The online arts journal of the Austin Visual Arts Association
With deepest sympathy, AVAA extends our condolences to the family and friends of Mimi McKinney, a founding member of AVAA.

A true pioneer in the Austin arts scene, McKinney passed away in June after a courageous battle with lung cancer. McKinney, a talented artist and arts advocate, was instrumental in creating the Austin Visual Arts Association (AVAA), formerly the Austin Contemporary Visual Arts Association (ACVAA), in 1977. Thirty years ago, she and other Austin visionaries realized the importance of what a group of dynamic, progressive artists could accomplish collectively. As the association's first "typist," McKinney played a significant role in documenting our early history, and later became AVAA's official historian. She organized and participated in many significant exhibits, including, in recent years, co-chairing AVAA's 25th Anniversary Exhibit at the Dougherty Arts Center. Throughout the years, McKinney has been an avid supporter of AVAA and a mentor to many of our artists. In recent years, she talked about how truly proud she was that AVAA was reaching its 30th milestone and that she had played a significant part along the way.

On a personal note, Mimi has been a trusted advisor, a wonderful resource, and, most importantly, a true friend. She will be missed dearly. One of her final wishes was to see AVAA hit its 30th mark. Regrettably she passed away just prior to the opening exhibit at the DAC. AVAA would like to dedicate our 30th Anniversary Exhibit in honor of our good friend, colleague and founding member, Mimi McKinney.

Thank you Mimi for your unwavering dedication to the Austin arts and for the legacy you leave behind.
-Kelli Montgomery, AVAA Director
Current Events : AVAA's 30th Anniversary Exhibit: Through July 30th at the,Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd.
AVAA's 30thAnniversary Exhibition & Reunion made history, opening to the largest exhibition crowd to date at the Dougherty Arts Center on June 28, 2007. More than 460+ people streamed through opening night festivities that featured 49 artists, 68 selected artworks, Tim Pipe's Mobile Art Bus, music by The Atlantics, a caricature artist, plenty of Pyramid Ale and our traditionally fabulous culinary spread by member artists.
It was a truly unique Austin event that would make any of our founders proud. Among the attendees were several noted journalists including New York Post Columnist Liz Smith who selected two artworks to purchase from the opening. The evening kicked off with a presentation by President Bill Keese welcoming and honoring our 30th Anniversary artists with special certificates commemorating the historic event. Juror Jack White congratulated the artists and talked about the process of selecting works for this exhibit. Of 330 works submitted, 68 were selected for exhibition at the DAC, 8 were selected for our satellite space at the Scarbrough Building. Jurors Ken Hale and Ricardo Hernandez also attended the event. All three jurors were invited to exhibit their works.
Media Coverage: Austin American Statesmen, July 8, 2007 , The Austin Chronicle, June 15, 2007
Art by Dig Space
 
Comments from the Jurors: Ken Hale, Ricardo Hernandez and Jack White
"It is an honor to have been asked by AVAA to serve as one of the jurors for their 30th anniversary. The quality of the artwork submitted is a testimonial to the impact that AVAA has had on the Austin art scene. I focused on choosing artworks that were technically and conceptually strong. I am sure that I left out some very deserving artists and that, unfortunately, is always the downside of trying to narrow down a large pool of art. I hope that those who are able to view the exhibition will agree that a very exciting and at times challenging show was selected."
- Ken Hale, Associate Dean, College of Fine Arts, UT Austin.
"It was great to see the breadth, diversity and quality of work that is being produced today and presented by AVAA. Equally, it is an honor for this third decade celebration to be my inaugural showing, given the conflict of interest limitations that my job at TCA has placed on me over the last 30 years. I truly am coming full circle!"
- Ricardo Hernandez, Executive Director, Texas Commission on the Arts
"Judging the show, I was remarkably inspired by the quality of the work. I feel proud to be a part of an art scene that has so many possibilities. My last art experience was in Athens, Greece and that reinvigorated my creative experience. Seeing art of this distinction invokes a similar response."
­ Jack White, Artist
Exhibiting Artists: AVAA's 30th Anniversary at the Dougherty Arts Center, Exhibit runs through July 30, 2007
  • Lise Carlson
  • Theresa Bayer
  • Michael Chung
  • Elizabeth Colonna
  • Jessica Cook
  • Donna Crosby
  • Keith Davis
  • David De Lara
  • Cindy Debold
  • Rachelle Diaz
  • Terri Lee Duffy
  • Maggie Duvall
  • Leo Eckroth
  • Channe Felton
  • Marilyn Fenn
  • Carol Hayman
  • Ken Hale
  • Cynthia Herbst
  • Ricardo Hernandez
  • Angela Hicks
  • Adolfo Isassi
  • Betty Jameson
  • Nathan Jensen
  • Ron Johnson
  • Suzanne Layman
  • Melanie Lewis
  • Cecilia Ling
  • Gena Destri Keffer
  • Lou MacNaughton
  • Jim McDonald
  • Julia McDonald
  • Bryan McMath
  • Miranda Mueller
  • J. Muzacz
  • Clay Olmstead
  • Anna Marie Pavlik
  • Jan Middleton Roset
  • Vee Sawyer
  • Debbi Smith Rourke
  • Carol Schiraldi
  • Oscar Silva
  • Donald Smith
  • Heidi Stanfield
  • Laura Sturtz
  • Holly Trapp
  • Eduardo Vera
  • Terri M. Wells
  • Jack White
  • Rob Wilbourn
Please Visit our Slide Show
Adolfo Isassi's Stadium Dreams
Also Exhibiting : Works on display at the Scarbrough Building, Through July 22
Poster Artists: Mitchell Allen, Keith Davis, Aralyn Hughes, Martha Jacobson, Janine Marten, Bill Oakey, Andy Quaglino, April Sullivan; Scarbrough Lobby: Bob Coffee, Cindy Corkill, Heather Harris, Karen Harten, Julianndru, Nesi Lloyd, Kay Martin, Andy Quaglino
A Step Back in Time: The first exhibition, June 1979
The first exhibition of AVAA was held in June of 1979 at Laguna Gloria, then located at First Federal, 200 E. 10th St. The exhibit was juried by Richard Koshalek, then Director of the Hudson River Museum, NY. Featured artists included a long list of well-known artists today including Bill Wiman, Helmut Barnett, Melissa Miller, Nancy Denny, T. Paul Hernandez, Bradley Peterson, Susan Whyne, Barbara Sturgill and Francis Nail. In 1980, AVAA¹s second exhibition was held at the Dougherty Arts Center, featured a music performance by Beto & The Fairlanes, and was juried by the then-NEA Director of Visual Arts James Melchert.
Thank You!
AVAA would like to thank all of the wonderful volunteers and member artists who made the 30th Anniversary a tremendous success. Thank you artists for your contributions of refreshments and labor on opening night and for helping to set up the exhibit. Hats off to our fabulous hanging crew, one of the best ever. We will be calling you back for duty in the next exhibit! Thanks to our jurors Ricardo Hernandez, Jack White and Ken Hale, with a special appreciation to Jack White for curating the show. Special thanks to Bill Keese, Neil Ferguson and the APRO staff for creating the artists¹ nametags and commemorative certificates. Big thanks also to Richard May, Entertainment Chair; Donna Crosby, Staff Photographer; Meghan Welsch, AVAA Programs Assistant; Theresa Bayer, Caricature Artist; The AVAA Board; The DAC Staff; The Atlantics; The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division; TCA; our fabulous sponsor, Pyramid Ale; and to all of our great volunteers.
Celebrating 30 years serving the contemporary arts in Austin, TX. AVAA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization
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AVAA is supported in part by The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division and the Texas Commission on the Arts