Abilene, TX, is for Art Lovers
Cultural treasures abound here.
For a city of its size, Abilene, Texas, has an outsized art presence. It’s bursting with big-city amenities, like museums and galleries, performing arts organizations like Broadway, a ballet, and a philharmonic orchestra, not to mention public art installations and coworking spaces for artists at the Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA). Plus, its designated Cultural District downtown ensures residents and visitors are never short on creative pursuits.
The Arts: An Abilene Absolute
Rebecca Bridges is the executive director of the CCA in downtown Abilene, and she always has her finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the arts scene, like the ArtWalk that takes place every second Thursday of the month.
“We’re an organization that supports primarily local artists through exhibitions and community outreach, plus a monthly ArtWalk event that we’ve been doing for 30 years,” she says. “The purpose of ArtWalk is to promote everything going on downtown. Many of the galleries are open, and there’s usually live music, and the bars and restaurants participate, too.”
Bridges says the CCA has over 90 local, contemporary artists that are part of its membership — from students to nonagenarians — creating everything from sculptures to grand installations and paintings either as a group or solo.
“The exhibits change every six to eight weeks, so there’s always something new and fresh to see,” Bridges says.
The CCA also offers a wide array of classes for those looking to brush up on their skills or learn something new, as well as 10 rentable artist studios on the building’s upper level.
As for the museum and gallery community, Bridges says most can be found within a few steps of each other in Abilene’s Cultural District.
“Many of us at least have offices here,” she says, noting that The Grace Museum, the 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum, the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature and Frontier Texas! (a history museum) are all within a few blocks of each other. Also within reach are the many performing arts offerings in Abilene, like the Abilene Philharmonic, which performs at the Convention Center.
“We have musical groups and Broadway touring shows,” Bridges says. “We also have a pretty active public art exhibition program, like our Storybook sculptures, which are based on illustrators’ artwork. The illustrators work with sculpture artists to bring 2D artwork to life throughout downtown.”
She also notes the contemporary public art collection, which lives along the middle of the SoDA District that rotates every two years and adds to the city’s beautification and intrigue.
The diversity of artists in terms of experience is refreshing, too. Bridges says many Abilene residents have day jobs and then pursue their art on the side — and the city is extremely supportive of them.
“Our arts community is really growing,” she says. “All of our museums and venues do different things so we can bring a diverse offering. You get the gamut of all types of artwork and can see many different genres. I think the museums and galleries do a great job of supporting each other and creating a comprehensive arts scene.”
A Grateful Arts Community
Bridges credits Abilene’s accessibility for a lot of its arts success, given that so many museums, galleries and public art installations are within walking distance.
“Abilene is very easy to get around, downtown is very walkable and the green space and parks in the Cultural District make for a nice place to spend a day,” she says. “With all of the development in our Cultural District, almost everything has an arts component. It’s a value of our city.”
Lynn Barnett, vice president of the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, agrees that the walkability plays a role in arts access in Abilene.
“Our Cultural District is all within three to six blocks, which makes it easy to do our ArtWalks or festival activity downtown,” she says. “We’re currently in the process of lighting sculptures with colorful, kinetic rotating lights to create a beautiful entrance to the city. It’ll be a wonderful visual entryway and emphasize the value that we place on art.”
The Cultural Affairs Council offers grants and various programs, from festivals to art series. Plus, it keeps a monthly calendar full of special events and a bimonthly magazine that highlights lots of Abilene art content.
Speaking of events, residents and visitors can find live music happening in Abilene several nights a week. For example, between April and October each year is the Open Road outdoor concert series. Held at The Grace Museum, concert proceeds benefit the Community Foundation of Abilene and Future Fund. Oh, and the best way to stay up to date on the city’s live music scene? Follow Abilene Center Stage on social media.
The city’s various artistic attractions help keep tourists and locals alike interested in what’s going on in the Abilene arts community.
We’re blessed with The Grace Museum, the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature and the Center for Contemporary Arts,” says Barnett. “We get a lot of performances in the Paramount Theatre, and the Convention Center is the site for the Abilene Philharmonic and a lot of Broadway shows.”
She says the city is very fortunate to have had beautiful, historic buildings repurposed over the past several decades to become arts institutions, while honoring their original construction roots.
Barnett also mentions Abilene’s feature on ABC News back in the ’90s, showcasing it as a city that uses the arts to drive economic innovation. Needless to say, that hasn’t changed. In particular, the fact that the city is the Storybook Capital of America brings a lot of family tourism.
“We have the largest collection of storybook sculptures,” says Barnett. “There are 75 benches in town that have a quote that’s somehow related to values, whether that’s honesty, perseverance, kindness or something else. Every town says they’re family friendly, but we like to say we’ve put our money where our mouth is regarding the storybook aspects of the community.”
Abilene is home to McMurry University, Hardin-Simmons University and Abilene Christian University, all of which have talented theater and visual arts programs.
“The universities contribute a lot to the whole arts offerings of our community,” Barnett says. “You couldn’t go to every art attraction available even if you wanted to; there’s just not enough time.”
Moreover, Barnett says she feels the artist and art-lover community within Abilene is still getting bigger.
“The venues with artist studios, and the population of artists coming here for that, that is definitely growing,” she says. “The 20- and 30-somethings are finding the community very supportive.”
This article was sponsored by the Abilene Regional Growth Alliance, a division of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce. The Abilene Chamber is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian organization that advocates for pro-business policies that create jobs and grow our economy.