The new Museum building will be developed in partnership with international developer Hines and world-class architecture firm Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, whose portfolio includes the MoMA in Manhattan, the future World Financial Center in Beijing, and the Citigroup Tower in London....

MovieMaker Magazine has just named Austin the "Number One City to Live, Work and Make Movies". This is the seventh year in a row that Austin has placed in the top three, and the second time we've been numero uno (unseating longtime fave New York City, which slipped all the way down to #4 this year)....

Image from SOS Alliance SOS Holiday Party & Silent AuctionFriday, December 7Mercury Hall (615 Cardinal Lane)$10 Suggested Donation, 7pm - Midnight[info]Tonight, the Save Our Springs Alliance will be hosting their annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction at Mercury Hall. In addition to food, drinks and great people, the event will showcase music by two environmentally-conscience local bands, Bill Oliver's Otter Space Band and The Bouldin Creek Bobkats. The Silent Auction features items from over 300......

Rebecca Robinson won't sit still. In addition to her day job, Robinson is also an award-winning actor, garnering recognition as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for the 2006-2007 B. Iden Payne Awards. Austinist asked Robinson some questions about The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas and her role as Executive Director of the Austin-based organization whose membership reads like a a who's who of heavy-hitters in the growing Texas culinary scene. How did......

With three days left for the 20th annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF), the festival organizers have decided to offer up several free screenings to the public. "One of the issues we've talked a lot about this year is how to make the festival as inclusive and affordable as possible," said Lucas Schaefer, Executive Director of aGLIFF. "We want everyone who wants to attend to be able to attend as many of......

The 20th annual Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival is right around the corner. Under the guidance of new Executive Director Lucas Schaefer, this year's fest is shaping up nicely--and if you really hurry, you can still have your work included! Sort of! The aGLIFF trailer competition invites filmmakers to create an original three minute or less festival trailer that conveys aGLIFF's festival theme of diversity and inclusiveness, "We Speak Film." Winning films will......

Our pals at Project Transitions will host the 12th Annual Texas Swing fundraiser this Friday. Project Transitions - the only nonprofit organization in Central Texas that provides hospice and housing programs for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS - raised more than $37,000 during last year's Texas Swing with more than 700 people attending. Texas Swing is a family-friendly event that features live music by local favorite Alvin Crow, barbeque by Scholz’s, and free......

One of the films we're most excited about seeing at this year's South By Southwest Film Festival is Laura Dunn's The Unforeseen, a documentary look at the controversy surrounding Austin's real estate development and its impact on the Edwards Aquifer and on Barton Springs. Co-executive-produced by Terrence Malik and Robert Redford (who reportedly learned to swim at Barton Springs), the film explores the unseen relationships between our natural environment and our urge to destroy it.......

It seems perfect timing that, with former President Jimmy Carter in town today for a book-signing, Austin Habitat for Humanity is teaming with AT&T to provide an exciting opportunity for low-income families in Austin. Austin Habitat for Humanity stands at the forefront of assisting Austin’s low-income residents, 58,000 of whom live in substandard or overcrowded housing. Their new partnership with AT&T will bring in-home Internet and technology access to 76 low-income Austin families as part......

You can’t steal from the public and stay out of jail for long. Unless, of course, you’re a politician. John Villarreal, former director of Austin’s community access TV stations, found that out the hard way today when state District Judge Mike lynch sentenced him to seven years in prison for stealing public funds. Prosecutors had asked for a 10-year sentence, while Villarreal’s attorneys had sought probation. While in his position of authority, Villarreal stole more......

This Sunday two local interfaith events will take place. The first and largest gathering of the two is the Annual Interreligious Thanksgiving Service. This service is sponsored by Austin Area Interreligious Ministries and has been held for 22 years now. It is an amazing opportunity to see all the diverse faiths of our city represented under one roof. Our favorite part of the service is the call to worship, which has in the past......

As you may have read months ago, Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation took Cannes by storm earlier this year. The hometown folks will get to see what all the hullaballo’s about next Tuesday, as the Austin Film Society and Sustainable Food Center will be screening the Austin premiere of the fictional adaptation of Eric Schlosser’s best-selling book. “We are thrilled to premiere this powerful film in Austin and to partner with Sustainable Food Center to......

The Austin Film Festival may officially be over, but the good folks at AFF are not done bringing you excellent film. Tonight and tomorrow they team up with the International Documentary Association to present Docuweek, a public theatrical exhibition of outstanding new works that helps to qualify feature and short documentaries for Academy Award considerations. Since its inception 10 years ago, 17 of the screened films have been nominated for Oscars, with 4 winning AFF......

If you've ever signed a lease on an apartment or purchased older property here in Austin, you're probably all too familiar with our raging mold problem. We always assumed it was the relative humidity coupled with the heat, but a recent study published by the Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI) seems to indicate otherwise. GEI's Top 10 States at Risk for Mold calls Texas, not surprisingly, the moldiest state in the country. Computed by analyzing "mold......

The historic State Theatre on Congress Avenue, which flooded two weeks ago when a water main ruptured overnight and left the backstage and front rows of seating underwater, has considerably more damage than what was initially anticipated, according to KXAN: "The stage is gone right now," said Ken Stein, Executive Director with the Paramount and State Theatres. "We found water under the stage. They had to take it apart. Twenty-five percent of the seats......

It's a mad, mad world out there, folks. If you don't believe us, just check it out for yourselves... LAist tracks an award-winning TV writer who worked on Good Times to a homeless shelter and sees a Little Old Lady get a jaywalking ticket because she can't get across fast enough (in the same post!). Poets invade Metro and an LAist contributor's new book asks WWJB. Gothamist gets down with the immigration rally and......

In the last month, we started a discussion about the potentially critically-damaging impact that the dissolution or restructuring of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) could have on Texas' arts and cultural organizations. (here and here) This week, we interviewed Ricardo Hernandez, the Executive Director of the Texas Commission on the Arts, and Jennifer Wijangco, the Deputy Director of the Texas Cultural Trust to get more information. They gave us some more bone-chilling......

Yesterday Texas became the 19th state with a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Prop 2 passed with an overwhelming majority across the state, Travis County being the only one to reject the proposition. Quite frankly, none of us are surprised by the results. Disappointed? Absolutely. Said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese [from Gayapolis] "Education is a long-term effort that cynical politics can never stop...These amendments are part of a long-standing effort by the......