Latest news with #Riffsand
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Several pieces of art at Convention Center deemed ‘infeasible for relocation'
AUSTIN (KXAN) — This year's South by Southwest will be the last before the Austin Convention Center closes and the city starts its massive expansion and reconstruction process. But some have expressed concern about the art in that building that won't be saved. 'Four pieces were identified as infeasible for relocation due to site-specific design constraints, but artists were given the opportunity to reclaim their work where possible,' a public information officer for the Economic Development Department said. A memo from the city stated staff analyzed more than 200 individual pieces of art in that process. One of the few pieces that won't be saved — by the city of Austin at least — is John Yancey's 'Riffs and Rhythms' which has been in the convention center since 1996. 'With color and vibrant presence, this work celebrates the multi-culture phenomenon of the various genres of Texas music,' Yancey told council members. 'Riffs and Rhythms' is one of the many pieces of art commissioned by the city under its Art in Public Places program. But it's artists who pay the price, literally, to save art when a piece of work is deemed 'infeasible for relocation', as is the case here. That, or the art is destroyed. According to a memo, Yancey was able to submit a removal plan to the city last month which was accepted — the art will be removed by Yancey and a contractor. But Yancey says not everyone has that option. 'In most cases artists cannot possibly afford to hire the conservators, expert crews and heavy equipment at their own expense to reclaim their work as is stated in the outdated policy,' he said. 'For artworks that cannot be saved, we are documenting them to honor their cultural significance. The AIPP deaccession process follows established City policies, ensuring transparency and artist involvement at every stage,' a public information officer for the Economic Development Department said. Austin City Council Member Zohaib 'Zo' Qadri put forward a resolution to help artists, and the city, avoid this moving forward. The resolution passed on consent last week. 'It will allow for flexibility for the use of funds for maintenance, it'll allow for relocation and conservation, storage, deaccession and reinstallation of artwork,' Qadri said. Qadri said it will also require the city to notify artists much sooner of their responsibilities in situations like this. He said the changes will not benefit the four pieces of art impacted in the Convention Center. 'Obviously it was a difficult situation where some artists were able to reclaim their work and others weren't and that's a situation that I think stung most importantly the artists, the ones that weren't able to claim it, but it was something that me and my colleagues were like, you know, 'we can't go back in time, but moving forward we need to make sure that this doesn't happen again,'' Qadri said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unconventional ATX: Design for Austin's new convention center released
The Brief Architects revealed the design for Austin's new convention center The $1.6 billion project is known as Unconventional ATX Some people aren't so sure about a brand-new convention center AUSTIN, Texas - Architects revealed the design for Austin's new convention center at a City Council work session Tuesday morning. The $1.6 billion project, known as Unconventional ATX, will be funded through hotel occupancy taxes and convention center revenues. It was designed by LMN/Page, a joint venture. What we know The new convention center will nearly double the size of the current one, from 365,000 square feet to 625,000 square feet. The architects describe the design as multi-layered, walkable and sustainable, with public plazas and indoor-outdoor connections. "A lot of outdoor space, outdoor event space, hangout space that is very much integrated with the program of the convention center," Larry Speck with Page Architects said in the presentation. "I think this design is fantastic," Paige Ellis, District 8 Council Member, said. "I also am very impressed with how much this design reflects an improvement in our buildings reflecting our community values," Krista Laine, District 6 Council Member said. Across the street at the Fairmont Hotel, general manager Mike Culver is looking forward to the new convention center. "We're excited, because it's also going to provide some more green space and not just the concrete jungle that I think we tend to have now," he said. "I do think having that bigger convention center will allow us to attract many different types of groups, on a larger scale, I think, which will bring a lot more money into the city as a whole. It'll help with occupancy taxes, it'll help with tourism taxes." The city says they're looking into traffic management for the roughly four-year process, and they've been reaching out to nearby places for feedback. "I think traffic is going to be one of those wait-and-see things. They've thought about how to make this as less of an impact as possible with one-way traffic for construction trucks," Culver said. The other side However, some aren't so sure about a brand-new convention center. "I think it's just fine the way it is. I've visited here multiple times over the years, and it seems to be big enough, and it's already tight on space here anyways," Joe Hartley, who is visiting from Houston, said. There are also concerns about the art in the current one, including the Riffs and Rhythms mosaic created by John Yancey in 1996. It was commissioned by the city and accepted into its permanent public art collection. The mosaic is connected to the wall. "If an artist has work in a museum, you don't expect the museum to take it, throw it in the dumpster at the end of the workday. You expect there's care, stewardship, and that there's a responsibility there," Yancey said. The city says they will put together a living history of the pieces. Some artists have taken their pieces down on their own dime. Yancey says the city didn't think the process through. His piece was brought up in the work session. "Do we have any cost estimate as to what it would take to salvage Dr. Yancey's work or anything else that may not be possible to, at this stage, be reused as part of the process," Marc Duchen, District 10 Council Member, asked staff. "This new building will have a blend of brand-new art by these artists. It will have a blend of art that was in the previous convention center," Trisha Tatro, director of the Austin Convention Center Department said. For specifics, she deferred to the Art in Public Places program. What will happen to Yancey's piece is still up in the air. He is consulting with preservationists and attorneys to figure out what to do. "Artists don't have money to just go around taking the work down. These are monumental works. These aren't taking paintings off the wall. These are highly engineered works that are embedded into the architecture," Yancey said. He adds he doesn't think there needs to be a new convention center. "The convention is beautiful. It's clean. It's functional. The artwork in it is beautiful. It's a wonderful kind of a public art success," he said. What's next The current convention center will close in April and be demolished shortly after. The new one is expected to open in 2029. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen
