This week, KLRU Collective presents the Masked: Changing Identities exhibition. Mexic-Arte Museum brings together over 200 traditional masks from various eras & regions in Mexico. The collection illustrates a people’s history that blends real life & myth & emphasizes the continued importance of masks in Mexican culture. While some consider them works of arts & some see them as part of traditional dance costumes, others revere them as religious symbols. However interpreted, these masks serve as inspiration for contemporary art & are a unique feature of Mexican tradition.

Masked: Changing Identities is on exhibit at Mexic-Arte Museum from January 25 – May 25, 2013. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year, Collective will be available in both English and Spanish during the day and provide links to traditional dances.

This week, KLRU Collective explores the art of graffiti.

Spray-can art started as an underground, street art movement. Today, graffiti is as relevant as any other art form, and Emerge ATX brings these artists into the gallery. With live graffiti painting and performances from DJs, MCs & B-boys, this annual art show uncovers the culture and process behind Austin’s street art.

Art Seen Alliance is a group of artists that come together to make art and produce events

This week, KLRU Collective focuses on photography in this week’s piece.

Turning your love of photography into more than a hobby is not an easy task. With the rise in popularity of apps like Instagram, everyone has the ability to be a photographer, but it takes more than just having the right equipment. We’ve got some tips from Austin professionals at the Texas Photo Roundup on how to develop your photography.

This week, KLRU Collective presents an artistic spiritual meditation. Compassion and wisdom are spread as a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery constructed a sand mandala at the Blanton Museum of Art.

The Sand Mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand.  Each step in its creation and destruction are accompanied by rituals, ceremonies and chanting symbolizing the Buddhist philosophy in the transitory nature of material life. During January 9-13, 2013, the monks constructed a sand mandala in the Blanton’s Rapoport Atrium. The monks believe it takes divine understanding to make art which is really powerful.

The piece that will air tonight is a profile of a public art project at the University of Texas called Landmarks. KLRU staff was already well acquainted with one of these installations because it’s located outside of our building. Even though we see Peter Reginato’s Kingfish everyday we didn’t know it is part of twenty-eight modern and contemporary sculptures on long-term loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Now we look forward to visiting all the sculptures and checking out the new acquisitions the program is making.

The most memorable shoot was for a piece that will air the last night of the festival. We profiled Forklift Danceworks “The Trash Project” on the last night of their performance which happened to be on one of the hottest days of the year. To make it even tougher the performance was located at the old airport…meaning limited shade and endless tarmac. But these imperfect weather conditions didn’t keep thousands of Austinites from coming to enjoy an amazing tribute to our city’s Solid Waste Services department. The experience and dance was definitely a highlight for me on this project.

The pieces airing during the festival have been produced by myself and Eve Tarlo with help from lots of KLRU staff. We’ve enjoyed sharing our viewpoint on Austin’s art scene this past year and we look forward to another great year of KLRU Collective.

-Sara Robertson

Sara Robertson is the Director of On-Air Marketing at KLRU. She has worked in television her whole career and feels lucky to work for Austin’s PBS station. In her spare time she enjoys coaching a women only swim program, reading and being crafty.

From the beloved classics to the edgy-cool things that are beyond description, KLRU Collective is all about the arts. Our goal is to present some of the unique, interesting and creative things taking place in Austin. We will never be able to showcase all of them as this is one of the most creativity rich communities in the world. But we will give you a glimpse – a quick peek – at what is being envisioned here. Visit the site at klru.org/collective

From April 1 to May 1, 16 pianos will hit the streets of Austin as part of Art Week Austin hosted by Art Alliance Austin. Located throughout downtown in public parks, streets and squares, the pianos are for any member of the public to play. The pianos are also for the public to decorate and personalize.
Get a map to all the piano locations here.

To check out all the KLRU Collective videos please visit the website klru.org/collective/.

From the beloved classics to the edgy-cool things that are beyond description, KLRU Collective is all about the arts.