Throughout the year, South Congress glows with flashing neon lights and bright public art installations. This October, Texas School for the Deaf and Design Austin contributed to the scene.
On Oct. 4, during TSD’s Homecoming celebration, the school debuted a new sculpture, “ATX Voices,” where hands spell out “TSD” in ASL. The installation bridges creativity with inclusion, raising awareness for Deaf and disabled communities in Austin through one of the city’s biggest passions — public art.
“We hope that everyone who visits the installation will take away something more than what they came for or expected,” TSD superintendent Peter Bailey said. “What most people may not know is that our students come from all over the state to learn, grow and belong right here. … We hope visitors will learn a bit more about us and share that Texas pride, and hopefully better understand and appreciate the value of what TSD brings to Texas.”
To expand pride and visibility beyond campus, TSD partnered with local nonprofit Design Austin to create a piece that would live in one of the city’s most recognizable areas — South Congress.
“South Congress has this amazing visual history with all the neon signs and amazing artwork there. (TSD) also has this amazing history and really vibrant student life,” said Jake Rosenberg, CEO of American Lore Theatre and a representative of Design Austin. “But it seemed in the moment … those two stories weren’t in conversation with each other.”
That conversation began when Design Austin invited TSD students to provide input for every stage of the project. From selecting locations and sketching designs, to choosing what the handshapes would spell out, students became active collaborators rather than subjects.
“A big part of this was the concept of oral histories — getting the speech of the students, their experiences, typing that up and putting that on the hands,” Rosenberg said. “However, with American Sign Language, it’s not literally an oral history. It is something like a manual history. … It’s making a point that there is a history here, that sign language is a language that is permanent and deeply connected to the heritage of Austin.”
For Design Austin, the collaboration became a turning point, proving how design can build connections across communities.
Tanya Zal, programming and developing coordinator at Design Austin, said the organization is still finding its place in the community.
“This project has really shown us our impact and what we can do,” Zal said. “We are very interested in connecting designers of all sorts of disciplines, and this has allowed us to bring in people from all different spaces.”
As the hands now stand along South Congress, the team hopes their message continues to resonate long after Homecoming weekend.
“Austin thrives on creativity and inclusivity, and this project fits right into that part of the city’s identity,” Bailey said. “Long-term, these efforts help normalize inclusion. We want people to understand and see Deaf culture not as separate, but as an integral part of Austin’s story.”
