Online Exhibits

Art and Archives: Veronica Ceci at the Austin History Center, September 18, 2022 - January 8, 2023

This exhibit presents a selection of photographs, sketches, prints, archival materials, and artifacts documenting Austin artist Veronica Ceci's work on their public art projects Meander (2018) and Quinquagenary (2021). 

Austin Proud: A History of Pride Parades in Austin, 1971-2002, August 2022 - June 2023

This exhibit presents photographs, flyers, and clippings from the Austin History Center collections documenting the history of Austin's LGBTQ Pride parades and marches from 1971-2002.

Taking it to the Streets: A Visual History of Protest and Demonstration in Austin, July 31, 2018 - October 28, 2018

This exhibit presents a snapshot look at how the public confronted the political and social issues of their time. Diverse images from a variety of Austin History Center collections highlight Austin residents in their earnest efforts to create social change in their communities

Our Community, Our Voice: Photographs from The Villager Newspaper, January 30, 2020 – May 22, 2022

This exhibit presents a selection of photographs from The Villager Newspaper Photograph Collection (AR.2001.002) that capture local community members in striking images, illustrating the vibrancy of Austin’s black population. Marching bands, community leaders, theater groups, protests, musicians, churches, and neighborhood groups portray life in black Austin through the decades.

Perlas ng Austin (The Pearls of Austin)

This virtual exhibit was made in collaboration with the Austin Filipino-American Association (AFAA), Asian American Resource Center and the Austin History Center's Asian American Community Archives Program as a celebration of the Central Texas Filipino community.

Discovering Place: Images from the St. Edward’s University Documentary Photography Project, November 4, 2019 – January 19, 2020

The St. Edward's University Austin Documentary Photography Project is a partnership between St. Edward's University and the Austin History Center wherein students learned how to create visually engaging and intellectually challenging stories of the people and places of Austin. The partnership resulted in the St. Edward's University Austin Documentary Photography Project Collection (AR.2019.026), consisting primarily of digital photographs documenting various facets of the Austin area community as selected by the student photographers. 

Treat Me Like a Saturday Night: The Joe Ely Photographs from the Cindy Light Collection, July 30, 2019 – October 27, 2019

Cindy Light is an Austin-based photographer who shot many performances of Austin musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, and Doug Sahm as well as international acts such as Sting, Michael Jackson, and Paul McCartney. This exhibit highlights photos from her collection (AR.2019.016) that span 1986-1990 and primarily feature Joe Ely with bandmates David Grissom, Jimmy Pettit, and Davis McLarty who represent Ely’s late 1980s – early 1990s heyday. 

Austin Icons of the 1980s: Selections from the Bill Leissner Photograph Collection, April 30, 2019 – July 21, 2019

In 2016 Bill Leissner began the process of digitizing his 100,000-image archive of Austin performance, politics, and social culture. This exhibit is the first result of these efforts – a brief selection of 16 images from his archive (AR.2019.004) representing icons of 1980s Austin, at least icons through the lens of his camera.

Vietnam to Austin: Restoring Community, February 21, 2009 - July 17, 2009

Explore the history, transition, and contributions of local Vietnamese Americans in Austin. This exhibit presents a selection of powerful personal stories and photographs from the original large-scale 2009 exhibition. 

Tune In To Health: A Radio Program for Travis County Rural Schools, February 5, 2019 – April 21, 2019

This exhibit presents photograph selections from the Texas Extended School and Community Health Education Program Records (AR.2002.017) archived at the Austin History Center. The collection features over 200 black and white photographs from the 1949-1950 school year of the Healthy Living in Our County radio program, a public health education initiative tailored for Travis County rural school classrooms. The exhibit images provide a rare glimpse into these rural school communities, capturing student activity, school segregation, home living conditions, school infrastructure, and engagement with the Healthy Living in Our Country radio curriculum.

We’ll Just Rock For Ourselves: Selections from the Lisa Davis Photograph Archive, April 24, 2018 – July 22, 2018

This exhibit presents selections from the Lisa Davis Photograph Archive (AR.2010.022). The exhibition focuses on Davis’s documentation of the lesbian music community in Austin during the early 1990s.

Clearing Stones Sowing Seeds: Photographs from the Travis County Negro Extension Service Collection, February 6, 2018 - April 15, 2018

This exhibit presents selections from the Travis County Negro Extension Service Photography Collection (AR.2000.025). The photographs, taken between 1940 and 1964, document the variety of services and educational programs offered by the Extension Service, including animal husbandry, crafts, domestic education, gardening and agriculture, and home improvement.

Early Chinese Families of Austin

Asian American families who ended up in Austin built a life for themselves by opening up businesses and immersing themselves into the community. All of their hard work paved the way for future immigrants and Asian Americans who settled down in Austin.

Fehr and Granger: Austin Modernists

AR.2009.014(171)

An exhibit of photographs documenting the works of Mid-Century architects Arthur Fehr and Charles Granger.

Backwards in High Heels: Getting Women Elected, 1842-1990

PICB 19746

This exhibition is the Austin History Center’s look at the local women who have played a significant part in politics in Texas’ capital city.