The Austin Museum of Popular Culture (AusPop) is a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting art and memorabilia that reflect

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

's eclectic contributions to

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

worldwide. Auspop, formerly known as SouthPop, champions Austin artists who were mainly responsible for "

weird Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic (b ...

" Austin.

History and mission

SouthPop was formally established in 2005 to collect and display concert posters by a group of artist known as the Armadillo Art Squad who came together around the Armadillo World Headquarters. It was born from a community art collective known as the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture which had coalesced in 2004 around the private files of Henry Gonzalez. The collections expanded to include other live music venues of the 1970s including Threadgills, the

Vulcan Gas Company The original Vulcan Gas Company (usually called simply Vulcan) was the first successful psychedelic music venue in Austin, Texas. The Vulcan opened its doors at 316 Congress Avenue in the fall of 1967, and closed in the summer of 1970. Gary Scanlo ...

, the Austin Opry House, and Antone's. Eventually the purpose of SouthPop was to preserve the legacy of Austin's counterculture and popular arts through exhibitions, collection, and scholarship. The center has evolved to become a collecting and exhibiting center for photography, prints, and non-traditional art and has widened the visibility of the Austin cultural scene. The South Austin Museum of Popular Culture is an independent resource available to those who want to learn more about the Austin's cultural history and is not supported by any government institution.

Armadillo Art Squad

An extensive 1997 review of the Armadillo Art Squad named many of its artists and cartoonists (often one and the same), including Gilbert Shelton, Jim Franklin,

Guy Juke William De White (born September 4, 1951), better known as Guy Juke, is a Austin, Texas–based graphic artist and musician. As a poster artist he created memorable imagery for nightclubs such as Armadillo World Headquarters and was one of the 'A ...

Kerry Awn Kerry Fitzgerald (born 1949), better known as Kerry Awn, is an American cartoonist, actor, muralist, comedian, musician, iconographer and poster artist. He is best known for his comedy and the iconic 'Austintatious' mural near the University of T ...

, Michael E. Arth, Ken Featherston, Henry Gonzales, Danny Garrett, Sam Yeates, Micael Priest, Gary McIlhenny, and Jack Jaxon. This group of local Austin artists designed posters and handbills for Eddie Wilson's Armadillo World Headquarters at a time when the Austin music scene was fueled by the Cosmic Cowboy movement.

Memorial Wall

Southpop's outdoor memorial, 'Wall of Fame', as Austin humorist John Kelso calls it, has photos of over 150 people. It honors them for their contribution to Austin's creative scene. The outdoor wall includes both the famous and the obscure, from Bill Hicks,

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

and

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

Bill Livingood Wilson "Bill" Livingood (born October 1, 1936), a 33-year veteran of the United States Secret Service, was elected Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives on January 4, 1995, for the 104th Congress, and served through the 11 ...

Bud Shrake Edwin A. "Bud" Shrake, Jr. (September 6, 1931 – May 8, 2009) was an American journalist, sportswriter, novelist, biographer and screenwriter. He co-wrote a series of golfing advice books with golf coach Harvey Penick, including ''Harvey Penick' ...

, and Poodie Locke,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

's stage manager.

Name changes

Originally named the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture and was referred to as SAMOPC. In 2010 it was renamed the South Austin Popular Culture Center, and has since become known locally as SouthPop. Subsequently the name has been changed back to South Austin Museum of Popular Culture. In September 2019 Leea Mechling, the executive director announced that the name is changing to ''Austin Museum of Popular Culture'' (AusPop) and that the museum will relocate to a new space on North Lamar behind Threadgill’s restaurant.

Recognition

The museum is the subject of many articles in the Austin Chronicle, who in 2004 distinguished the museum as the "Best Place to Art Trip."

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

included SAMOPC in a Frugal Traveler video.

External links

Museum website

South Austin Popular Culture Center at Google Cultural Institute

Facebook page

References

{{authority control Museums in Austin, Texas Art museums and galleries in Texas Art museums established in 2004 2004 establishments in Texas 501(c)(3) organizations