Temporary art being built along Austin’s Hike-and-Bike Trail

Blake DeVine
·2 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After almost a decade, displays of art are being built along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail.

Eight artists are crafting and creating artwork, which will be temporarily placed at various locations along the trail.

Related: Multiple artists chosen for temporary art exhibition on Austin’s Hike-and-Bike Trail

TEMPO on the Trail is a public art initiative, put on by The Trail Conservancy and City of Austin Economic Development Department’s Art in Public Places Program.

“This temporary exhibition combines art, nature and really creates a free outdoor gallery for our trail users,” Hanna Cofer, interim CEO of The Trail Conservancy said. “It reflects a dynamic and growing Austin.”

Each artist has received $25,000 from the city to design, create, and install their artwork.

Adrian Landon Brooks has been working for weeks — almost eight hours a day — on a mural under the Drake Bridge.

“There’s people literally cheering me on as I paint every day, which is awesome,” he said. “It keeps me going, keeps me motivated through it.”

The city said the temporary exhibition encourages artists to select locations that resonate with them and to design artworks that can be easily installed and uninstalled in those locations, allowing for “dynamic and ever-changing outdoor art experiences.”

“Out of all the murals that I’ve painted outdoors, I’ve gotten the most response from this one while I’ve been painting it,” Landon Brooks said. “People are really happy.”

Adrian Landon Brooks has been working for weeks on a mural under the Drake Bridge.
Adrian Landon Brooks has been working for weeks on a mural under the Drake Bridge.

Below are the eight artists participating in TEMPO on the Trail:

  • Adrian Landon Brooks – Drake Bridge Mural

  • Chroma Collective – IH-35 Under Bridge Mural

  • Raul Buitrago – Seaholm Amenities Pavilion Wheat Paper Mural

  • Diego Miro-Rivera – International Shores Sculpture

  • Johnny Walker – Auditorium Shores Sculpture

  • Juliet Whitsett – Holly Lakefront Trail Sculpture

  • Ani Bradberry – Seaholm Intake Interior Neon Art

  • Darcie Book – Lakeshore Park sculpture

In 2014, a controversial proposed public art installation prompted the City Council at the time to impose a temporary ban on commissioned and donated public art to the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, according to the Trail Conservancy.

Read more: After 10-year hiatus, art will start to appear along hike and bike trail, Council votes

Although the moratorium was eventually lifted, it had been informally followed for nearly 10 years.

Last April, City Council approved a plan to integrate art and culture into the area once again.

“Experiencing art in unexpected places along nature and creating a free outdoor gallery experience is a really cool way to just highlight diverse artistic visions across Austin,”Cofer concluded.

Art installations will take place from now until June.

They’ll then remain on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail for at least a year.

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