “the history of queer art is taking stigma and turning it into style” and for Richie, what began as a trauma response becomes an act of authorship. By situating each scene within a different room of the home, Richie completes what is often a final step in trauma therapy—visiting the site of harm. Through the construction of a singular idea across multiple selves, Richie reclaims her own story, her choice of space, and her ongoing states of becoming.
The work reflects experiences that Richie should never have had to endure and therefore these are portraits she should never have had to make. But what choice did she have? In Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival she remarks “but when we are silent / we are still afraid // So it is better to speak / remembering / we were never meant to survive”. This show, these characters, their frame and Richie herself exist against erasure, asserting presence through ownership of flesh, form, and narrative.
Richie Shazam (@richieshazam)
Richie Shazam is an artist who was born and lives in New York City. After graduating from Trinity College she entered the fine art space working in galleries and museums with a focus on curation. She started to model which led to a full immersion in the fashion world where she eventually began working on both sides of the camera, shooting a variety of campaigns, celebrities and magazine covers. Unsatiated still, she turned the lens on herself creating a book of self portraits titled Shazam. The process's creative fulfillment and commercial success inspired Richie to take the concept a step further, using new mediums like sculpture, set design, and an expansive array of photographic techniques to build physical worlds. To manifest her fullest vision, Richie created Shazam Studios, a collective of creatives that turn dreams into physical realities creating a portal for all who wish to join Richie in the construction of self.
María Rivera Felizardo
María Rivera Felizardo es una performista electrónica, DJ y mujer Trans inmigrante Mexicana. María is more widely known for her multimedia project “p1nkstar” in which she embodies an electronic pop superstar to build utopic horizons for trans+ communities through music, art, nightlife experiences and social media. Now touring internationally, Maria is the first Trans person to receive an Austin Music Award and has received 3 Best of Austin awards for her work in art and nightlife.
Through her ILOVEYOU performance series, María uses drag to build experimental multimedia performances exploring experiences growing up queer in a Mexican city led by conservative Catholic values and infested by drug cartel violence.
As a project based in improvisational practices, every ILOVEYOU performance becomes audience-specific and site-specific. In past performances, María usually strips down from large sculptural costuming to undergarments, all while using electronic music equipment to process her vocals into new voices and create sonic landscapes. Simultaneously, María will throw down on DJ decks, dance, perform her teenage poetry or lipsync to pop songs to create a deconstructed narrative. A standard ILOVEYOU performance lands somewhere between drag, sound art, live punk music performance and strip-tease.
McLennon Pen Co. Gallery
McLennon Pen Co. is located at 1114 W 5th St #202, Austin, TX 78703. McLennon Pen Co. Gallery was founded by Jill McLennon in March 2023 with a commitment of showcasing the work of emerging and internationally established artists. The gallery aims to present contemporary art that is exciting, poetic, and emblematic of the times, while also placing the work within a historical context.
In June 2025, the gallery expanded from its original East Austin house gallery into a new 2,300 square foot commercial location at 1114 W 5th Street, at the gateway to Clarksville and Old West Austin.
Prior to relocating to Austin, McLennon spent thirteen years working in New York City for globally renowned commercial art galleries and auction houses in placing contemporary artwork in private and public collections, curating exhibitions, and supporting some of today’s most esteemed living artists in their career development.
The name of the gallery has been passed down from McLennon's grandfather who established a luxury pen shop in downtown Chicago that originally opened in 1934.
PS — Want to get involved with Future Front?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
The Front Market's Spring 2026 Season: Another Record-Breaking Recap
For The Front Market’s Spring 2026 Season (which marked ten years), we exhibited 150+ independent artists, makers and craftspeople, welcoming a record 7,500+ visitors across the state of Texas.
For The Front Market’s Spring 2026 Season (which marked ten years), we exhibited 150+ independent artists, makers and craftspeople, welcoming a record 7,500+ visitors across the state of Texas.
Bask in the visual recap.
Photos by Kate Nuelle
The Front Market celebrated ten years this Spring, due to support from our sponsors, members, staff, volunteers, friends and you. Thank you.
THIS SEASON’S IMPACT:
★ NO. 1 — 7,500+ VISITORS & 150+ ARTISTS AND MAKERS
From ceramicists and fiber artists to woodworkers and jewelry makers, we exhibited more than 150 artists, makers, creatives and independent craftspeople across Texas, with an average of 3,750 visitors joining us each day.
★ NO. 2 — 100% COMMUNITY-LED CURATION & PRODUCTION TEAMS
It took four staff members, 24 board members, 16 event volunteers, 200+ collaborators and one year of planning to open The Front Market’s Spring 2026 Season at Distribution Hall in East Austin.
★ NO. 3 — $1,500+ DONATIONS RAISED, $12,000+ IN COMMISSIONS & CONTRACTS DISTRIBUTED
Thanks to Distribution Hall, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Texas Commission on the Arts, an Elevate grant from AACME, Liquid Death, Movability, Moontower Rentals, Miscellaneous Rentals, Partiful and Future Front Texas, we were able to keep the market free and open to the public, with community workshops, DJ sets and art installations each day.
You can read about this season in KVUE, Austin Chronicle and more.
Want to stay involved?
★ Head to thefrontmarket.com (click here) to tap into the Fall 2025 Season lineup of vendors, workshops, DJs, and collaborators at anytime.
★ Remember whyThe Front Market matter. Local artists, makers and creative small businesses build community. Learn more at thefrontmarket.com/mindset.
★ Explore all we do at Future Front—and find what’s for you—at futurefronttexas.org/programming.
The Front Market will return in November 2026 for our Fall 2026 Season.
Applications will open in July 2026 at thefrontmarket.com/apply.
On Analog Art, Austin Music And Third Spaces: Future Front Takes Over TOMO Mags for Women’s History Month
Every year during SXSW, Future Front hosts artists, activists and musicians across the U.S. for International Women's Day and Women's History Month. This year, we celebrated with a day of slow media in one of Austin’s newest third spaces, concept store and magazine shop TOMO mags.
Every year during SXSW, Future Front hosts artists, activists and musicians across the U.S. for International Women's Day and Women's History Month.
This year, we celebrated with a day of slow media in one of Austin’s newest third spaces, concept store and magazine shop TOMO mags. Over an all-day lineup of DJs and a hands-on block-printing workshop, we held candid conversations with Austin-local artists and musicians on their analog practices, vital third spaces and Texas history icons.
Thank you to DJ BAD APPLE,ORYA,JP, Suxxy Puxxy, RIOBAMBA, Hierba MalitaMegz Kelli,Thuỵ Trần, Beth Schindler and Jazz Mills.
As we celebrate ten years of Future Front, we’ll keep exploring analog art-making and community-building practices all year long. Look out for future pop-ups at creative spaces like TOMO mags who have collaborated within our program over the last decade, too.
“Community-building can happen everywhere, all the time, in the formal and informal spaces that we gather together. It’s an invitation to keep showing up joyfully, creatively, and fiercely with and for each other.”
“In this day and age of community becoming a commercialized, marketable buzzword, try to enact small acts within your own pre-existing social circle. Offer a friend who doesn’t have a car to drive them to work. Share your homemade soup from your culture that your coworker hasn’t tried yet. Ask your neighbor to borrow a hand mixer instead of buying a new one that you might only use a few times.”
“In the midst of our creative work, where so much of it happens in a vacuum, it’s refreshing to be reminded that one of the most basic, accessible analog experiences we can always return to is human connection – being able to connect with your community to collaborate, to check in, to just be and share space.”
ENJOY THE VISUAL RECAP.
All photos by Kate Nuelle
PS — Want to get involved with Future Front?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
Painting Picnics, Clay Villages, Springtime Collage and Sun Print Cyanotypes at Squirrel Fest 2026
Thousands of Austin families joined us for a beautiful day in Austin’s first (and oldest) public park.
On April 11, 2026, we hosted a soft afternoon of all-ages creative workshops, outdoor DJ sets and community vibes during Pease Park’s Squirrel Fest—an annual day to celebrate Spring, Austin’s natural ecosystems and the city’s iconic native squirrel.
Experiences included:
Make A Clay Fairy Village with Tanya Zal
Sun Prints: Cyanotype Printing with Hierba Malita
Nature Painting Picnic with Kayla Kennedy
DIY Recycled Collaging and Friendship Bracelets with Future Front
DJ Sets In The Park with Sonder and HoneyPocket
Hands-on activities, food trucks and pop-ups (like Five O Four and Pickle Envy), plus playtime in the park curated by Pease Park Conservancy and other Squirrel Fest partners
Outdoor film screening of “Zootopia (2016)”
As always, thousands of Austin families joined us for a beautiful day in Austin’s first (and oldest) public park.
Scroll for a visual recap.
PS — Want to get involved with Future Front?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
On Public Invitation and Community Arts: “Open Call”
Presented by Future Front, Open Call was the 2025 Group Show for Future Front’s Artist Residency.
Presented by Future Front, Open Call was the 2025 Group Show for Future Front’s Artist Residency.
open call (n.) — a public invitation to participate. Creative expression is often an open call for community and connection.
Exploring the art of invitation, gathering and relating to the world, this exhibit features work by contemporary artists living and working in Austin, Texas, including: Laura Clay, Aimèe M. Everett, Rewon Shimray, Kate Nuelle, Victoria Cardenas, Samantha Asencio, Erin Carle, Sarah Bork and Yvonne Uwah.
Continue reading to learn more about the show.
Meet the Artists
Laura Clay
Laura Clay is a Mexican-American artist based in Austin whose practice spans painting, drawing, and ceramics. Working in both abstraction and figuration, she navigates themes of bicultural identity, displacement, and the balance between chaos and order. Her work is characterized by distinct gradients and textures, creating a visual language that explores personal and cultural narratives. A commitment to materiality is central to her process, from creating her own handmade paints to her recent explorations in clay. Laura holds an MFA from the National Art School in Sydney and has exhibited worldwide, with her work held in the Mexic-Arte Museum's permanent collection. She has been featured in publications like Eastside Magazine and is represented by Washington Gallery and The Cathedral ATX. @lauraclayart
Aimée M. Everett
Questioning and communicating life experiences, emotions, and memories through gestureless abstraction, figurative exploration, minimalism, intense color, form, and texture, Aimée M. Everett asks the viewer to revisit recreated memory snapshots as a state of present experience. Drawing inspiration from the rich cultural heritage of New Orleans — where the celebration of the mundane, the dead, and the living coexists with a forward-looking perspective— Everett embraces this tradition throughout her practice. @aimeemeverettart
Samantha Asencio
Samantha Asencio aka Future Vagabond, is an interdisciplinary artist originally from New York. Shortly after graduating from Pratt Institute in 2015, she relocated to Austin, where she continued her sculptural work. Over time, she shifted her focus to embroidery and later founded the brand FV. The work explores themes of the American road trip, draws on historical references, and examines the notion of impermanence. Her practice invites viewers to consider how memory, travel, and time intertwine. @futurevagabond
Yvonne Uwah
Yvonne Uwah is a self-taught photographer living in Austin, Texas. She began using photography out of a deep desire to connect with and acknowledge other people. Because of this, her work primarily focuses on portraiture and what emerges when investing time into relationships. She has exhibited at various galleries in Central Texas. @yvonneshoots
Sarah Bork
Sarah Bork is an Austin-based interdisciplinary artist whose photographic work centers LGBTQ+ experiences of everyday life. With a background in film and performance, Bork has spent over two decades cultivating a socially engaged practice rooted in community portraiture and text. Her current series Girls Gotta Eat is an ongoing photography and oral history project exploring the grocery shopping rituals of drag performers. Bork’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at The Dougherty Arts Center, Austin Public Library, Women and Their Work, Houston Center for Photography, and in a public billboard commission by Art + Action in San Francisco. She credits the Girls Gotta Eat community with helping her better understand her own queerness, and remains committed to collaborative work that bridges social divides and celebrates the radical potential of everyday care. @girlsgottaeat_dragportraits
Make it stand out
Rewon Shimray
Rewon Shimray is a native Austinite and biethnic Asian American who processes her cultural and queer identity through autobiographical paintings. Her compositions blend childhood photographs, popular iconography, and cultural artifacts to narrate her upbringing in white dominant and Christian fundamentalist spaces. Rewon’s paintings offer a site of contemplation, recognition and connection. She earned a BA in Journalism from Baylor University with minors in religion and studio art. Rewon has exhibited work in over a dozen Austin galleries, including her debut solo exhibition in May 2023, titled “SPLIT: Portraits of the AAPI Diaspora.” @artbyrewon
Erin Carle
Erin Carle is a fine artist whose practice is rooted in painting. Her work addresses themes of inadequacy, body standards, and body dissatisfaction, often reframing them in a playful yet unsettling way through surreal imagery. Inspired by personal experiences and observed societal expectations, her work explores how cultural pressures shape the way we see and value ourselves. Brightly colored and intentionally chaotic, her paintings invite viewers to confront discomfort within a vibrant, almost humorous visual language. Erin earned her BFA from Texas State University and has exhibited in both solo and group shows across Texas. She is currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she is expanding her practice into ceramics, video, and installation. @erincarleart
Victoria Cardenas
Victoria Cardenas AKA Wavy Roller is a self-taught artist residing in Austin, TX. Her primary medium is acrylic on canvas but she also explores different mediums and canvas (lino printing, digital design, paint markers, and pastels). Her art is offered through original paintings, prints, stickers, book marks, totes and she explores, “connection and lack of connection that is around me; with myself and my own trauma, others and nature through dreamy colorful, yet tonal pieces.” @wavyrollerart
Kate Nuelle
Kate Nuelle is an artist born, raised and based in Austin, Texas. By day, they work as a graphic designer, specializing in brand identity and printed material for companies and non-profits related to arts, culture, and media. Their photography and illustration work brings up concerns about privacy, ephemerality, and power through eerie compositions. They have been featured through The Gallery ATX, the Michael and Noémi Neidorff Art Gallery, and ICOSA, as well as published in Verses, Glaze, Seedlings, Power Vacuum and other independent publications. @kate.nuelle
EXPLORE PHOTOS FROM THE EXHIBIT:
All photos by Yvonne Uwah
DID YOU MISS OPEN CALL?
Keep up with what we’re up to at Future Front—from events to membership—here.
Introducing 2026 Broad Studios x Future Front Community Clay Fellows
This fellowship emerged in 2024 as a pay-it-forward project—generously funded by the independent artists behind the women-owned Broad Studios Club House—to make ceramics more financially accessible as an artistic practice and form of creative entrepreneurship.
We're back for another year of clay, community and creative growth—welcoming a new class of fellows to The Broad Studios Club House x Future Front Community Clay Fellowship.
This fellowship emerged in 2024 as a pay-it-forward project—generously funded by the independent artists behind the women-owned Broad Studios Club House—to make ceramics more financially accessible as an artistic practice and form of creative entrepreneurship. In 2026, the program received 170 applications for 12 funded six-week classes.
Selected through a community-led, ranked-choice selection process, we're thrilled to introduce this year's cohort of 12 Community Clay Fellows.
Photo courtesy of Broad Studios Club House
MEET THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENTS:
Make it stand out
Broad Studios Club House x Future Front Community Clay Fellows
Melissa Martinez
Lyra Reign
Jessy Wilson
Carlos Moreno
Sarah Calvin
Taylor Edwards
Kelsey Phelan
Ana Martinez
Kalle Duncan
Rabia Meghani
Megan Baker
Maryam Abdullahi
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 an award-winning cultural space and public exhibition series—with women and LGBTQ+ creatives at the front.
As a 501c3 arts and culture nonprofit, we produce two annual community-led exhibitions, The Front Market and The Front Festival, platforming independent artists and creatives across disciplines in Texas. Beyond our flagship exhibitions, we host seasonal shows and workshops at our creative space in East Austin, welcoming 20,000+ visitors per year.
Through these programs and a diverse network of partnerships, we invite the public (including you) to dream of a future where local art and creativity thrive in Texas—where we see ourselves and our cultures reflected in our communities.
FUTURE FRONT IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Texas Commission on the Arts, The LINE Hotel Austin, Pease Park Conservancy, Preservation Austin, Zoox, Movability,ART FOR ALL, Partiful, Moontower Rentals, Distribution Hall, Miscellaneous Rentals, Thirstday Tequila, the Red River Cultural District, Topo Chico, as well as Future Front’s donors and members.
P.S. WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN FUTURE UPCOMING CALLS?
Check back year-round.
Chúng Mình Collective Raises $3,000 Through Inaugural Cultural Cookbook Launch at Future Front
One-part zine launch and one-part dinner, the night’s proceeds amplified NOURISHED, a collection of diasporic recipes, while fundraising for local immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations.
During our Fall 2025 Season, our Community Studio on 1900 E 12th hosted grassroots organization Chúng Mình Collective’s inaugural cookbook fundraiser.
One-part zine launch and one-part dinner, the night’s proceeds amplified NOURISHED, a collection of diasporic recipes, while fundraising for local immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations. Celebrated by a crowd of 75 visitors and friends, NOURISHED sold 100+ copies in just a few days.
ENJOY THIS VISUAL RECAP.
All photos by Casey Tang (@capturedbytang). Courtesy of chúng mình collective
Curious about Chúng Mình Collective?
Learn more and stay connected here: https://www.instagram.com/chungminhcollective/?hl=en
PS — Want to get involved with Future Front?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
On Scent As Memory: A Contemporary Art and Olfactory Exhibition
Curated by Carlos Moreno, Scent Fair Austin encouraged an exploration of grief, nature and ritual, encouraging reflections on the community traditions of scent and its connection to movements of resistance.
During our Fall 2025 Season, Future Front hosted Scent Fair, an inaugural artist-led olfactory experience, connecting scent, memory and creative expression.
Curated by Carlos Moreno of Barrio Pop Studio, this guest show partnered with Austin-based artists Nam Joti Kaur Khalsa and Paloma Mayorga to showcase their works Sophia: A Tribute to Grief and haciendo y deshaciendo / doing and undoing. The exhibit also featured an interactive experience and creative workshop, Scents of Memory: An Invitation to Feel, facilitated by Austin-based maker (and former exhibitor at The Front Market) Hannah Jackson of Acquired Taste.
Connecting sense and feeling, Scent Fair Austin encouraged an exploration of grief, nature and ritual, encouraging reflections on the community traditions of scent and its connection to movements of resistance.
ENJOY THIS VISUAL RECAP.
All photos by Jesse Rodriguez. Courtesy of Barrio Pop Studio
Curious about Scent Fair Austin?
Learn more and stay connected here: https://www.instagram.com/scentfairaustin/
PS — Want to get involved with Future Front?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
Introducing The “Art Tips” Hotline
To celebrate ten years in Austin, text (512) 234-3525 for art tips, creative business advice, Austin recommendations, esoteric grant thoughts and more.
To celebrate ten years in Austin, text us for art tips, creative business advice, local recommendations, esoteric grant thoughts and more.
TEXT — (512) 234-3525
EMAIL — hello@futurefronttexas.org
The line will be open for all of 2026 as we reflect on a decade of The Front Market and The Front Festival—and five years as Future Front.
Submissions will be answered weekly.
We’ll share the best advice for everybody to read, too!
Art Tips is part of Future Front’s commitment to Open Creative Learning.
Through Open Creative Learning, our foundational curriculum and trainings, workshops and professional development programs build public education around creative leadership, creative business and community wellness.
Want to get involved?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.
2026 Season Calendar And Open Calls
Our 2026 Season honors five years of Future Front and ten years of The Front Market and The Front Festival. Bookmark our big events and open calls for 2026.
Our 2026 Season honors five years of Future Front and ten years of The Front Market and The Front Festival.
As we open for another year and celebrate this milestone, bookmark Future Front’s big event and open calls for 2026.
★ 2026 BIG EVENTS
ACROSS THREE SEASONS, FUTURE FRONT CURATES AND PRODUCES THE FRONT MARKET AND THE FRONT FESTIVAL.
Leading up to these exhibitions, we host seasonal art shows, gatherings and workshops nurturing creative community at our flagship space in historic East Austin on 1900 East 12th.
Event registration opens on a weekly basis at futurefronttexas.org/comethrough (all of these events will be up there soon).
SPRING 2026 SEASON
FEBRUARY 21 — 2026 Open Creative Learning Series Kick-Off
MARCH 2026 — 2026 Season Art Shows Open at 1900 E. 12th.
MARCH 12 — 18 — SXSW x Women’s History Week at 1900 E. 12th
MAY 2 & 3 — The Front Market’s Spring 2026 Season @ Distribution Hall
SUMMER 2026 SEASON
JUNE 25 — Swim Sessions Return!
JUNE 27— Pride Picnic at Pease Park
JULY 16 TO 18— Y’ALL DINNER
JULY 27 — Community Clubs 2026 Season Begins.
LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2026 — The Front Festival
FALL/WINTER 2026 SEASON
NOVEMBER 2026 — The Front Market’s Fall 2026 Season
Mark your calendar now. Make plans to visit. Get involved!
★ 2026 OPEN CALLS
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO SHARE YOUR CREATIVE WORK, GET INTO OUR OPEN CALLS.
We bring creative and cultural projects by diverse, contemporary Texas artists to the world. Our programs connect more than 500 independent artists, creatives, musicians, filmmakers, makers, craftspeople, designers and more in Texas per year, distributing $1M in commissions since 2014.
SEASONAL CALLS
SPRING 2026 SEASON
JANUARY 22 — The Front Market Spring 2026 Season Applications Open
MARCH 26 — Community Club Host Open Call
APRIL 2026 — Broad Studios x Future Front Ceramics Fellowship Open Call
SUMMER 2026 SEASON
MAY 28 — Community Curator Program Open Call
MAY 28 —The Front Festival's Independent Music and Film Open Call
AUGUST 2026 — The Front Market Fall 2026 Season Applications Open
OPEN YEAR-ROUND
Applications for fiscal sponsorship and 1900 E 12th rentals are open year-round. You can also join membership for complimentary access to all of our events, workshops and learning spaces year-round.
All open calls will be listed as they are made available at futurefronttexas.org/apply.
★ THIS YEAR’S THEME: FIVE YEARS
IN 2025, WE CONDUCTED A CLOSE READ..
Our 2025 programs prompted you to pay close attention, ask questions, consider big ideas and make notes in the proverbial margins. To connect how something came to be to what it feels like now—the ultimate creative process.
IN 2026, WE’RE CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF FUTURE FRONT.
It’s been five years since we changed our name and reopened as Future Front.
It’s been ten years since we hosted the first iterations of The Front Market and The Front Festival in 2026.
As a community-led arts organization powered by a tiny staff and 100+ volunteers, we’re lucky to reach these milestones.
So, it’s time to celebrate.
In 2026, expect shows, public exhibitions, workshops, resource guides (and more) that dive in and out of our archives, sharing all we’ve learned over the last decade—and the people and places in Austin that have undeniably shaped us.
Do you want to get involved in 2026?
Our programs model the value of local art and creativity in our everyday lives and dreams for the future.
Become a member or donate. You can also explore all of the other ways to join us here.