City of Austin

The public is invited to meet the artists and view the 2012 People’s Gallery exhibition at an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24 at Austin City Hall (301 W. 2nd Street). The exhibition features over 150 artworks on loan from local artists, art organizations, museums, and galleries. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Whole Foods Market. Selected short films from the Faces of Austin collection will screen in Council Chambers beginning at 7 p.m.

This is the 8th annual exhibition presented by the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division to support and encourage the work of Austin’s creative community. The People’s Gallery extends throughout the first three floors of City Hall and is designed to encourage public dialogue, understanding, and enjoyment of visual art for the hundreds of residents, students, tourists, and business people that visit the building every day.

Special features of the 2012 exhibition include a group of sculptures by Damian Priour – completed prior to his untimely death in 2011 – and an installation of The Mona Lisa Project by local photographer Rino Pizzi in collaboration with 16 female artists. Hanging works by Sunyong Chung, Jennifer Chenoweth, and Heather Carter punctuate the grand atrium space, along with a colorful sculpture made of 25,000 plastic bottle caps by George Sabra.

Each year, the public is invited to vote for their favorite artwork in the exhibition and a “People’s Choice” is selected, from among the top-voted artworks, to be added to the permanent collection at City Hall. The People’s Choice selection from the 2011 exhibition will be announced during the opening reception at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. Ballots for the 2012 People’s Choice will be available during the reception and throughout the rest of the year.

Visitors to City Hall can view the People’s Gallery during regular building hours, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday – Friday. Hours are extended Thursday evenings for Austin City Council meetings. The 2012 exhibition will remain on display through mid-January 2013.

The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division The Cultural Arts Division provides leadership and management for the City’s cultural arts programs and for the development of arts and cultural industries. The Cultural Arts Division is responsible for the Cultural Arts Funding Programs, Art in Public Places Program, community-based arts development, and programs to assist the development of film and creative industries in Austin. For more information, visit www.austincreates.com.