Over the past months, we’ve been following the story of the Austin art non-profit Pump Project as it learned that it would be forced to vacate its home of more than ten years in east Austin. In November of 2017, the organization was informed that its building was to go on the market with an asking price of $2.4 million. Then, in May of 2018, Pump Project learned that its building had sold, meaning that the organization and all of the artists who lease studios in the space would have to move out by the end of summer.
This week, Pump announced that its new space is located at 1600 S. Pleasant Valley Road, just five minutes from its current location. With this move, Pump will be crossing Lady Bird Lake, effectively leaving Austin’s east side. The organization expects to relocate in September of 2018. In their release, Pump detailed the specs of its new space:
“The new location will consist of two buildings with over 19,000 square feet, which is 30% more space than the current location, and includes improvements such as ACs in all studios, many windows for exterior rooms, and be able to serve even more artists and community members with additional spaces for studios, exhibitions, workshops and more.
Additionally, we will be sharing the six acre lot with a variety of arts groups – a theater, a dance company, a food truck court, and others. The six acres is the beginning of the Riverside Arts District, which is a combined effort of Austin Creative Alliance, the arts community, the developer, and others.”
To learn more about Pump Project and other east Austin art spaces that have been pushed out of their locations, please go here. To read our review of Pump Project’s final exhibition at its current space, please go here.
