This weekend is the second and final weekend of the West Austin Studio Tour, and as part of the festivities, Art Alliance Austin is hosting a free public event in Republic Square Park to celebrate the reveal of downtown Austin’s newest piece of public art.
Designed by the artist collective Ink Tank, the Ink Tank Vending Machine is a repurposed soda vending machine that is designed to play audio clips associated with Austin’s changing cultural landscape. The installation was designed to be modular, so the audio clips can be replaced without too much difficulty and the machine can have a life beyond the West Austin Studio Tour with different sound clips selected by the collective and guest curators.
The vending machine will be free to operate, but any money incidentally collected by the machine will be donated to local Austin non-profits. The vending machine will also function as a community bulletin board with cork panels installed to the sides of the machine to facilitate the sharing of community news.
The Ink Tank Vending Machine unveiling reception takes place Saturday May 17th from 3-5 p.m. in Republic Square Park and will feature free food and drink. The event is associated with the West Austin Studio Tour – a free, self-guided tour that champions Austin’s artistic and cultural scene by opening up artist galleries and studios for two weekends in the spring.
Both the Ink Tank Vending Machine and the West Austin Studio Tour bring great local art to Austonian residents’ neighborhood. The Vending Machine is literally around the block from the downtown condominium building, and an array of galleries participating in WEST are a hop, skip and a jump from The Austonian. For a map of WEST locations, click here.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user byeagle