Upcoming Events
Artist Reception for Frequented Dreams, Perfect Proportions, and Project Pollination
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
7-9pm
Join us for a vibrant evening celebrating the work of Molly Mansfield, Tara Eales, and Sara Jane Parsons at their shared artist reception. Through painting, sculpture, and textiles, these artists explore themes of memory, self-acceptance, and our connection to the natural world. Experience Mansfield’s evocative still lifes honoring women’s roles as memory keepers, Eales’ playful textile sculptures embracing imperfection, and Parsons’ vivid works highlighting the vital relationship between food and pollinators.
Learn more about these exhibits at the Julia C. Butridge Gallery webpage.
DAC Nights: Melted Masterpieces
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
7-9pm
Come to DAC Nights: Melted Masterpieces where we’ll be fusing memories with masterpieces by creating fuse bead art! There will be a wide variety of colors, templates, and tools to bring your artistic vision to life. Make your own keychain, coaster, or decoration with the help of our DAC Nights staff.
This event is free! Registration is encouraged, but not required.
Bottle Alley presents Self Portraits 5
Thursday, March 27 – Saturday, March 29, 2025
8pm
Tickets at Bottle Alley Theatre's website
Bottle Alley is back and wilder than ever for the fifth edition of the smash-hit Self Portraits series! Each night, thirty brand-new pieces explode onto the stage—completely random, totally unpredictable, and chosen by THE AUDIENCE. Expect the unexpected. The only guarantee? Raw, unfiltered honesty.
Inspired by late night Chicago theater, Self Portraits is just real people sharing parts of themselves—things they’ve felt, things they’ve lived—through the DIY performance art. It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s messy. It’s electric. It’s barely controlled chaos.
Three nights only. Thirty new pieces a night. No repeats. No second chances. Don’t miss this.
Bottle Alley Theatre Company is part of the Artist Access Program, through the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, Division of Museums and Cultural Programs, and the Dougherty Arts Center.
Art in Cahoots at Dougherty Arts Center
A Pop-Up Arts Experience for Caregiver & Child
Friday, April 4, 2025
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. Children can build social-emotional skills, familiarize themselves with a classroom setting, and learn while still under the wing of a trusted caregiver.
Pop-ups are scheduled on set dates and times. Event dates, times, and capacity are determined by location. Spots are limited. Registration on Eventbrite is recommended in advance to reserve your space. 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. Planned activities will change monthly.
ARU Drag Productions presents Iconic
Friday, April 4, 2025 at 6pm
Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 5pm & 7pm Ticket information
Join ARU Drag Productions on April 4-5 for a unique drag experience as we reimagine beloved horror icons through drama, camp, and creativity. The talented cast will bring the stage to life with electrifying choreography, jaw-dropping makeup, and unforgettable performances. Audiences can look forward to high-energy dance numbers, live vocals, and jaw-dropping visuals. ARU Drag Productions has gone all out with elaborate costumes and cutting-edge lighting to create an immersive experience that embodies the essence of each icon while giving them their own creative spin.
Artist Talk for Molly Mansfield, Tara Eales, and Sara Jane Parsons
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
7-9pm
Discover the inspirations and creative processes behind the work of Molly Mansfield, Tara Eales, and Sara Jane Parsons at their artist talk. Engaging with themes of heritage, self-acceptance, and sustainability, these artists share how their unique mediums, painting, textiles, and upcycled materials, bring their narratives to life. Join the conversation and gain insight into their artistic journeys, techniques, and the deeper stories woven into their work.
Learn more about their exhibits at the Julia C. Butridge Gallery webpage.
Art-O-Rama
Saturday, May 10, 2025
1-4pm
Mark your calendars for the Dougherty Arts Center’s 5th Annual Art-O-Rama!
Celebrate all the possibilities when nature, art, technology and community collide. 2025 is the year Art-O-Rama goes punk. Solar punk.
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