The HOPE Outdoor Gallery, a 17-acre events venue and art park across the highway from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, is slated to open this summer.
The project broke ground in 2019 but opening was delayed because of the pandemic.
“When SXSW 2020 was canceled, the future for the events and production industry in Austin was uncertain,” said Andi Scull, HOPE Outdoor Gallery founder, in a press statement.
The for-profit HOG Carson Creek Property, LLC, owns the property and helps fund the gallery. A separate non-profit organization, HOPE Campaign, operates various arts programs and also collaborates with “businesses and brands” including Facebook, according to its website.
While the new attraction will have free admission, there will be ticketed events.
Designed by architects Chioco Design, the facility is intended to grab attention. Seen from the sky, the park’s structures spell out HOPE, a design targeted to travelers flying into Austin-Bergstrom International Airport which is just on the other side Highway 71 from the site.
The art park will also have retail spaces, including its own branded HOPE merchandise, a “technology gallery,” its own art supply store where you can buy spray paint to paint on designated wall, as well as food and cocktail concessions. A dozen shipping containers will be repurposed and rented to “creatives who are trying to grow their business as Austin expands,” press materials say.
But the art and events venue has already taken issue with its neighbors.
In February, Scull and other owners of HOG Carson Creek Property filed a $250,000 lawsuit against its neighbor Joan Havard, owner of Carson Creek Ranch, a concert and event venue. The lawsuit accuses Havard of trespass, defamation, libel, and business disparagement, according to the Austin Chronicle. Carson Creek Ranch, which has hosted events such as Euphoria Music and Camping Festival, shares a property line with HOG Carson Creek Property on Dalton Lane, just off Hwy. 71.
When contacted this week, a press representative for Scull and HOG Carson Creek Property LLC said that neither would offer a comment on the lawsuit.
The original HOPE Outdoor Gallery was located on Baylor Street just west of downtown, on the site of a failed condo development. Started as a pop-up timed to SXSW 2011, and with the support of artist Shepard Fairey, the initiative invited artists to paint the site’ abandon concrete structures. It soon became one of Austin’s popular destination for locals and tourists, a backdrop for countless selfies.
The new HOPE Outdoor Gallery will have a memorial wall from the original Baylor Street location.
