SXSW live mural event will be last one at Castle Hill ‘Graffiti Park’

The group that started and maintained Austin’s public graffiti park is hosting a mural-painting SXSW event and afterparty today at Native hostel. HOPE Outdoor Gallery—the official name of the internationally known, free-for-all art park in Clarksville as well as as its keepers—is putting on the “Piece Out” event as part of its “These Walls Bring Us Together” campaign to engage the community while the gallery transitions to a new space.

HOPE Events grew out of the outdoor gallery, the only paint park of its kind in the country; launched in 2011 the help of contemporary artist Shepard Fairey, it was developed to provide opportunities for muralists, street artists, arts education classes, and community groups to create and display large-scale art pieces inspired by positive and educational messaging.

The landmark local attraction announced in the summer of 2016 that it would be relocating from its spot on Castle Hill (West 11th and Baylor streets), a hillside lot just west of downtown long destined for redevelopment. The gallery found a new, six-acre home at Carson Creek Ranch, where it will relocate and expand with the goal of opening by the end of 2018.

The gallery is launching its new campaign to bring attention to the past and future of HOPE through community engagement while the new park is being completed. The Piece Out event at the park is this year’s artist paint day, which HOPE has produced at SXSW since 2013, when 30 to 40 muralists, street artists, spray experts, and supporters gather at the park to collaborate on a live mural makeover; it’s the last of these events at the downtown park.

The paint day action at the park also includes five DJs and a silent disco with curated music and an audio gallery tour and an opportunity to purchase HOPE merchandise including T-shirts and its “These Walls Can Talk” art books, with all proceeds going toward the relocation project.

HOPE will also host a Piece Out after party in partnership with Native from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight at the hostel. In addition to offering the opportunity to meet and chat with HOPE artists, guests will also be able to take a peek at the the group’s new mural in progress at Native.