Affordable art exhibitions around Austin to visit this fall

Julia Mahavier

From street art and vendors to galleries and museums, the creative scene exists on nearly every Austin street corner. Local art exhibitions offer a fun and fairly inexpensive indoor experience where visitors can expand horizons, learn about culture and explore community art. The Daily Texan compiled a list of local galleries near campus to explore. 

Daniel Johnston: I Live My Broken Dreams

700 Congress Ave.


$5 for students

Located in The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center, artist and musician, Daniel Johnston, known for his iconic 1993 “Hi, How Are You?” mural on Guadalupe Street, makes his museum debut. Combined with his personal drawings and paintings, the exhibition presents home-recorded movies and rehearsal footage. This installation also serves as a collaborative experience, welcoming other public programs and performances into the exhibition space. “I Live My Broken Dreams” will run until March 20, 2022. 

Sedrick Huckaby 

200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 

Free to UT students with ID

Located at the Blanton Museum of Art, UT students can tour this poignant exhibition for free. “Sedrick Huckaby,” a self-titled exhibit, displays artwork by Sedrick Huckaby, a Texas-based artist from Fort Worth. Huckaby’s exhibition explores psychology, community and the human condition through powerful portraits of those in his personal life. Texture, saturated colors and dimensionality shine through Huckaby’s oil paintings. “Sedrick Huckaby” closes Dec. 5. 

Nuestra Comunidad/Our Community – Memory and Remembrance Ofrenda

419 Congress Ave. 

Free on Sundays, $4 for students on other days

Hosted by the Mexic-Arte Museum, this exhibition commemorates the 38th anniversary of the museum’s annual Dia de los Muertos celebration. Experience the cultural tribute to spirits who return to their families and friends on the Nov. 1 holiday. Mexic-Arte Museum invites guests to bring a photo of a loved one and place it with the ofrendas, memorias, and other photos and offerings within the exhibition. The installation opened Sept. 17 and closes Nov. 22. 

The Black Index 

Jester Center, 201 E. 21st St.

Free to the public

This traveling exhibition features multiple artists and displays drawings, performances, sculptures and digital technology to showcase Black self-representation against colonial narratives. Unconventional depictions force audiences to reevaluate their prior expectations of Black figures. Taking place at the Christian-Green Gallery, the exhibition aims to make the audience question the modern societal reliance on photography, something the artists depict as a privileged source of documentation with lack of objectivity. This exhibition will come to a close Dec. 12.

small acts

2213 E. Cesar Chavez St. 

Free for walk-ins on Saturdays and Sundays 12-6 p.m.

This exhibition hosted by grayDUCK Gallery presents four Austin-based artists’ work through mixed media — collage, drawing, sculpture, photography and video. The exhibition’s basis stems from the idea that a small act can change one’s perception, the future and society. The exhibition, called “small acts,” conveys everyday life through everyday objects — such as Oreos and synthetic hair — to introduce new ways of thinking. This crowd-provoking exhibition opened Oct. 16 and ends Nov. 21.