OUR STORY Since its inception in 2007, Big Medium has been dedicated to supporting the contemporary arts and artists in Texas. The organization’s official formation as a nonprofit began to take root years prior, when Austin artists Shea Little, Jana Swec, and Joseph Phillips began practicing art in collaboration at Bolm Studios in 2002, and soon found themselves in dialogue with fellow artists in the surrounding East Austin community. Through engaging in their local arts community at the grassroots level, the group saw an opportunity to help support the wide spectrum of artists seeking a platform to share their work and creative practices with each other and an audience at large. Through this desire for connectivity and exchange, the East Austin Studio Tour was formed with just 28 studios in 2003. In its eighteenth edition in 2019, EAST has grown to host over 500 artist participants and 50,000 attendees each year.
ELEVATOR PITCH Big Medium is a nonprofit organization dedicated to championing and cultivating artists and the contemporary arts in Austin and across Texas. By providing city and state-wide programming, affordable studio spaces, innovative exhibitions, and professional development opportunities for artists, Big Medium works to foster the arts, empower artists, and facilitate an inclusive cultural dialogue between artists and their communities.
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