We are Austin Area Arts.
We are an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that owns and operates the Historic Paramount Theatre, operates the Austin ArtWorks Center, and hosts the annual Austin ArtWorks Festival.
Our Mission
Austin Area Arts applauds and advances all arts by welcoming diverse, creative individuals to share their unique talents to inspire our community.
Our Vision
We make Austin a better place by sparking innovation, celebrating culture, and connecting creativity. We harness the power of arts to improve lives and the community through quality arts experiences.
Our Values
We operate with welcoming spaces, respect for diversity, including unserved and underserved people, and choosing unconditional positive regard.
Click to see our 2023 Impact Report!
The History of Austin Area Arts
Austin Area Commission for the Arts—now doing business as Austin Area Arts—was established as a nonprofit organization in 1992 with a mission to advance the arts in Austin.
The first project of Austin Area Arts was to restore the Historic Paramount Theatre to its 1929 design and establish it as a center for performing arts. After serving the community as a first-run movie house from 1929 to 1975, the theatre had been bought and sold several times and was abandoned when Austin Area Arts purchased it in 1990. Through the hard work of volunteers and the generosity of donors, the Paramount Theatre was restored as a functioning theatre for the performing arts. We currently present live music, comedy, dance, and movies year-round. The Paramount is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The organization grew to fulfill a broader arts mission in 2012 when the Austin ArtWorks Festival was established by a volunteer committee. The free two-day event celebrates performing, visual, and literary arts and attracts 10,000 visitors to Austin each August. The festival features an outdoor music stage, an authors and theatrical arts tent, visual arts exhibitors, demonstrating artists, and interactive art activities. The ArtWorks Festival was originally held at the old power plant and was moved to the heart of downtown Austin in 2017.
In 2014, many of the same volunteers that started the ArtWorks Festival solved another community arts issue. At that time the Austin Area Art Center was a small group of visual artists operating a store front in the local mall. The mall was closing, leaving the group with no physical space. Austin Area Arts volunteers arranged a merger with the Austin Area Art Center and opened the Austin ArtWorks Center, a three-story visual arts space in downtown Austin. The main floor is a retail gallery that features the work of over 100 artists. The second floor hosts fine art gallery exhibits that rotate several times throughout the year. The basement level holds the clay cavern including a kiln. The ArtWorks Center offers art classes for all ages and hosts live music events on the second floor throughout the year.