"Austin's creative scene is so diverse," Zach Zulch of Almost Real Things told KUT last November. "And the Austin Studio Tour is the culmination of that." He was talking about the whole city. He and co-founder Natalie Earhart produce the tour, though, and both of its official hubs are East Austin addresses. One is on East Cesar Chavez Street and the other is on Springdale Road.
That matters if you live on the east side. The 2026 tour runs November 14–15 and 21–22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and it's free. East Austin no longer has a weekend set aside for it. The kick-off party and both guidebook hubs are here, though, and an east-side route works on any of the four days.
How an East Austin event became a citywide one
The tour has changed format several times, and the current version only makes sense with that history in mind.
- 2003. The tour started as an East Austin event and later grew to cover the rest of the city, according to KUT's reporting.
- The split years. The tour was divided into an East weekend and a West weekend.
- February 2025. Big Medium, the nonprofit that had run the tour for more than two decades, announced it would close. Its board said in a statement that "major sponsors, including the City of Austin, have redirected their funding priorities, leaving significant gaps in our budget," as KUT reported.
- November 2025. Almost Real Things, an artist-run collective, took over production and made both weekends citywide. Earhart told KUT the change was meant to make the tour more accessible and easier to get around, and that artists can now choose which days they take part.
So 2026 is the second year under the new producer and the second year of citywide weekends. On the official tour page, the organizers call this the tour's 24th year and say the 2026 edition is "expanding even further" than 2025.
The tour's two hubs are both on the east side
The tour lists 815 featured artists, art groups, and hosts at 309 locations across Austin. The printed guide is 376 pages, with a profile of every participant, and it costs $12 during tour hours. You can buy it in person at only two places:
- ART Studios & Gallery, 2324 E Cesar Chavez St. Its tour listing says it will show 18 resident artists and 15-plus guest artists.
- ART Gallery at Canopy, 916 Springdale Rd. It lists exhibitions, a patio, and an atrium.
So anyone who wants the printed guide comes to East Austin for it. For someone who lives within a few minutes of either address, the hub stop and the first studio visit can happen on the same block.
The website also offers searchable profiles and a map. You can click the heart icon on any listing to save it to a favorites list and share that list with friends. The tour's location list numbers every stop from 1 to 309 and puts hosts that gather several participants under one roof at the top. Those multi-artist buildings give you the most art per parking spot, and Canopy alone has 89 studios.
An east-side route for any of the four days
Every stop in the table below appears in the official tour listings or host directory, and every one is east of I-35. Start with the two hubs, since that's where the guide is sold, then fan out.
| Stop | Address | What the 2026 listing says |
|---|---|---|
| Canopy | 916 Springdale Rd | 89 studios, five galleries, creative offices, retail, and a café |
| ART Studios & Gallery | 2324 E Cesar Chavez St | 18 resident artists plus 15-plus guest artists |
| Splinter Group | 3508 E Cesar Chavez St | Workshops and studios for more than 30 craftspeople and artists |
| Co-Lab Projects | 5419 Glissman Rd | The "RHIZO / MATIC" exhibition, open the full tour schedule |
| Flatbed Member Market '26 | 3701 Drossett Dr | Printmaking demonstrations and a member market |
| Quimera Gallery | 1815 Rosewood Ave | Listed as a host on all four tour days |
| Boggy Creek Farm Art Market | 3414 Lyons Rd | Listed host in the tour directory |
| Native American Cultural Center | 84 Robert T Martinez Jr. St | Listed host in the tour directory |
| Slowpoke Tattoo @Camp East | 2905 E 12th St | Listed for November 14–15 only |
Canopy alone could fill an afternoon, and Splinter Group is on the same corridor as the 2324 hub. Co-Lab Projects and the Flatbed market are farther out, so they work better as a second day. Since artists choose their own days under the citywide format, check each listing for its dates before you go. The tour itself is free, but some locations charge for special events or programming. Those fees are listed online and in the guide.
The kick-off is the week before, at Canopy
The tour opens a week early with a party on Friday, November 6, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Almost Real Things gallery at Canopy, 916 Springdale Rd, Building 2, #101. Tickets are listed at $25, down from $35, and children under 13 get in free.
The kick-off page lists a group show of more than 200 artists, the tour guidebook, live music, an art bar, DIY activities, a tour shop, and food and coffee. Performers include The Dave Scher Trio, Gina Chavez, and Jennifer Foster. With a group show that size, you can preview a lot of the work a week before the studios open and arrive on November 14 with a shorter list.
The east-side gallery scene changed this fall, ahead of the tour
Two changes in September reshaped the east side's gallery map before tour season began.
grayDUCK Gallery closed. The compact gallery on East Cesar Chavez ended its 16-year run with a farewell party its owner, Jill Schroeder, called a wake. KUT reported that more than 100 people came through over several hours. According to KUT, Schroeder and her husband bought the property in late 2013, which protected the gallery from rising rent, redevelopment, or a lease that might not be renewed. After more than 120 exhibitions, she decided to step back from the constant work of running it. The gallery closed because its owner chose to close it, not because of rent or redevelopment.
Ostillo Art Foundation opened in Rosewood. An old warehouse at 2600 Rosewood Ave is now a gallery, library, and performance space. Founding director Sacha Zerbib told KUT that he partnered with local developer René Campos to keep the space open and accessible to its Rosewood neighbors. The first exhibition, Masquerade, opens with a painting of the same name by Glenn Ligon. Zerbib told KUT that starting the show with that painting acknowledges Rosewood's history as a center of Black culture. The show includes artists from eight countries, among them Pakistan, Colombia, Mexico, South Africa, and Iraq. KUT also reported that Ostillo will be the new permanent home of the Eastside Kings Festival, the late-October series of blues, jazz, and gospel concerts.
Admission to Ostillo is free. According to Ostillo's press release, it's open Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Masquerade opened September 19, 2026. Tribeza lists its run through June 2027. Ostillo's weekend hours run past the tour's 5 p.m. close, so you can see the show after a day of studio visits. Quimera Gallery, a listed tour host, is farther west on the same avenue at 1815 Rosewood Ave.
Planning around the calendar
Seen together, the dates make a simple plan. The kick-off at Canopy is November 6. Weekend 1, November 14–15, is the only weekend for some listings, such as Slowpoke Tattoo at Camp East. Weekend 2 is November 21–22, the following Saturday and Sunday. Ostillo stays open on weekends through all of it, and Masquerade is listed into next summer. The tour website's profiles and map are meant for use during the tour and "all year-round," so a studio you find in November can still be found in March.
If a studio visit gets you thinking about which East Austin homes have room for a workspace, or whether a backyard could hold a studio, I'm glad to talk it through, in English or en español. Reach out to Victor Barrios and let's connect. Nos vemos en el tour.
