Drawing Lines
Exploring the role of the arts in the context of Austin's historic political change
2016
Project OveRview
In 2014, Austin underwent a substantial political shift and transitioned to a “10-1” governance structure, which elects City Council members from newly specified districts, rather than from a citywide pool of candidates. This transition was passed by referendum and was the culmination of a decades long process to bring more voices into city governance and better represent Austin’s growing majority-minority populace. Funded by ArtPlace America, and organized in parallel with the City of Austin’s Cultural Asset Mapping Project, the Drawing Lines project was an artist-driven, community-based creative placemaking project commissioned in response to Austin’s historic political transformation. The project explored how art itself, as a process, could become part of the conversation about Austin’s new geographic districts. Exploring these citizen-driven yet newly prescribed boundaries of place, Drawing Lines embedded artists in each of the ten recently drawn districts to co-create a place-specific public project with the district’s residents. Ultimately, the ten projects came together in one citywide exhibition in a pop-up gallery space on Congress Avenue. The exhibition reflected the new 10-1 political structure, the dynamic cultural life of each district, and thus the culture of the city itself. The Drawing Lines project ultimately asked the basic question, “What role can the arts take the in the context of historical political change?”
The project is a private-public partnership between Civic Arts and the City of Austin Economic Development Department with generous support from ArtPlace America. Drawing Lines is a sponsored project of Austin Creative Alliance. Civic Arts served as the project lead and administrator to shape the project’s vision and its implementation within the 10 districts.
ABout the Team
Project Location
Services Provided
Community Engagement • Public Art Planning and Administration • Project Management • Evaluation
