East Austin’s newest creative community, Canopy, has scheduled its first open studio tour this Saturday and Sunday.
A little background: Michael Hsu Office of Architecture reconfigured a former East Austin warehouse into artist studios, creative office spaces, art galleries and a café, connected by communal courtyards and breezeways. The space opened in early 2013.
And now, Canopy’s resident artists, architects, ceramicists, designers, painters, photographers, musicians, sculptors and videographers invite Austin to visit their brand new digs.
The coming out party for Canopy studios is timed to connect with Austin’s 10th annual Art of the Pot Studio Tour, a weekend open house organized by local clay artists. One stop on the tour, KeithKreeger’s Canopy studio and showroom, features Kreeger's contemporary porcelain forms, plus work by two guest artists: Dan Anderson (Edwardsville, Illinois) and Courtney Murphy (Missoula, Montana).
Keith Kreeger likes the energy. “Canopy has been wonderful,” he says. “I think it encompasses Austin. It is this beautiful creative community, vibrant right from the start, with all these varying approaches – architects, painters, photographers, clay artists, and jewelers … We’re all talking together and working together. It’s just like the rest of Austin where creative communities are really driving the growth. It’s a great sign for Austin that a building like this is successful right from the start.”
William Knopp and Jessica Tata, a young couple that invented Son of a Sailor will also participate in Canopy’s first open studio. In their studio/gallery, Knopp and Tata make and sell bold geometric jewelry and accessories. Those who drop by this weekend will see that they’ve invited Claire Montgomery to share their space and show her ceramic art.
For Jessica Tata, Canopy is a perfect fit: “Outside the necessity of a larger space, the reason we came to look was that it’s affordable. This studio space is brand new and fits within our budget. Once we found out that Big Medium was heading it up, we got really excited. As the founders and organizers of the East Austin Studio Tour, they offer a fantastic opportunity to jump into the conversation about art in the East Austin landscape. The synergy between all these artists and makers and creative professionals working in the same place is definitely what we want to surround ourselves with.”
The Canopy open studio, in conjunction with the Art of the Pot Studio Tour is Saturday, May 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, May 12, 11 a.m. -5 p.m., 916 Springdale Rd. And you can look for Art of the Pot’s ArtStream Nomadic Trailer parked on South Congress Avenue to showcase work by more clay artists from across the U.S.
