Developing an Art Park at The Contemporary Austin-Laguna Gloria
What would it be like to experience a museum without walls? Louis Grachos wants Austin and its visitors to find out.
Five years ago, Grachos led a rebranding and merger between the Austin Museum of Art and Arthouse institutions as The Contemporary Austin. In the years since, he has transformed the museum’s downtown location, the Jones Center on Congress Avenue, into a exhibition venue by redesigning both indoor and outdoor spaces and bringing new work by leading contemporary artists to the heart of Austin.
Now, Grachos is focusing on developing a dynamic art park at Laguna Gloria.
In this talk, Grachos will discuss the museum’s ambitious Master Plan to maximize the value of existing space and to integrate contemporary art into the fabric of city life through the “Museum Without Walls” programs.
About our speaker
Louis Grachos was appointed in 2013 as the Ernest and Sarah Butler Executive Director and CEO of The Contemporary Austin, which operates two distinct sites –the Jones Center, a kunsthalle-like space in the downtown core, and Laguna Gloria, a historic site in residential Austin. Prior to his appointment, Grachos served as Director of SITE Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1996 to 2003 and Executive Director of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York from 2003 to 2012.
Grachos earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Toronto and a Certificate for Museum Studies from the Museum Studies Graduate Program, John F. Kennedy University, San Francisco. He began his museum career with curatorial internships at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of Ameri can Art, New York. He held curatorial and administrative positions at the Americas Society Visual Arts Program, New York; the Queens Museum of Art; the Center for the Fine Arts, Miami; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; and SITE Santa Fe.
Agenda:
6:50am - Coffee & Networking
7:10am - Breakfast Buffet
7:25am - Introductions & Announcements
7:50am - Speaker Introduction
8:20am - Q&A
8:30am - Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Directions and Parking to UT Club
Breakfast Fees & Policy
