Filtering by: Upcoming
"Sobremesa": Fugaz
Apr
17
8:00 PM20:00
Upcoming, Front Page

"Sobremesa": Fugaz

  • Cisco’s Restaurant, Bakery & Bar (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS


Sobremesa by Co-Lab Projects is more than a meal—it's an artistic and cultural exchange benefiting Co-Lab Projects’ Spring and Summer programs in 2025.

Thursday, April 17th, 8–10pm
Cisco’s Restaurant, Bakery & Bar
1511 E. 6th St., Austin, TX

Tickets: $225 | Seating is Limited
[Reserve Your Seat Today!]

Can't attend but still want to support? Purchase a ticket for a friend or sponsor a creative community member. We deeply appreciate your generosity!

This event is made possible by our incredible partners and sponsors: LALO Tequila (Presenting Sponsor), Central Market, H-E-B, Cisco’s Restaurant, and Texas Coffee Traders.

What is Sobremesa? (so·bre·ME·sa) noun

  1. The cherished tradition of lingering at the table after a meal, engaging in conversation, savoring drinks, and deepening social bonds.

  2. A ritual of unhurried connection, where ideas flow freely and relationships are nourished beyond the last bite.


Experience Sobremesa: Fugaz
Join us at Cisco’s Restaurant, a beloved Austin institution recently honored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, for an evening of vibrant dialogue, innovative cuisine, and exceptional cocktails.

Featuring Chef Giuseppe Lacorazza
Michelin Bib Gourmand chef Giuseppe Lacorazza (Fugaz, Mexico City) will craft an extraordinary communal dining experience celebrating Cisco’s Tex-Mex heritage through locally sourced ingredients and seasonal flavors.

Exclusive LALO Tequila Pairings by Robert Björn Taylor
Acclaimed cocktail expert Robert Björn Taylor (Péché, Qui, Otoko, Emmer & Rye, Midnight Cowboy) complements Chef Lacorazza’s menu with sophisticated pairings featuring LALO Tequila—renowned for its commitment to cultural preservation, artistic innovation, and community engagement.

Bird Songs by Mark Menjîvar
Guests will be welcomed by a multichannel sound installation from San Antonio-based artist Mark Menjîvar as a preview of his upcoming exhibition A Space Where People Are Free to Move and Birds to Fly, curated by Leslie Moody Castro.

Live Performance by Porch Swing Orchestra
Founded by Barry Stone in 2018, Porch Swing Orchestra (PSO) has collaborated with dozens of musicians, artists, poets, writers, and activists to publish over 200 unique combinations of images and sounds. They will play a live set with a surprise guest to round the evening out.

LALO Tequila – Presenting Sponsor
Sobremesa: Fugaz is proudly presented by LALO Tequila, committed to fostering international artistic collaborations and strengthening cultural ties between Texas and Mexico. LALO Tequila is also the presenting sponsor for Co-Lab Projects' entire Spring 2025 season, supporting groundbreaking exhibitions and cultural initiatives.

H-E-B – Annual Sponsor
Generous supporter of Co-Lab Projects, H-E-B empowers our community-focused programs, nurturing the vibrant artistic culture of Austin.

Texas Coffee Traders – Craft & Community Partner
Joining forces to enrich the Sobremesa experience with artisanal coffee offerings, emphasizing sustainability, storytelling, and authentic connection.

Why Sobremesa Matters

  • Community Building – Deepening relationships within Austin’s cultural ecosystem through intimate gatherings.

  • Honoring Tradition – Reviving the rich tradition of sobremesa for contemporary communities, highlighting shared meals as catalysts for creativity.

  • Cultural & Artistic Exchange – Merging the worlds of food and art, Sobremesa fosters dialogue between chefs, artists, and creatives.


This event supports the future vision of Sobremesa—an ongoing initiative designed to amplify diverse voices, celebrate culinary arts as a creative medium, and forge lasting bonds in Austin’s cultural landscape.

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"The Unexpected Product of Labor (Two Hammers without a Sickle)" : Mauricio Alejo
Apr
19
to May 31
Upcoming

"The Unexpected Product of Labor (Two Hammers without a Sickle)" : Mauricio Alejo

The Unexpected Product of Labor (Two Hammers without a Sickle)
Mauricio Alejo
In collaboration with Leslie Moody Castro and Sean Gaulager

April 19th - May 31st, 2025
Members and VIP Preview: Saturday, April 19th, 6-7pm (Become a member!)
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 19th, 7-11pm (Please RSVP)
On view Saturdays 12-6pm after April 19th
5419 Glissman Road, Austin, TX 78702
Generously sponsored by LALO Tequila and H-E-B

The Unexpected Product of Labor (Two Hammers without a Sickle) is a metaphorical story about labor as an unstable equation between forces—wind and gravity—that produces movement within their own dialectic process of searching for equilibrium. Through this metaphorical story this piece becomes a line, a drawing, and a sculpture all at once. 

This exhibition is a proposition where existing systems operate both horizontally and interdependently.

Mauricio Alejo (b. 1969, Mexico City) uses primordial physical forces as raw materials to raise questions about our relationship with otherness and “reality” to expose the complex relationship of entities and systems that inform our worldview. 

Alejo’s work is part of several public and private collections such as Daros Latinamerica Collection, Zurich, Switzerland; Colección Fundación Arco, Madrid España; Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, DC; MUAC, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico and LAM Museum, Netherlands. He has exhibited at La Havana Biennial, the Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan de Puerto Rico, the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Mexico City, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain and the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts in SF. California. Alejo earned his Master of Arts from New York University in 2002. 

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"Music for a Cyborg Piano" a performance featuring Smokey Emery and Uxelite
Mar
15
7:00 PM19:00
Upcoming, Front Page

"Music for a Cyborg Piano" a performance featuring Smokey Emery and Uxelite

"Music for a Cyborg Piano"
A performance featuring Smokey Emery and Uxelite

Saturday, March 15th, Doors at 7pm
Performances start at sunset (7:30) and will consist of two solo performances each around 30 minutes long and then a collaborative set for the final 30 minutes

Get sliding scale tickets or become a member to attend the performances!


Utilizing Cisneros’ cyborgian prepared piano, Co-Lab Projects presents a site-specific set of performances by Smokey Emery (Daniel Hipolito) and Uxelite (Juan Cisneros) activating the sound sculptures of “Tethered Ashes” as their sound system. 

Since seventeen, Daniel Hipólito has been capturing, fragmenting, and reconfiguring his life experiences through tape manipulation as Smokey Emery. Equipped with recording devices, Hipólito has made a career out of documenting and transforming life’s everyday chapters into meaningful vignettes of self-reflective audio-journalism. smokeyemery.bandcamp.com www.instagram.com/smokeyemery

Juan Cisneros is a multidisciplinary artist/musician born, living, and working in Austin Texas. His work addresses our relationship to technology, media, and how culture and memory are shaped through music, sound, and the mediated image. Juan received his BFA from the University of Texas in 2006 with a focus on video and performance and is a current MFA candidate in Music/Sound at Bard College. Juan contributed to the artist collective the Totally Wreck Production Institute between 2004-2012 producing EIHITV, a public access television show, and a string of performances and group shows utilizing humor and speculative fiction to grapple with internet culture and corporeality. Juan has exhibited and performed locally with OK Mountain, MASS Gallery, ATM, The Visual Art Center at the University of Texas, Las Cruxes, NMASS Festival, Hyperreal Film Club, and The Contemporary Austin. International shows and collaborations include working with Future Gallery, Space 1026, and Interstate Projects. https://ju4n.bandcamp.com/

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Co-Lab Projects Presents: Cowboy XMAS Part Deux
Dec
14
7:00 PM19:00
Upcoming

Co-Lab Projects Presents: Cowboy XMAS Part Deux

Co-Lab Projects Presents:
Cowboy XMAS Part Deux

FUNdraiser and Membership Drive: Saturday, December 14th, 7-11pm
Members get in free, sliding scale tickets available for non-members starting at $10

On December 14th we are ringing in the holidays with an anti-soiree, part two continuing the thread from last year's holiday party, a Cowboy Christmas-themed casual fundraiser and membership drive benefitting our spring programs.

Featuring our group exhibition “Collective Tales in a Concrete Garden”, music by Sentimental Family Band and MADISONS, stage production by Mapache Entertainment, visuals by hyperreal film club, mechanical bull rides, Christmas Carol Karaoke with our KJ and MC Rebecca Marino, food by Shhmaltz, a charity cheer bar sponsored by Austin Beerworks, LALO Tequila, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Topo Chico, and more TBA!

Similar to our past FUNdraisers, all funds raised — whether from new memberships, tickets to the event, bar donations, or food sales — will be matched by one of our generous donors, community business partners, or event sponsors! It’s all the fun of a holiday party while doubling your donations and impact, which means the more you give the more we are able to support artists in our community and continue delivering the programming y’all know and love. Matching funds for Cowboy XMAS are provided by Elisa and Joel Sumner, Daryl Kunik, Sheehy Fine Art Services, Carolina and Sergio Alcocer, Kingsburry Museum Crating, JD DiFabbio, and anonymous donors. 

Over the past 16 years, Co-Lab has produced 400+ exhibitions and performances showcasing hundreds of local, national, and international artists. In addition to its primary programming, Co-Lab is an established and revered gathering space for community building through its free educational programs, events, collaborations, and participation in regional and international fairs and festivals.

We look forward to continuing this work with your support! Help us help artists by coming out to the event on December 14th! To get involved, donate, or contribute to this holiday fundraiser please write us at hello@co-labprojects.org!

Cheers,
The Co-Lab Team


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“Epiphany” Artist Talk moderated by Justine Kurland
Oct
19
7:00 PM19:00
Front Page, Upcoming

“Epiphany” Artist Talk moderated by Justine Kurland

Photo curtesy of Rosemary Haynes

“Epiphany” Artist Talk 
Featuring Justine Kurland in conversation with Michelle Marchesseault, Diana Welch, Kate Csillagi, and curator Alyssa Taylor Wendt

Saturday, October 19th, 7pm, (please RSVP)
Co-Lab Projects, 5419 Glissman Rd, Austin, TX 78702

Join us at the Culvert Gallery for another look at “Epiphany” and a conversation moderated by esteemed artist Justine Kurland. In this talk, Justine hopes to open a discussion about themes and processes in each artist's work and in relation to one another. Justine echos the question underlying the exhibition “Epiphany” and the mission of Co-Lab Projects- How do we support artists engaged in radical experimentation and play?

Justine Kurland is an artist known for her utopian photographs of American landscapes and the fringe communities, both real and imagined, that inhabit them. Her early work comprises photographs, taken during many cross-country road trips, that counter the masculinist mythology of the American landscape, offering a radical female imaginary in its place. Her recent series of collages, SCUMB Manifesto, continues to make space for women by transforming books by canonized male photographers through destruction and reparation. Kurland’s work has been exhibited at museums and galleries in the United States and abroad. www.justinekurland.com

Diana Welch is a multidisciplinary artist based in Austin, TX, whose body of work spans sculpture, music, and writing. A self-taught ceramicist, she has exhibited in the US and Europe as one-half of the collaborative Mother of God. Her vessels reference classical ancient clay forms imbued with unexpected flare and subversion through interaction, collaboration, and functionality. As a musician, she has released several recordings, both solo and as a member of the band Stormshelter. A reporter, editor, and author, her extensive writing has been reviewed in Vanity Fair and elsewhere.

Kate Csillagi is an interdisciplinary artist hailing from Austin, TX. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Evergreen State College where she studied fiber art, printmaking,  and bookmaking. Her work has evolved over the years to include drawing, mural work, fabric tapestry, and installation. She was also a founding member of ICOSA, an artist-run collective and gallery in East Austin. Csillagi’s work is disruptive and whimsical, constructing unexpected narratives that star her anthropomorphic characters within supernatural scenes. Her work dismantles reality through watery dreamscapes and colorful illustrations, providing refuge from the monotony of modernity. 

Michelle Marchesseault splits time between Austin, TX, where she paints, and New York City, where she designs art and interiors for restaurants, television, movies, and the stage. She attended Herron School of Art in Indianapolis for painting and has been creating visuals and environments for over 20 years. The majority of Marchessault’s work fluctuates between studies of color and design that she called “twist” paintings and lush mannerist landscapes where nature is simultaneously gushing with beauty and brutality.

Mimi Bowman was born in Texas in 1989. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022 with a degree in archaeology and Middle Eastern studies. Bowman is currently abroad pursuing an MA in archaeology at the University College of London, hoping to work in Karez rehabilitation in northern Iraq. In 2023, she curated Oshay Green and Isabel Legate’s dual exhibition Holometabolism at Martha’s Contemporary, and her collaborative video work with Jonny Negron was included in Electricity · Shadow at Château Shatto.

Alyssa Taylor Wendt is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and curator working in Detroit and Austin, Texas. Her recent projects address mysticism, the architecture of memory, and the decodified strata of history using video, ceramics, sculpture, painting, and installation. Earning her MFA from Bard, she has shown and performed internationally since 2004. She recently completed a second master’s degree in museum studies from Harvard and plans to open a small non-profit museum of cultural artifacts in 2026.

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SAVE THE DATE!!! Co-Lab’s Super Sweet 16
Jul
13
to Jul 14
Upcoming

SAVE THE DATE!!! Co-Lab’s Super Sweet 16

Co-Lab’s Super Sweet 16
A summer membership drive and FUNdraiser

Sponsored by Paul and Ilene Barr, Sheehy Fine Art Services, Sergio and Carolina Alcocer, JD DiFabbio, Nomad Sound, Misc Rentals, Saucehaus, Clay Pigeon, Austin Beerworks, LALO Tequila, and Richard’s Rainwater

Saturday, July 13th, 8pm-midnight
Members get in free, sliding scale tickets available for non-members starting at $10



On July 13th we are celebrating Co-Lab’s Sweet 16th by throwing ourselves a fierce birthday party in the form of a membership drive and fundraiser benefiting our fall programming. Featuring our summer group exhibition “Inter Being”, live music by Pinkstar and Tropicana Joe, a ‘Super Sweet 16’ themed Karaoke stage, water balloon fights, tiaras, food by Clay Pigeon, and a spoiled rotten bar sponsored by Austin Beerworks, LALO Tequilla, and Richard's Rainwater.

Similar to our past fundraisers, all funds raised — whether from new memberships, tickets to the event, bar donations, or food sales — will be matched by one of our generous donors, community business partners, or event sponsors! It’s all the fun of a birthday party while doubling your donations and impact, which means the more you give the more we are able to support artists in our community and continue delivering the programming y’all know and love.

Over the past 16 years, Co-Lab has produced over 400 exhibitions and performances showcasing hundreds of local, national, and international artists. In addition to its primary programming, Co-Lab is an established and revered gathering space for community building through its free programs, events, collaborations, and participation in regional and international fairs and festivals.

We look forward to continuing this work with your support! Help us help artists by coming out to the event on July 13th! To get involved, donate, or contribute to this summer fundraiser please write us at hello@co-labprojects.org!

Cheers,
The Co-Lab Team



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Summer Open Call
Apr
25
to May 26
Front Page, Current, Upcoming

Summer Open Call

  • Google Calendar ICS

I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER II
An open call for new artists

Open call dates: April 25th - May 25th, 2024
Application review and notification: End of May
Exhibition dates: June 15th - July 20th, 2024

Co-Lab Projects invites all Austin area artists who have NOT physically exhibited with Co-Lab in the past to apply for this open call exhibition. The application is open to individual artists, curators, collectives, or other groups who fit this description.

Submitted/proposed works may be in any medium including but not limited to: installation, video/film, performance, 2D and 3D static works, social practice, etc. Please consider the installation logistics and limitations of the culvert gallery, for example the space is not temperature or humidity controlled which means it is not necessarily an ideal environment for works on paper or photography. If you have specific concerns we’re happy to answer any questions before you submit.

Artworks do not have to be from any specific time frame. The open call title is tongue in cheek, however we do encourage applying with semi-recent work and/or new proposed work.

Works will be reviewed and selected by the Board of Directors and the format of the exhibition will be determined by these selections. For example we may decide to pair two artists who submitted separately, or build a multiple artist exhibition from several applicants, or a large group exhibition may take shape. The format will depend largely on what we receive from applicants.

Please following the link below to apply. What are you waiting for huh?!

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Co-Lab Book Club
Oct
13
to Nov 13
Current, Front Page, Upcoming

Co-Lab Book Club

  • Google Calendar ICS

Co-Lab Book Club
Led by Leslie Moody Castro in conjunction with Ana Segovia’s exhibition Boy’s Ranch

October 13th — November 13th, 2023
This and all future Book Club editions are FREE for Members

Book Club members will discuss via Discord and will be invited to an in-person conversation with Leslie Moody Castro and Ana Segovia on November 13th.

We will be reading both of the following books, Cartucho is very short and will not take long to finish.


- Book 1 -

Cartucho by Nellie Campobello
55 pages
Buy the book here

Cartucho: Tales of the Struggle in Northern Mexico (Cartucho: Relatos de la lucha en el Norte de México) is a semi-autobiographical short novel, or novella set in the Mexican Revolution and originally published in 1931. It consists of a series of vignettes that draw on Campobello's memories of her childhood and adolescence (and the stories her mother told her) in Northern Mexico during the war. Though long overlooked, it is now celebrated, among other reasons because it is, as Mexican critic Elena Poniatowska points out, "the only real vision of the Mexican revolution written by a woman."

About the Author:
Nellie (or Nelly) Francisca Ernestina Campobello Luna (November 7, 1900 – July 9, 1986) was a Mexican writer, notable for having written one of the few chronicles of the Mexican Revolution from a woman's perspective: Cartucho, which chronicles her experience as a young girl in Northern Mexico at the height of the struggle between forces loyal to Pancho Villa and those who followed Venustiano Carranza. She moved to Mexico City in 1923, where she spent the rest of her life and associated with many of the most famous Mexican intellectuals and artists of the epoch. Like her half-sister Gloria, a well-known ballet dancer, she was also known as a dancer and choreographer. She was the director of the Mexican National School of Dance.


- Book 2 -

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
302 pages
Buy the book here

All the Pretty Horses is a novel by American author Cormac McCarthy published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1992. It was a bestseller, winning both the U.S. National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. It is the first of McCarthy's "Border Trilogy".

About the Author:
Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr.; July 20, 1933 – June 13, 2023) was an American writer who authored twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays, and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He was known for his graphic depictions of violence and his unique writing style, recognizable by a sparse use of punctuation and attribution. McCarthy is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novelists. McCarthy was born in Providence, Rhode Island, although he was raised primarily in Tennessee. In 1951, he enrolled in the University of Tennessee, but dropped out to join the U.S. Air Force. His debut novel, The Orchard Keeper, was published in 1965. Awarded literary grants, McCarthy was able to travel to southern Europe, where he wrote his second novel, Outer Dark (1968). Suttree (1979), like his other early novels, received generally positive reviews, but was not a commercial success. A MacArthur Fellowship enabled him to travel to the American Southwest, where he researched and wrote his fifth novel, Blood Meridian (1985). Although it initially garnered a lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it has since been regarded as his magnum opus, with some labeling it the Great American Novel.

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[OPEN CALL] I (WANT TO) KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER
Jun
20
to Jul 31
Upcoming

[OPEN CALL] I (WANT TO) KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

  • Google Calendar ICS

I (WANT TO) KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER
An open call for new artists

Open call dates: June 20th - July 31st, 2023
Application review: first week of August
Notification: second week of August
Exhibition dates: September 9th - 23rd, 2023

Co-Lab Projects invites all Austin area artists who have not physically exhibited with us in the past to apply for this open call exhibition. The application is open to individual artists, curators, collectives, or other groups who fit this description.

Submitted/proposed works may be in any medium including but not limited to: installation, video/film, performance, 2D and 3D static works, social practice, etc. Please consider the installation logistics and limitations of the culvert gallery, for example the space is not temperature or humidity controlled which means it is not necessarily an ideal environment for works on paper or photography. If you have specific concerns we’re happy to answer any questions before you submit.

Artworks do not have to be from any specific time frame. The open call title is tongue in cheek, however we do encourage applying with semi-recent work and/or new proposed work.

Works will be reviewed and selected by the Board of Directors and the format of the exhibition will be determined by these selections. For example we may decide to pair two artists who submitted separately, or build a multiple artist exhibition from several applicants, or a large group exhibition may take shape. The format will depend largely on what we receive from applicants.

View the application here and submit your ideas! What are you waiting for huh?!

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