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Fusebox Salon Series

This fall we’re rolling out our new Fusebox Artist Salon series. This monthly gathering will feature delicious beverages, conversations with some of our favorite artists from our vast Fusebox network, and short performances from current or upcoming shows. The vibe is casual and unpretentious–like we’re a bunch of friends hanging out together, perhaps over coffee or in a bar after a show. 

After 20 years of producing our festival, we have an extraordinary Fusebox alumni network of artists. We wanted to create a simple structure that allows us to connect and share our conversations with our artists throughout the year. Some of these artists have gone on to create hit shows on HBO, win MacArthur Genius and Grammy Awards. Others have had their work presented at major museums, festivals, and art centers across the globe. Others are still making brilliant works in their own unique style, in their own communities, in the most beautiful way.

The salons are open to everyone, with Fusebox members receiving free admission (and a plus 1)! Eva Suter (L’Oca d’Oro) will be designing inspired cocktails + mocktails for each event.

November Salon: Thurs, Nov 21

Our November artist salon features two remarkable artists from a not too distant Fusebox future. Ahamefule J. Oluo (a brilliant multi-instrumentalist, composer, writer, comedian, and creator of live performance) is an artist we have admired for years. They will join us in conversation fresh off the premiere of their newest performance The Things Around Us, which beautifully weaves stories and anecdotes together with a live musical score that Ahamefule creates live through electronically looped trumpet, clarinet, and everyday objects. We just saw this show in Portland and it was hilarious, strange, and profound.

Austin’s own Joshua Banbury (an amazing multi-dimensional vocalist and lyricist) will be performing a set with their trio in advance of next year’s Fusebox Launchpad, a new program designed to help local artists create ambitious live performance projects that premiere locally in Austin, with an eye toward then touring the show around the United States and the world.

Get Tickets Here

October Salon: Thurs, Oct 24

The October salon features a conversation with two local powerhouse collectives, The Puro Chingón Collective and Los Outsiders. Both have a long history with Fusebox, and we thought it would be fun to bring them together for one ground-shaking night in October.

The Puro Chingón Collective is a Latine/x art trifecta specializing in happenings, design, art toys, and zines. The collective is composed of three remarkable Austin-based artists and designers: Claudia Aparicio-Gamundi, James Huizar, and Claudia Zapata. We last presented their work in 2014 at The Off Center. It was a complete blast!

Los Outsiders is a curatorial collective, composed of local legends Jaime Salvador Castillo, Michael Anthony García, Hector Hernandez, and Robert Jackson Harrington. Los Outsiders develops platforms for artistic dialog such as the Los Outsider video-podcasts, curating group exhibitions with local, national and international artists. We last featured their incredible group show Gently Fried in 2015 at the MACC, and Michael Anthony García has been a Fusebox guest curator the past three years.

We’ll also be joined by the fabulous Andie Flores and Bobby Pudrido for two special performances! Flores creates experimental live performances that pair identity and comedic culture moments with over-exaggerated, often grotesque shapes and sounds while upending expectations within femininity, Latinidad, drag, and citizenry. Pudrido creates and produces drag shows, story time events, and performances aimed at addressing and bridging gaps in representation for marginalized communities.

Tickets Here

September Salon: Thurs, Sept 26

Fusebox legends Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, and Oliver Butler (The Debate Society) return to Austin for our first ever Fusebox Artist Salon. We presented their work in 2007 + 2008 in the early years of our festival at the dearly departed Off Center and Blue Theater respectively. Both shows hold a special place in Fusebox lore. 

Since then, Hannah and Paul have gone on to create the beloved HBO show Somebody Somewhere (check out this great Rolling Stone article), and Oliver has gone on to an acclaimed directing career, including (What the Constitution Means to Me) on Broadway. 

We’ll then be joined by the brilliant Chris Grace, who is just off a fantastic run of his show Sardines (A Comedy About Death) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He’ll share (and demonstrate) how the piece has evolved since we workshopped it at Fusebox last April. 

The amazing Pam Reyes will close out the evening with a short musical set, as we leave our bodies behind and float into the night sky.

Tickets Here

This project is supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department.