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| East Austin Studio Tour 2008 is Here |
| Written by Marshall A. Jones, Jr. | |
 East Austin artists open doors to community. Community and creativity converge in East Austin like nowhere else in the city, and the annual East Austin Studio Tour (EAST) November 22 and 23 means to prove it. EAST showcases the works of more than 200 artists (10:00am through 5:00pm, both days). The public is welcome, free of charge, to take a self-guided tour of some 150 working studios and galleries, most of them in an area bounded by I-35 to the west and Airport Boulevard to the east.
 Ben Livingston And follow Austin has, turning a light on East Austin as one of the most prolific regions for blossoming artists in the state of Texas. The annual Studio Tour has become a much-awaited event in Central Texas. Participating artists are listed on the EAST website (eastaustinstudiotour.com) and have a bio and pictures of their work included in the EAST "tour guide." The free guide features full-color examples of art on display at each studio as well as a map. Go here to download a map or view in Google Maps, where it has been incorporated to create an interactive guide open to input from the galleries, artists, and even the public. It’s virtually impossible to see all the art spaces in a single day, or even both days, so a little planning will pay off. Two good starting points are Café Mundi (1704 E 5th St.) and EAST headquarters at Big Medium (5305 Bolm Road). There, you can get a tour guide, an artist catalog, and EAST-themed swag such as t-shirts and tote bags.  At Café Mundi, you can park and borrow one of the 100 bikes being launched there by the Yellow Bike Project. Or you can hitch a ride with Metrocycle Pedicabs anywhere on the tour. The organizers, in addition to wanting to keep the tour environmentally friendly, say that seeing everything on foot or on a bike is a lot easier than in a car. Especially where large clusters of studios are in the same block.This is Marian Taylor’s first year as a featured EAST artist, but she says she enjoyed coming to the event last year, meeting other artists, and seeing where their creative process takes place. "I am inspired by the culture and the many generations of families [in East Austin],” Taylor says. "I think this tour has the potential to bring the art community closer in East Austin," Taylor continues. She adds that since everyone is welcome to tour the galleries, the general public will also "bridge gaps in the neighborhoods" and generate a greater appreciation for all types of art. Morgan Sorne is another first-time EAST exhibitor who says that it's a good time to be an emerging artist in Austin. "I have met so many open-minded people here," Sorne says. He adds that he looks forward to the exchange of ideas and inspirations that the tour offers. "My work will be for sale, but I am more interested in connecting with people first."
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EAST got its start when three twenty-somethings— Joseph Phillips, Jana Swec, and Shea Little—who studied visual arts in New York got together after settling in Austin; they launched the then twice-annual (on a significantly smaller scale) East Austin Studio Tour in 2003. Phillips, Swec, and Little create art collaboratively under the moniker Sodalitas (Latin for fellowship). They are also the driving forces behind Big Medium, formerly Bolm Studios, which re-organized into a non-profit arts booster. 
