Fifteen women are in a room, some seated at sewing machines, some sitting and embroidering, others standing and measuring fabric. One woman wearing a floral patterned dress stands in the center of the room, while another woman in a black dress, sitting on a small bench, makes adjustments to the first woman's dress.

PICA 25432, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library

Soy Austin, Soy Travis County: Call for Nominations

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

ESPAÑOL

Do you know any Latin American artists who call Austin or Travis County home?

The Austin History Center is seeking nominations for Latino/a/e/x Artists whose histories should be included in our archives!

All nominated artists will be considered for inclusion in our archives. Some of these artists will be celebrated through a traveling exhibit, “Soy Austin, Soy Travis County.” 

What is Soy Austin, Soy Travis County?

The purpose of this program will be to bridge the gap in the historical record regarding Artists from the broader Latin American community of Austin/Travis County that is available at the Austin History Center (AHC). To see who is currently represented in our Biography Files please review our Latino/a/e/x Bio Files PDF.

We invite the community to nominate Austin or Travis County-based Latino/a/e/x artists whose histories will be included in the AHC's Biography Files Collection through shared artifacts such as documents, photographs, and oral histories. All nominated individuals who meet the criteria for this program will be included in our archives. 

In order to qualify to be included in this round of nominations, please be sure that the person you are nominating:

1) identifies as a person of Latin American descent, 

2) is an active artist in any form, and 

3) lives in Austin or Travis County or has called Austin/Travis County home for a significant period of time. 

This person can be living or deceased.

If they meet these criteria then please submit a nomination form here. To preview the questions for this nomination form please scroll to the bottom of this page. 

The Austin History Center will commit to digitizing anything shared with us and return the shared historical items through a post-custodial loan process. We will borrow the historical items temporarily so that we can create digital copies and will then return the materials to the owners. The digital copies will be made available to researchers at the AHC.

Traveling Exhibit

An advisory selection committee of 5 community members will be formed to choose 10-15 of the nominated artists whose biographies and images will be featured in a traveling exhibit. We will also conduct oral history interviews with these individuals to ensure their stories are recorded in Austin's history. We will celebrate these artists through an unveiling event to be held at a later date. 

If you have any questions or to find out more information, please feel free to contact Marina Islas at marina.islas@austintexas.gov