The warehouse complex at 5305 Bolm Rd has had artists in it for more than two decades. Today Bolm Studios holds more than 40 artists and three gallery spaces: Bolm Arts Gallery, the Crow's Nest Micro Gallery and a new flex-space gallery. Artists Zac the Maker and Stephanie Mervine now lead it. The Austin Studio Tour's own listing calls the complex "the historic birthplace of the East Austin Studio Tour."
That tour returns on two weekends, Nov. 14–15 and Nov. 21–22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. It is free. The name no longer says East, and the founding organization is gone. The 2026 edition still runs through the East Side, though. Its new producer works out of two East Austin addresses, and the producer's own curated route runs through the warehouses where the tour began.
How the tour dropped "East" and then lost its founder
The East Austin Studio Tour started in 2003. Its founders later formed Big Medium, a nonprofit that grew to cover a range of programs for contemporary artists in Texas. In 2021, after the pandemic pause, EAST merged with the spring West Austin Studio Tour, and the November event opened to artists on both sides of I-35. Texas Monthly covered that change when the renamed tour came back that fall.
The bigger break came in 2025. Big Medium announced on Feb. 22, 2025, that it would close, according to a Reporting Texas story published March 1, 2025. The organization's statement pointed to "many years of financial hardships." It also said that "major sponsors, including the City of Austin, have redirected their funding priorities, leaving significant gaps in our budget." Reporting Texas said the tour had brought the public into more than 450 artists' studios the year before. Big Medium's website credited the tour with more than $1 million in direct sales for artists each year.
Shea Little, a founding member of Big Medium, explained why the event mattered in that same Reporting Texas story:
"You can come see where the art is being made. Where it happens, as it happens."
When the story ran, Big Medium had said only that the tour would continue "in some form or fashion."
The group that took it over works on the East Side
That form turned out to be Almost Real Things, an artist-led nonprofit known as ART. Artist and writer Natalie Earhart and visual designer Zachary Zulch founded it, and it began as a free magazine for creators. ART says it was selected to carry the tour forward after Big Medium stepped away.
The tour has grown each year since the handoff. In 2025, ART's first year as producer, participation reached an all-time high of more than 720 artists, art groups and hosts. For 2026, ART lists 815 participants at 309 locations.
ART is based on the East Side. It runs Almost Real Things Studios & Gallery at 2324 E Cesar Chavez St, which has 18 resident artists and more than 15 guest artists in the gallery for both tour weekends. ART also runs Almost Real Things Gallery at Canopy on Springdale Road. The tour's About page calls it the hub for all things Austin Studio Tour, with official merchandise and a group exhibition of work by featured artists. ART scheduled its citywide Kick-Off Celebration there for Friday, Nov. 6. The tour covers the whole city now, but ART's two galleries are both east of I-35.
ART changed a few practical things this year. The online Explore directory and the printed guidebook came out earlier, and ART is building the directory as a year-round resource where artists can keep their profiles and post new work after November. Location signs now show the names and work of the participating artists. Aaron deGruyter is the commissioned cover artist. The 2026 guidebook costs $16 and runs 376 full-color pages, with a fold-out map, curated tours and articles. Its listed release date was Oct. 14, 2026.
The East Side stops on ART's own route
The online Curated Tours include routes from ART and from other local contributors. ART's own route, called "Art in Abundance," is meant for visitors who want to see a lot of art in one trip. Many of its stops are east of I-35.
| Stop | Address | What's there |
|---|---|---|
| Canopy | 916 Springdale Rd | A former Goodwill warehouse with 89 studios, galleries, creative offices, retail and a café |
| Springdale General | 1023 Springdale Rd | A 10-acre maker campus with more than 165,000 square feet of studios, test kitchens and workshops |
| Art For The People Gallery | 1023 Springdale Rd | Original art and artisan goods; the gallery has been open more than 10 years |
| Bolm Studios | 5305 Bolm Rd | More than 40 artists and three galleries in the complex where EAST began |
| Almost Real Things Studios & Gallery at 2324 | 2324 E Cesar Chavez St | 18 resident artists plus guest artists, with art and handmade goods for sale |
| Casita Willow presents: Contracommon | 1914 Willow St | Part gallery, part supper club, home to Buen Provecho Presents |
| Native American Cultural Center | 84 Robert T Martinez Jr. St | A listed tour location |
| The Cathedral | 2403 E 16th St | A Latina- and immigrant-owned gallery in a restored 1930s church, home of the atxGALS collective |
| TAYO NA | 1156 Hargrave St | A launch party for a free magazine about Austin's Filipino artists and makers, open Nov. 14–15 only |
The Canopy listing marks the complex as family-friendly, with indoor and outdoor space, and open on all four tour days. Springdale General describes its mission as keeping "the creative class in Austin." TAYO NA calls this its third and final launch party, and its listing says all are welcome. A City of Austin Elevate grant supports the project in part.
Splitting the East Side across two weekends
The East Side stops fall into a few clusters, and one stop is open only on the first weekend. Planning by cluster saves backtracking:
- Saturday or Sunday, Nov. 14–15, around Holly and the 16th Street area. TAYO NA on Hargrave Street is open only on these two days, so start there. The Cathedral on E 16th St is on the same side of the neighborhood.
- Same weekend, the Cesar Chavez and Willow blocks. ART's studios at 2324 E Cesar Chavez, Casita Willow on Willow St and the Native American Cultural Center on Robert T Martinez Jr. St are all close to Cesar Chavez.
- Nov. 21–22, Springdale Road. Canopy at 916 and Springdale General at 1023, which also houses Art For The People Gallery, sit on the same stretch of Springdale Road. Canopy's café makes a good midday stop.
- Finish at Bolm Road. End the second weekend at Bolm Studios, the complex where EAST began.
Every stop on this list is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on tour days. Some locations across the tour keep different or extended hours, so check each host's listing before you go.
ART notes that 100% of donations to the tour pay for maps, signs, artist support and outreach. Any surplus goes toward next year's tour. The Austin Studio Tour Fund is held at Austin Community Foundation and can be used only for the tour.
After Nov. 22, Canopy holds open studios on the first Saturday of every month, so the Springdale Road complex is open to visitors all year.
Neighborhood arts spaces like these are a big part of what makes the East Side feel like home, and following how they change is part of how I advise clients here. If you're planning your tour weekends or wondering what's changing on the East Side, Cody Hobza is happy to compare notes. Let's Connect.