Art on the Way

Art on the Way:
A Vision for Public Art in Austin
Art On The Way (AOTW) was created by sculptor Steve Dubov as an opportunity for artists to get involved in the community through the creation of public-scale works, and for community neighborhoods to get involved in the selection and maintenance of contemporary art pieces. These pieces will not only beautify unused and undeveloped land sites throughout Austin, but also become a source of pride for neighborhoods, helping define their collective community identity.

Community is paramount for AOTW. Young and old alike, regardless of economic status, can take part in the walk-through, bike-through, hike-through, drive-through museum of AOTW. People who might otherwise never enter a gallery will be confronted with contemporary art and the questions of culture inherent in visual art.

We’re excited about the dialogue this will create in the Capitol of Texas. Conversations about the transformative, temporal, valuable—conversations about Art! These are conversations taken out of the traditional gallery/museum context and made relevant to every member of the community. AOTW believes that art enriches lives, and that this enrichment should be available to everyone. Art should be everywhere. On your way to school, on your way to work, on your way home—Art On The Way.

Our mission is to enhance Austin’s visual and artistic landscape, giving its sculptors the recognition they deserve – all in a manner thoroughly in keeping with the city’s enthusiasm for creativity, community and ecology.

Our intention is to create a series of site-specific outdoor sculptures that can be freely accessed at various points within the city radius: a drive-by museum, if you will. Or bike-by. Or walk-by, depending on the site.

For site is critical to us. To begin with, we plan to place our sculptures on the city’s odd lots: forlorn bits of public and private land that have no commercial or developmental value and yet are highly visible. As Dubov says, “We pass by these places all the time. They’re too small to put a building on or are unusable for some other reason. And yet they’re undeniably part of the landscape. We see them every day, so why not give ourselves something inspiring to look at?

In addition, each sculpture will be designed for its site, enhancing the site’s geography, topography and overall feeling in someway, shape, or form. This means the sculptor must have a connection and sensitivity to the location – a quality that will be assessed by those who live or work nearby. They will have the opportunity to approve the final work, which is the best way we know of getting buy-in and encouraging participation from the community itself.

Sculptures may be temporary installations on public land or permanent installations on private land. Or vice versa. They can stand alone or dovetail with outdoor sculpture projects created by other Austin institutions.

Eventually, they will become unified into a museum-like sculpture “drive-in” experience that will greatly enhance the Capitol City’s reputation as an art Mecca. Art lovers, residents, and tourists alike will be able to visit the contemporary works whenever they like, and in so doing, increase their knowledge and appreciation for art and Austin’s neighborhoods, many of which they might not have visited otherwise.
“Public art is often relegated to a plaza or out-of-the-way park,” Dubov says. “Yet there are hundreds of fantastic sites across the city that are considered unusable by accident of their size or location.

“I want artists to use these forgotten bits of land as inspiration and create pieces that will become part of the site, part of the neighborhood. I know we’ll see some delightful, thought-provoking, and even controversial ideas crop up.

“We forget what an outcry there was when the Eiffel Tower was unveiled, yet now it’s the symbol of Paris. My hope is that our weird, creative city will love these installations as much as it does the ‘Hi How Are You’ graffiti on the Drag or the Moon Towers.”