Arthouse at the Jones Center

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Arthouse at the Jones Center is a 501(c)3 conforming non-profit visual arts organization based in Austin, TX. It is the oldest statewide visual arts organization in Texas, and the only statewide visual arts organization dedicated entirely to contemporary art.

1 History
2 Current activities
3 Notes and references
4 External links

[edit] History

Founded as the Texas Fine Arts Association (TFAA) in 1911^[1], the organization's initial purpose was to maintain the studio and collection of sculptor Elisabet Ney. The Association's early leadership helped to establish the studio art department at The University of Texas at Austin, promote the formation of a state arts commission, and found some of the state's major art museums.

In 1927 TFAA began a visual arts touring program that brought selected works of art to communities throughout the state. In 1943, Clara Driscoll deeded her Austin estate, Laguna Gloria, to TFAA who operated the facility as an art museum until 1961 when the Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Inc. assumed that responsibility. Until the fall of 1998, TFAA maintained its state headquarters in the carriage house on the property, and annually held three exhibitions in the main building.

In 1995 TFAA's Board of Directors purchased the property at 700 Congress Avenue in Austin, TX. Three years after the building's purchase, TFAA opened its new headquarters, the Jones Center for Contemporary Art, in November of 1998.

In November of 2002, the name of the organization was officially changed from the Texas Fine Arts Association to Arthouse.

[edit] Current activities

Arthouse now functions as a resource for Texas-based artists as well. In addition to exhibitions and programming, Arthouse offers access to an Emergency Relief Fund, affordable health insurance, membership banking and credit union opportunities, discounts on art materials and art publications, and its own newsletter, Arthouse News.

Arthouse serves an average of 50,000 people annually.^[2]