• About

    About

    • Jones Center on Congress Avenue
    • Laguna Gloria
    • Shop at The Contemporary
    • Mission
    • History
    • Board of Trustees
    • Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize
    • Contact

    Showcasing two renowned and architecturally unique locations, The Contemporary Austin brings multidisciplinary exhibitions, engaging programs, and enticing special events to the city's visual arts landscape.

  • Exhibitions

    Exhibitions

    • Current
      • Deborah Roberts: I'm
      • Torbjørn Rødland: Bible Eye
      • Deborah Roberts, Little man, little man
      • Jim Hodges: With Liberty and Justice for All (A Work in Progress)
      • Museum Without Walls at Pease Park
    • Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria
    • Upcoming
      • Crit Group Reunion
      • Daniel Johnston: I Live My Broken Dreams
    • Past
  • Events

    Events

    • Planning a visit? Click or tap the calendar to view the day's scheduled events.

      Planning your own event? Click here for information and current promotions.
    • View Upcoming Events

    • Art Dinner
  • Visit

    Visit

    • Hours
    • Admission & Ticket Reservations
    • Directions and Parking
    • Visitor Guidelines & Safety Measures
    • The Contemporary from Home: Digital Resources

    The Contemporary Austin is now open in a limited capacity. Click here to learn more.

  • Explore

    Explore

    • For Artists
    • For Schools
    • For Teachers
    • Community Outreach
    • Docents
    • For Families
      • Second Saturdays
      • Action Packs
      • Drop-In Tours
      • Art School
      • Austin Museum Day
    • For Teens

    The Contemporary Austin offers diverse, engaging ways to explore contemporary art and culture, including innovative opportunities and experiences for families, young people, artists, and educators.

  • Join/Support

    Join/Support

    • Membership
    • Donate
    • Give to the Education Fund
    • Planned Giving
    • Get Involved
      • Volunteers
      • Teen Volunteers
      • Docents
      • Internships
      • Careers
  • Art School

    Art School

    The acclaimed Art School at Laguna Gloria offers classes for ages four through adult in painting, drawing, ceramics, printmaking, photography, sculpture, digital media, and more. Summer 2021 registration now open!

    • About
    • Registration
    • Faculty
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Class Listings
    Browse available courses
  • Site Rentals

For Schools

  • For Artists
  • For Teachers
  • The Contemporary Austin - Art School
  • For Families
  • For Schools
  • For Teens
  • Community Outreach
  • Docents
  • For Schools

    The Contemporary Austin’s school programs support our mission to educate and inspire a diverse audience about the visual arts. In response to Austin’s substantive growth in the past twenty years, the museum continues to address the growing needs of Austin’s students, teachers, and schools through a variety of initiatives. Our education department meets regularly with AISD to ensure that its programs are consistent with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for visual art.

    Take a Video Tour

    Visiting the museum with your classroom? Join in the fun as students from Austin's Lee Lewis Campbell Elementary Media and Performing Arts Institute share their best tips on how to look, explore, and learn. Prepare for your trip by seeing how "Art Is Awesome"!

    Watch the video

    Also, see how Austin's Blanton Elementary students get inspired by nature and create watercolors based on the art on view during their self-guided tour of Laguna Gloria:

    Watch the video

    Seeing Special Things

    The Contemporary Austin’s year-long, multiple-visit program, Seeing Special Things, is the museum’s longest-running educational initiative. Offered to public elementary schools in Austin, with a focus on Title 1 schools (schools with low-income enrollment of 75 percent or more), this program is designed to integrate visual art into the classroom and enhance student literacy, critical thinking, observation, and communication skills through museum visits, classroom discussions, artist workshops, and art making.

    Seeing Special Things introduces students to original works of contemporary art, a range of media and processes, and related vocabulary for the purpose of broadening students’ understanding of artistic concepts, increasing comprehension of visual vocabulary, developing art-making skills, and building student self-confidence and communication skills.

    Want your school to be a part of this multi-visit experience?

    LEARN MORE ABOUT SEEING SPECIAL THINGS
    APPLY NOW FOR 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR
    Contact Emily Cayton at ecayton@thecontemporaryaustin.org for more information.
     
    2020–2021 Participating Schools:

    Barbara Jordan Elementary
    Boone Elementary
    Galindo Elementary
    Graham Elementary
    Govalle Elementary
    Norman-Sims Elementary
    Pleasant Hill Elementary
     
    View photo gallery: Seeing Special Things 2019-2020

     

    The Contemporary Austin is the proud recipient of Impact Austin's 2017 Community Partner grant in the area of Culture! This transformative $80,600 grant was awarded in support of Seeing Special Things. Learn more here.
     

    School Tours

    The Contemporary Austin’s friendly and knowledgeable volunteer docents are available to lead age-appropriate, fun, and interactive tours of Laguna Gloria and the Jones Center on Congress Avenue. Tours may be booked for either location at any time during school hours, Tuesday through Friday. Contact us to learn more about building a tour experience for your group! For more information or to book a tour, please contact tours@thecontemporaryaustin.org.

    BOOK A TOUR

    Check out this virtual field trip to Laguna Gloria featuring works of art currently on view! Ms. Tipton from Casey Elementary School in Austin ISD shares her visit to the sculpture park and includes some open-ended questions to consider while exploring.

    Art Lab

    Art Lab is a hands-on art-making experience available to all tours at The Contemporary Austin. Tour groups are invited to experiment with media, techniques, and ideas in conjunction with the exploration of the works of art on view. Participants will make art to take home inspired by their visit to the museum. For more information or to book a tour, please contact tours@thecontemporaryaustin.org.

    Support Us

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    Connect with Us

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    Jones Center
    700 Congress Avenue
    Austin, Texas 78701
    512 453 5312
    Laguna Gloria
    3809 West 35th Street
    Austin, Texas 78703
    512 458 8191
    The Art School
    3809 West 35th Street
    Austin, Texas 78703
    512 323 6380
    © The Contemporary Austin Book an Event Internships Careers Press Room
    • About
      • Jones Center on Congress Avenue
      • Laguna Gloria
      • Shop at The Contemporary
      • Mission
      • History
      • Board of Trustees
      • Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize
      • Contact
    • Exhibitions
      • Current
      • Past
      • Upcoming
      • Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park
    • Events
      • Upcoming Events
      • Past
      • Special Events
      • Site Rentals
    • Visit
      • Hours
      • Past Events
      • Directions and Parking
      • Accommodations
      • Tours
    • Explore
      • For Artists
      • For Schools
      • For Teachers
      • Community Outreach
      • Docents
      • For Families
      • For Teens
    • Join/Support
      • Membership
      • Donate
      • Get Involved
      • Careers
      • 2021 Support
      • Corporate Support
    • Art School
      • About
      • Faculty
      • Registration
      • FAQ
    • Site Rentals