Hope Outdoor Gallery

Music drifted through the air of the HOPE Outdoor Gallery Sunday afternoon, attracting throngs of curious onlookers armed with cameras or smartphones, as artists turned the fresh canvases of the graffiti park into scenes of eclectic imagination, inspiration, and beauty.

Paint particulates in the air can severely damage respiratory functions, so it's important to use a mask 

The Foundation, so nicknamed because of the graffiti park’s origin as a failed condominium project, is nestled on a hill on 11^th and Baylor Street. The prime real estate location makes some wonder if the park will thrive as a tourist attraction or be used for another purpose. Jules Aboloff, an ambassador for the gallery’s art trailer, said that the message they want to send is embedded in the name of HOPE itself.

“Helping Other People Everywhere is the name and the official goal,” said Aboloff. “Hope though, man, that’s what it’s really about, giving people hope.”

About eight yards away from base wall, Victor Ayad, a founding principal of Castle Hill Partners and alumni of the University of Texas, chatted and watched the over twenty artists create things ranging from large sugar skulls and aliens to green hedgehogs and quotes. More than a decade ago, Castle Hill Partners demolished a condo project due to unstable groundwork. The private investment firm was scheduled to rebuild, but instead worked with the HOPE campaign in 2011 to use the western walls for an open art gallery.

The scenery changes about every two weeks, meaning there's always more to see

“When this thing took on the life that it has, I stopped the condominium project for the next two years, because I absolutely love this,” said Ayad.

CanLove, the alias of street artists Paul Ramirez and DJ Neff, presented their project for The Foundation Sunday: a set of checkered fences converted from recycled aerosol cans. Some wore elaborate masks to protect their eyes and noses from the particles and overpowering smell of paint that hung around the lowest level of The Foundation, said EMD1, a local Austin artist. Unlike the camera crew that accompanied CanLove, the local artist came alone.

"I've got a deviated septum from doing this," said EMD1. “But this is my relaxation, this is my art.”

 Dressed in a white wife beater and khaki shorts, EMD1 walked to a secluded corner with a few cans of All City spray-paint and a ladder. His colors of choice consisted of various shades of blue and a neon green, with a black outline because he liked how the paint feels, he said. The look on the graffiti artist’s face was a mix of curiosity, frustration, and resolve, as if seeing something in the wall he brought out over the course of the afternoon. Paint particles intermingled with the sweat that dripped from his brow as he worked, at times causing a stifled yelp when it would burn his eyes and nose.  Masks got in the way, he explained, and would not work well once you started sweating.

Graffiti artist EDM1 works on his piece as property owner Victor Ayad explains a bit about The Foundation 

In recent years, graffiti culture has become more of an accepted form of artistic expression. The Foundation has won the Readers Best Public Art award twice, according to the Austin Chronicle. In Austin, business owners have worked with graffiti artists and muralists to create appealing works on the sides of brick and mortar shops and restaurants, such as those on Guadalupe Street.

Two weeks later, the scene at The Foundation is thematically different. Gone are many of the cartoon creatures, replaced by realistic birds. EMD1’s work is now covered by a dozen tags of different colors and messages. Two men with spray-paint cans use the border of the once-large sugar skull to create another skeleton figure. Things don’t begin or end as much at the graffiti park, they just change.