Upcoming Events
Improv for Building a Resilient Mindset: Navigating Tension and Uncertainty Through Collaboration and Support
Tuesday, December 5, 2023,
6:30 – 8pm
Though known best as a form of entertainment, Improv Comedy provides ideas and concrete tools that help us adapt to the unexpected, building resiliency, and finding what serves us best in the moment. This workshop led by Kristin Henn utilizes improv exercises to help us navigate tension & uncertainty through collaboration and support. Lighthearted, and fun, we promise a lot of laughter along the way.
This event is free! Registration is encouraged, but not required. Register online on Eventbrite.
Artist Reception for "Senderos del desierto II", "Finding Wholeness", and "Colored Sensations: A Synesthete’s Vision of Letters, Numbers & Time"
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
7-9pm
Join us at the Julia C. Butridge Gallery for the Artist Reception for "Senderos del desierto II" by Salvador Rodriguez, "Finding Wholeness" by Alex Abbott, and "Colored Sensations: A Synesthete’s Vision of Letters, Numbers & Time" by Jenny Swannack.
Learn more about these exhibits at the Julia C. Butridge Gallery webpage.
Art in Cahoots
A Pop-Up Arts Experience for Caregiver & Child
Friday, December 8, 2023
10-11am
Art in Cahoots is a free one-hour event designed for prekindergarten-age students with an accompanying adult caregiver. Each will include sensory, multi-disciplinary, process-based arts activities for children and caregivers to experience together.
Spots are limited. Registration on Eventbrite is recommended in advance to reserve your space.
Register online on Eventbrite.
Drop-ins may be accepted at time of the event if vacancies are available. Children must be 2½ years of age (30 months) to attend.
Glass Half Full Theatre and Trouble Puppet Theater Company present The Austin Puppet Incident
Friday, December 8- Saturday December 9, 2023
7:30pm
Tickets range from $15-$45. Purchase your ticket at humanatix.
The Austin Puppet Incident is an annual event of puppetry for adult audiences. Local artists work in collaboration to create short pieces using a variety of puppetry techniques including shadow, hand and rod, tabletop, object and physical theater. A showcase of naughty, heartbreaking, harrowing, hilarious and always original stories through the medium of animated objects. The Austin Puppet Incident is a joint creation of Glass Half Full Theatre and Trouble Puppet Theater Company and is funded in part by the Puppet Slam Network and the City of Austin Cultural Arts Department.
Artist Talk: Salvador Rodriguez, Alex Abbott, and Jenny Swannack
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
7-9pm
Learn firsthand the processes, inspiration, and techniques of artists Salvador Rodriguez, Alex Abbott, and Jenny Swannack.
Dougherty Story Hour
Saturday, December 16, 2023
11am-12pm
The Dougherty Story Hour is an inclusive story time with books selected to engage young artists! Stories will be read by Dougherty Arts Center staff and volunteers, selected from the Dougherty Arts Center’s school collections and the City of Austin Public Library.
On Saturday, December 16, 2023 from 11am-12pm, we’ll be exploring the books “Frederick”, “The Shortest Day” and “The Insomniacs.”
Registration is encouraged but not required. Register online on Eventbrite.
Garden Volunteer Day
Saturday, December 16, 2023
12-2pm
Calling all gardeners, new and old! Come out and help the Dougherty Arts Center expand our raised gardens.
Assist with building two new raised beds, filling with dirt and compost, as well as cleaning out and amending the current garden beds. Wear long sleeves and pants, sun protection, and close-toed shoes. Feel free to bring a refillable water bottle and work gloves, if you have them.
Registration is required to volunteer as spots are limited. Register online at GivePulse.
DAC Nights: The Booksellers and Book Swap!
An in-person event
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
7-9:30pm
Come to the Dougherty Arts Center on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, and take in a screening of the 2020 documentary The Booksellers. Explore the world of rare books collectors and dealers in New York, celebrating book culture and book lovers alike!
While you’re at the DAC, why not also prepare for the holidays with an early celebration of Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of giving and receiving new books. DAC will have a collection of books ready for the swap, so bring your own to spread the love of reading and holidays!
This event is free! Registration is required for the film screening, as space is limited.
Register online on Eventbrite.
Digital Programming
The DAC is proud to offer free digital programming for the public.
- Adult Art Lessons
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Instructor-led lessons in various different mediums of ceramics, drawing & painting, and digital arts.
Ceramics: Adding Form to Coil Vessel
Ceramics: Making a Bowl on the Potters Wheel
Ceramics: Adding Details to Sculptures with Jon Nelson Video 3
Ceramics: Rhyton Part 1 - Handbuilding the vessel
Ceramics: Rhyton Part 2 - Decorating the vessel
Ceramics: Hand Building a Dog Food Bowl
Ceramics: Hand Building a Cat Food Bowl
Ceramics: How to Make a Plate on the Wheel
Ceramics: Texture Glazing Ceramics - Video 4
Ceramics: Learn How to Make an Oil Bottle
Ceramics: How to Make A Vase on the Potters Wheel
Ceramics: Make a Cup on the Wheel
Ceramics: Make a Ring Holder on the Potters Wheel
Ceramics: Make a Coffee Pour Over
Ceramics: Make a Flower Brick part 1
Ceramics: Make a Flower Brick part 2
Ceramics: Make a Large Serving Dish
Ceramics: Trim a Large Baking Dish
Ceramics: Make a Teapot Part 1
Ceramics: Make a Teapot Part 2
Ceramics: Make a Bird Bath & Feeder
Ceramics: How to Reclaim Clay Scraps
Ceramics: Trimming With a Chuck
Ceramics: Make Screen Printed Decals
Ceramics: Make a Clay Pumpkin on the Potter's Wheel
Ceramics: Pinch Pot Clay Pumpkin
Ceramics: How to Pull Cup Handles
Ceramics: Glazing a Mug: Two Ways
Ceramics: Cut and Slam Wedging
Ceramics: What Are Pyrometric Cones?
Drawing: Portrait Drawing Hacks
Drawing:Urban Sketching in Your Yard
Drawing: The Five Aspects of Light
Drawing: Hatching & Cross-Hatching - Pen & Ink Shading Techniques, Part I
Drawing: Stippling & Scribbling - Pen & Ink Shading Techniques, Part II
Drawing: Drawing on Book Pages
Drawing: How To Start Drawing a Portrait
Drawing: Ditch Your Eraser: Hand Lettering
Drawing: Additive and Subtractive Drawing
Drawing: Developing a Daily Drawing Practice
Drawing: Using Notan as a Composition Tool
Drawing: Ditch Your Eraser: Embracing Mistakes
Drawing: Tips & Tricks: Thumbnails
Drawing: Gesture Drawing: How and Why
Drawing: Drawing Hair In Portraits
Drawing: Using Perspective To Draw The Human Head
Drawing: Tips & Tricks: Urban Sketching Trees & Shrubs
Drawing: 2B or not 2B: The Pencil Code
Drawing: Tips & Tricks: Sharpening Art Pencils
Drawing: Tips & Tricks: Walnut Ink
Drawing: Squint: What’s a Value Study?
Drawing: Face It: Using Value Shapes To Draw The Human Face
Drawing: Hands Up- Drawing Hands
Drawing: Why Perspective Is Hard To Get Right Part 1
Drawing: Sketching Clouds in Pen & Ink
Drawing: Why Perspective is Hard to Get Right? Part 2
Drawing: Blind Contour Drawing
Painting: Indigo Hills Watercolor
Painting: Basics - The Painter's Sketchbook
Painting: A Guide to Abstract Painting
Painting: Riverbank Scene in Watercolor
Painting: Pink Water Lily Watercolor
Painting: Creating a Watercolor Study
Painting: Blending & Dry Brushing
Painting: Seascape in Watercolor
Painting: Highlights and Edges
Painting: Tips for Beginning Acrylic Painters
Painting: Discover Watercolor Crayons
Painting Basics: The Self-Critique
Painting: Exploring Color in Neutral Tones
Painting: Watercolor Crayon Still Life
Painting Basics: Oil or Acrylic?
Painting: Beginning Watercolor: Abstract with India Ink
Painting Basics: Setting Up a Still Life
Painting: Abstract Art: What’s Going On Here?
Painting: Beginning Watercolor: Stormy Sky
Painting: Tips & Tricks: Composition
Painting: Watercolor: Using Expressive Color
Painting: Tips & Tricks: DIY Painting Set Up
Painting: Beginning Watercolor: Mixed Media Collage
Painting: Watercolor - Oil Pastels with Watercolor
Painting: Beginning Watercolor: Painting Trees
Painting: Beginning Watercolor: How to Paint Clouds
Painting: Painting a Starry Sky With Ink
Painting: Beginning Watercolor: Brush Basics
Painting: Painting Clouds With Gouache
Beginning Watercolor: Falling Leaves
Watercolor: The 10 Minute Field Sketch
Watercolor Sketchbook: Simplifying a Complex Subject
Digital: Photoshop - Clone Stamp
Digital: Photoshop - Blending Modes
Digital: Introduction to Illustrator
Craft: Papier-Mâché Cactus Sculpture
Craft: Trellis Ladder for your Garden
Craft: Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Squirrel Feeder
Craft: Cross Stitch Earring Holder
Craft: Make a Peephole Diorama
Craft: Upcycled Wine Cork Board
Craft: Tips & Tricks: Cutting Collage Elements
Crafts: Bat Macrame Wall Hanging
Crafting: Upcycled Tinsel Tree
Crafting: DIY Stamped Wrapping Paper
Crafting: Upcycled Sweater Mittens
Mixed Media: A Template for Working With Mixed Media
Mixed Media: Blackout Poetry on Book Pages
Mixed Media: Reviving an Abandoned Drawing
Mixed Media: Curating Collage Elements
Photography: DIY Camera Obscura
Photography: Make a Paraxinoscope
Photography: Smartphone Photography: How to Tune Your Image
Photography: Natural Light Photography
Photography: Smart Phone Photography: How to Remove Unwanted Content
Smartphone Photography: How to Rotate and Crop an Image
Smartphone Photography: Adding Shallow Depth of Field
Smartphone Photography: Creating a Black and White Image with the Subject in Color
- Artist Professional Development
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The Artist Resource Center is pleased to host free monthly professional development workshops for artists. Covering a different topic each month, our workshops give artists the tools to develop and advance their careers in the arts.
- Paper Pandemonium
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is taking the next steps toward moving the Dougherty Arts Center out of the beloved naval center and into a newly envisioned building to be constructed on Butler Shores Park.