When and what museums are free of charge
Everyone is aware of you’ll be able to catch an important live performance in Austin, however it’s additionally a metropolis the place you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of a Frida Kahlo portray, the elegant sculptures of Elisabet Ney, and the genre-bending work of up-and-coming up to date artists.
Austin is dwelling to an unbelievable lineup of museums, many of which you’ll be able to go to with out spending a dime. Here’s a information to some of Austin’s notable museums, and when you’ll be able to go to them for free. The holidays would possibly have an effect on hours; test particular person web sites earlier than going.
Thursday
Table of Contents
Blanton Museum of Art
200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
With a sprawling everlasting assortment that options works from Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, an eclectic combine of up to date rotating exhibitions, and entry to Ellsworth Kelly’s immersive set up “Austin,” visiting the Blanton Museum is effectively value its regular $12 admission. But in the event you’re seeking to skirt the charge, you’ll be able to go to the Blanton on a Thursday. Every Thursday, the University of Texas museum waives its admission charges. Head over quickly to see the wild sculptures of Luis Jiménez or an exhibit on Nineteen Sixties pop artwork.
The Contemporary Austin’s Jones Center
700 Congress Ave.
The Jones Center, the downtown campus of the Contemporary Austin, is difficult to overlook. That’s as a result of of Jim Hodges’ “With Liberty and Justice for All (A Work in Progress),” a sculpture of colourful block letters that spell out the well-known phrase, which is positioned to be seen from the road. Inside, the Jones Center has two exhibition flooring crammed with equally eye-catching fashionable artwork, in addition to a rooftop with a surprising view. You can view all of it for free each Thursday, when the museum waives admission and stays open later, till 9 p.m.
(thecontemporaryaustin.org/jonescenter)
The Contemporary Austin’s Laguna Gloria
3809 W. thirty fifth St.
If you didn’t get sufficient up to date artwork on the Jones Center, extra awaits you at Laguna Gloria, the Contemporary Austin’s waterside campus. The grounds of Laguna Gloria home the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park, an thrilling assortment of sculptures from fashionable artists. The museum’s massive sculptures mimic every little thing from tree trunks to previous automobiles. Check them out on a Thursday, when the Contemporary Austin waives admission to the grounds.
(thecontemporaryaustin.org/lagunagloria)
Sunday
Mexic-Arte Museum
419 Congress Ave.
Since 1984, the Mexic-Arte Museum has introduced cutting-edge artwork from Mexican, Latino and Latin American artists to downtown Austin. Currently, the museum homes “MX 21-Resistance, Reaffirmation & Resilience,” an exhibit devoted to Mexico’s historical past, tradition and future. With works from artists like Delilah Montoya and Sergio Sanchez Santamaria, the exhibit explores the perseverance of Mexico’s Indigenous folks and the presence of Mexican tradition within the U.S. If you go to the Mexic-Arte Museum on a Sunday, you’ll be able to entry the present free of charge.
Daily
Women and Their Work
1311 E. Cesar Chavez St.
A peer-reviewed data analysis from 2018 discovered that in 18 main U.S. artwork museums, collections had been 87% male and 85% white. Women and Their Work, a gallery positioned in East Austin, has been attempting to problem that actuality since 1978. The gallery makes a speciality of showcasing artwork created by girls, significantly girls residing and working in Texas. Currently, Women and Their Work is internet hosting “Pattern Language” by Rehab El Sadek, an Egyptian-born artist who has lived and labored in Austin amongst different locations internationally. You can see “Pattern Language” — and each different exhibit at Women and Their Work — free of charge. Donations are accepted.
George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center
1165 Angelina St.
The George Washington Carver Museum started as a library. It was in-built 1926 on the nook of Ninth and Guadalupe streets, then relocated to East Austin in 1933 after Black residents petitioned the town for a library of their neighborhood. Thus, it turned often known as the “colored branch” of the Austin library system earlier than it was renamed in 1947 after inventor and scientist George Washington Carver. Today, the constructing serves as a museum honoring the cultural contributions of Black Americans. The museum is free, and it’s at the moment internet hosting an exhibition with work from the inaugural cohort of the Small Black Museum Residency Project.
(austintexas.gov/department/george-washington-carver-museum-cultural-and-genealogy-center)
Elisabet Ney Museum
304 E. forty fourth St.
In the late nineteenth century, sculptor Elisabet Ney left her studio in Berlin and moved to Austin. Today, you’ll be able to go to the Hyde Park home she occupied. Inside, you’ll discover the world’s largest assortment of Ney’s work, which embody busts and statues of iconic leaders. Until Jan. 9, the museum can also be internet hosting an exhibit of the pictures of Marie Ely, a recent artist who was born and raised in Texas. Admission to the Elisabet Ney Museum is free.
(austintexas.gov/department/elisabet-ney-museum)
Harry Ransom Center
300 W. twenty first St.
Getting to view a Frida Kahlo portray for free isn’t one thing to take as a right. So in the event you haven’t visited the Harry Ransom Center but, what are you ready for? The museum’s archive consists of Kahlo’s “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird),” in addition to work by literary figures like Tennessee Williams and Anne Sexton. You can all the time go to the Harry Ransom Center, which is a component of the University of Texas at Austin, for free.
Austin Nature and Science Center
2389 Stratford Drive
Enhance your subsequent journey to Zilker Park by paying a go to to the Austin Nature and Science Center. Located on the western edge of Zilker, the middle gives Austinites with interactive and instructional reveals on nature, educating the general public about every little thing from sundials to prehistoric creatures. The middle’s wildlife reveals highlight animals native to Central Texas, and a tree path gives a spot to catch some shade whereas studying concerning the flora native to Austin. Entrance to the Austin Nature and Science Center is all the time free.
