Austin Museum Day: Austin Art Without Spending A Dime

September 20

While Austin’s music scene typically steals the spotlight, what’s just as impressive is our city’s visual arts community. Austin Museum Day gives locals the chance to dive into that world and explore a few of the city’s cultural gems — all without spending a dime.

“The overall goal is to extend outreach and provide the opportunity for the general public to come out and experience these places for the first time,” says Austin Museum Day committee member Rebecca Marino. “There are some pretty amazing institutions, and people have no idea.”

The free, city-wide event is put on by the Austin Museum Partnership and takes place every September. There are around 40 establishments involved this year, and while not all are art museums, a good portion of the participants — including the Blanton Museum of Art, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Pump Project, where Marino serves as gallery director — are indeed art-focused, and according to Marino, Austin Museum Day serves as an excellent way to bridge the existing gap between the art scene and the rest of the city.

“It’s an exciting time to be a part of the art community,” Marino says. “There’s a lot of momentum and a lot happening. It’s important to support that creativity that people move to Austin for and keep it alive.”

Find more information and a list of participating museums here.