The Legends Project

The Mosaic Workshop is a beginner-friendly art studio in Austin, Texas that teaches the art of mosaic making through hands-on classes, collaborative team building activities, and monumental public art installations. Our mission is to bring the meaningful but often exclusionary art of mosaics to underserved communities in Austin and beyond. We welcome people who traditionally may not have opportunities to express themselves through this synergic, tactile medium. Through workshops, public art projects, artist mentorship, and community-driven installations, we teach mosaics as both a creative practice and a viable path toward artistic careers. 

Our artistic values are grounded in collaboration, cultural representation, and grassroots engagement. The medium’s permanence allows community stories to be cemented literally in the city’s landscape. We are inspired by Austin’s AIPP program yet operate with the freedom and flexibility of a small business mobilizing around the community’s passion, energy, and ideas. To date, we have created over a dozen public mosaic murals across Austin, many produced with active participation from community members who will live with the piece in their neighborhood for generations to come.

We have facilitated over 60 Legends Project mosaic portraits by local artists to honor culturally significant figures of color and individuals with intersectional identities. Each Legends portrait preserves underrepresented stories and provides paid opportunities for artists to learn the medium and translate their practices into public art.

This exhibition is an exploration into the power of community artmaking, from small individual pieces available in our daily drop-in hours and weekly Intro Workshops, to local artist–commissioned Legends Project portraits and massive murals made easy when friends and neighbors come together to create art.