On June 5, Austin’s City Council voted to approve 10 contracts with artists for the commission of public artworks for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA).
Of the 10 contracts, six are with artists outside of Austin, though three of those are Texas artists. The selected artists who are based in Austin or have strong connections to the city are Steven Parker, Anahita Bradberry, Virginia Lee Montgomery, and Raul Buitrago. Additional artists include Jasmin Azalea Zelaya, and Stephan Hillberbrand and Mary Magsamen in Houston; Gil Rocha, who is based in Laredo; Yvette Mayorga in Chicago, Jim Campbell in San Francisco, and Saya Woolfalk in New York City.
In March, a spokesperson from the City told Glasstire that the airport call for public art was a three-phase process. The first phase was open to national artists, the second was a Texas open call, and the third was limited to Austin artists. This approach is similar to other airport public art open calls, including the ongoing calls for proposals for the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Despite this phased approach, Austinites have continued to push back against the inclusion of nonlocal artists…