A new art space is opening in one of the city’s most unassuming spots — an old warehouse in East Austin. On the outside, the building appears as a black storage facility, sleek and industrial, but behind the steel exterior lies contemporary art by a group of international artists.
Opening Saturday, the Ostillo Art Foundation includes a gallery, library and performance space. Founding director Sacha Zerbib said he partnered with local developer René Campos to make the space open and accessible for the foundation’s Rosewood neighbors.
“I always conceived a museum space to be a place where you take care of people, you take care of their brain, you take care of their spirit,” Zerbib said. “You take care of what they feel, what they see and what they can get inspired from. There’s a lot of work to do, but we can do it.”
The foundation’s first exhibition, Masquerade, focuses on the importance of masks throughout history. Zerbib said the art featured reveals the mask’s double meaning of both concealing and expressing oneself.
“The show opens with a painting called Masquerade by Glenn Ligon,” said Zerbib, who curated the exhibit. “I don’t have any credit for the exhibit’s title. I stole it from this artwork. It’s part of a series Ligon made that all come from James Baldwin’s essay ‘Stranger in the Village.'”
Michael Minasi
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KUT News
Ostillo Art Foundation is opening Saturday in the Rosewood neighborhood. In addition to being an art gallery, it will be the home of the Eastside Kings Festival.
Baldwin’s essay reflects on his experience as an African American man in a remote Swiss village, where he encountered residents who had never seen a Black person. Zerbib said the inspired artwork starts the exhibit as a nod to Rosewood’s important history as a hub of Black culture due to segregation.
The foundation will also be the new permanent home of the Eastside Kings Festival, a series of concerts in late October that celebrate African American blues, jazz and gospel music.
The exhibit features artists of eight different nationalities, including Pakistani, German, Colombian, Mexican, French, South African, Iraqi and American. Zerbib said he hopes the foundation continues to grow and include more artists with different backgrounds.
“We’re not imposing on anyone’s choices,” Zerbib said. “We just want people to walk freely here and start engaging. And if we can inspire them, that’s wonderful.”
The Ostillo Art Foundation is located at 2600 Rosewood Ave. Admission is free.