The Bobby Dixon Kollective Fusion Poster Exhibition: Celebrating Hip Hop Through Artistry and Design

This exhibition celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop through the work of local artist and designer Bobby Dixon of Kollective Fusion (AKA KLCTVE Design + Illustration).  For two decades, Bobby has produced screen-printed concert posters for local, national, and international acts. The posters in this exhibition showcase Bobby's artistic design in works created for prominent hip-hop performers that have graced Austin stages. The posters in this exhibit were all created by Bobby Dixon and have been thoughtfully curated to commemorate the 50 Years of Hip Hop project led by the Queens Public Library, in collaboration with more than twenty museums, libraries, and archives from across the nation.”

On display | Location:  Central Library, (4th Floor) 710 W Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701

Our Community Our Voice Photographs from The Villager Newspaper (Mini Exhibit) 

A treasure since 1973, The Villager is a free community service newspaper published and distributed every Friday. Founded by T.L. “Tommy” Wyatt, The Villager has provided weekly coverage to communities in and outside of Austin’s city limits for over fifty years.   In 1969, Wyatt and his wife created the Black Registry, a directory of black-owned businesses in Austin, and The Villager grew out of that enterprise. Wyatt describes Austin’s Black community at the time as “self-contained.” He launched The Villager as a space for Black communities to speak for themselves and receive access to the news. The Villager became a resource -- offering affordable advertising for black businesses, community announcements, church listings, advocacy for neighborhood revitalization, national and local news reporting on issues that directly impacted African Americans, and distribution to community strongholds in East Austin, Northeast Austin, Montopolis, and the Huston-Tillotson University campus, the oldest institution of higher education in Austin.   Pick up a copy of The Villager today and you will find a headshot of T.L. “Tommy” Wyatt with his byline “Rappin’ Tommy Wyatt” preceding his colorful editorial column. Sections like the “Youth Brigade” page feature articles written by elementary, middle, and high school students with headlines such as “Black is Beautiful,” “Reading Can Be Fun,” and “Taking Advantage of Improvement Opportunities.”  News reporting and editorials endorse or challenge campaign platforms from local and national political candidates, detail charity campaigns, and share announcements from local faith-based groups and community organizations. A digital version of each week’s paper is produced by Thomas Wyatt, the second generation of Wyatt’s in publishing, helping create digital and international access to the weekly. Our Community, Our Voice: Photographs from The Villager Newspaper presents a selection of photographs from The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection at the Austin History Center (AR.2001.002). From striking images of community leaders, theater and neighborhood groups, political protests, musicians’ jam sessions, and church events, the photographs celebrate the vibrancy of Austin’s Black communities while chronicling life in Black Austin through the decades.    

On display | Location: Carver Branch: 1161 Angelina St, Austin, TX 78702