Austin’s Triumphant Return

The gallery of the Dougherty Arts Center professionally displaying 189 pieces in this year's NAP show.

After the last City of Austin show in 2012, the NAP’s long-term partner, VSA Texas, faced a number of changes including the loss of their venue space.  However, April Sullivan, who had been coordinating the exhibit for the last ten years, knew that the show must go on.  In order to ensure this, April brought the program to the attention of the City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department in hopes that they could pick up the torch.  Alberto Mejia, Manager of the Dougherty Arts Center, was intrigued by the opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of the city’s employees.  After reaching out to the NAP to discuss the specifics involved in running the program, he was thrilled to bring the exhibition back in 2015.

Under new leadership from the Dougherty Arts Center, the NAP exhibition not only gained a professional gallery space, but a new dedicated coordinator by the name of Guiniviere Webb.  Guiniviere was very enthusiastic about providing this opportunity to the community and worked diligently to promote the exhibition.  This is evident from the large amount of artwork on display.  

The exhibit boasts the highest number of participating artists, 133 in total, since Austin joined the program making it clear that the participants were excited for the return of the program!  Guiniviere commented that numerous people mentioned that they were happy to see the show back and they look forward to the event each year.

The NAP is thrilled to have Austin back on our annual roster thanks to the hard work of both previous and current coordinators.  It is their passion that allows the NAP to run such amazing shows all over the county!