Local Artist Features
Art, in its many facets, often serves to seek advocacy through artistry. Art utilizes beauty and brilliancy to inspire and root out the injustice and sadness in our world by embedding creativity. But art is not limited to the conventions we often impose on it. These artists have brought meaning to their communities with their poems, paintings, and songs and defied seeing art as solely one thing.
Poems, Progress, and Passion Projects: Ren Koppel Torres Explores Identity and Advocacy Through Writing
Austin’s creative scene is characterized by capturing authentic voices and artists, depicting a landscape dotted with luminary creatives. Despite this formed and fully enriched art scene, poetry is still largely undervalued in comparison to other prominent art forms, especially with the myriad of musical styles threaded throughout the city’s culture. Poetry’s relatively undermined status as an art for...
Dave McClinton’s Striking Art Transcends Time and Style to Confront Racism’s Enduring Roots
It was by chance that I visited the Commerce Gallery in Lockhart, TX. In an attempt to veer away from sounding too much like a line from an inspirational film, it was fate that intervened on my behalf to bring my attention to something that changed me so fervently. It wasn’t a singular emotion that washed over me when I stepped into the gallery and viewed Dave McClinton’s art for the first time. It was ...
Friday Flex: Local Musician Sophia Johnson Shares Her Journey Through the Music Industry, Inspiring Students
IB Social Studies teacher Mr. Tim Bray hosted a Flex Q&A session with local bluegrass and western swing musician Sophia Johnson on Friday, Nov. 19. Detailing her unique background, Johnson talked about her experiences as a local Austin musician and her journey to her professional career. “It was all very interesting. I really thought that everything tied together to show what a person c...
Friday Flex: Folk Musician and Westwood Substitute Teacher Mickey White Discusses Experiences and Career
Former musician and current substitute teacher Mr. Mickey White was interviewed about his musical career by Mr. Bray on Friday, Dec. 3 for a Fun Friday Flex session. White was asked about numerous life experiences, including his decision to drop out of his college education at the University of Texas (UT) to pursue music. Mickey White’s dream to be a musician began after he saw others p...
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