Bring your own paint! In 2009 an Austin entrepreneur wanted to advertise her farmer's market and the city fathers told her she could hang posters on the 30 year old condo ruins close to the market. She took one look at those concrete walls and said "oh these walls need more than posters". She asked her friend graffiti artist Shepard Fairey to paint something on one of the walls. The rest is history! Graffiti artists appeared from everywhere and now you can bring your own spray paint cans and paint whatever you want to. You have 3 stories of deserted concrete walls as your canvas, and the paintings are constantly changing.
This is called The HOPE Outdoor Gallery, I failed to explain the painting properly. HOPE is a non-profit foundation that manages the paint park. You have to submit a detailed drawing of what you want to paint, you pay a minimum of $10, you complete a questionnaire and are given a badge to wear while painting. The park website hopecampaign.org, explains the foundation's vision and how the community has benefited from the park. There has been some talk about the property owners wanting to bulldoze everything down and build a new condo tower on the site, so I'm glad I got to see this wondrous site before that happens!
Wow! This is so amazing, Lou Ann! I didn't know about this HOPE Outdoor Gallery. Thank you for sharing the wonderful photo and information. It seems there is a lot going on in Austin that I need to check out when I get back to Texas in October. :-)
Amazing artwork. It is amazing how talented graffiti artists can be. It's interesting that they have turned the graffiti into a money making project for the non-profit foundation.
I use to dismiss street art as just "graffiti" - but I've learned that I'm wrong - they're really are some talented street artists. A really interesting addition to Austin. Think I'd prefer it to another set of condos.
Thank you for your great comments and faves. I have to say when I read the HOPE website I thought it could not be current because I sure saw some graffiti that would not have been approved for an art installation! Smile.
@annied
This is called The HOPE Outdoor Gallery, I failed to explain the painting properly. HOPE is a non-profit foundation that manages the paint park. You have to submit a detailed drawing of what you want to paint, you pay a minimum of $10, you complete a questionnaire and are given a badge to wear while painting. The park website hopecampaign.org, explains the foundation's vision and how the community has benefited from the park. There has been some talk about the property owners wanting to bulldoze everything down and build a new condo tower on the site, so I'm glad I got to see this wondrous site before that happens!
Thank you for your great comments and faves. I have to say when I read the HOPE website I thought it could not be current because I sure saw some graffiti that would not have been approved for an art installation! Smile.
Thank you ladies! I have many photos of this place - you will see them from time to time as fillers, I'm sure!