2024 Buda Arts Festival
& Plein Air Painting Competition
September 17 - 21
Live, outdoor, plein air painting competitions, busking musicians, art demos, artisan markets, gallery exhibits, artist meet-ups, kids' activities, live theatre, and dance performances fill the week! There's something for everyone! While most of the festival is FREE, events on the Festival Schedule that require TICKETS are marked with a 🖌️.
The Buda Arts Festival, originally named the Buda Plein Air Festival, was created in 2020 by Inspired Minds Art Center to bring the community together outdoors, through art, in a mindful, healing, and celebratory way during a time of social restrictions, fear, and anxiety. Over the years, it has grown from a 1-day painting and music festival to a 5-day celebration of all-thing-arts! Check out the SCHEDULE.
2024 Buda Arts Festival Winners
What does plein-air mean??
[ pleyn-air; French ple-ner ]
adjective
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Plein air painting is about leaving the four walls of your studio behind and experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape. The practice goes back for centuries but was truly made into an art form by the French Impressionists. Their desire to paint light and its changing, ephemeral qualities, coupled with the creation of transportable paint tubes and the box easel—the precursor to the plein air easels of today—allowed artists the freedom to paint “en plein air,” which is the French expression for “in the open air.” - www.artistsnetwork.com
2024 Plein Air Competition
1st Place
Gena Destri Keffer - “Last Flowers of the Season”
2nd Place
Arthur Deatly - “Morning in Buda”
3rd Place
Carlyle Urello - “Forest View”
Honorable Mentions
Kathy Hammond
Joy Bliss
Stephen Henry
2024 Quick Draw Winners
1st Place
Christopher Powell - “View of Buda”
2nd Place
Meg Morgan - “Golden Days”
3rd Place
Tiffany Shih- “Antique Mall”
Honorable Mention:
Emily Laughlin
Mari Boren
Kathy Hammond
2024 Festival Fine Art Show
People's Choice
Darius Miller - "Dolly"
Judge's Choice
Julie Howard - "Recovering"
Honorable Mention
Leslie Deil
Mary Jo Cadiz
Emily Laughlin
Tuesday, September 17
1:00pm
Festival Fine Art Show
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Fine Art Competition & Sale
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Artwork of diverse mediums
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121 Main Street
5:00pm
Artists Welcome Reception
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5pm-7pm
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By Invitation Only
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Inspired Minds Art Center (IMAC)
Wednesday, September 18
All-day
Live Art - en plein air
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Artists set up easels and create live outside
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LOCATION: Anywhere outdoors in the 78610 zip code
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See MAP
Live Mural Painting
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Inspired Minds Art Center
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Front Yard - 121 Main Street
Festival Fine Art Show
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Fine Art Competition & Sale
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Artwork of diverse mediums
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121 Main Street
12:00pm
Business of Art Workshop : Artist Contracts w/ Jaz Davis
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12pm-2pm
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Chambers Theatre @ Inspired Minds Art Center
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FREE - sponsored by the Buda Economic Development Corporation
6:00pm
Buda Artists Mixer
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6pm-8pm
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Sponsored by the City of Buda Arts Commission
7:00pm
Gravy Shakes Improv Show 🖌️
Thursday, September 19
All-day
Live Art - en plein air
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Artists set up easels and create live outside
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LOCATION: Anywhere outdoors in the 78610 zip code
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See MAP
Live Mural Painting
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Inspired Minds Art Center
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Front Yard - 121 Main Street
Festival Fine Art Show
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Fine Art Competition & Sale
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Artwork of diverse mediums
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121 Main Street
12:00pm
Business of Art Workshop : Elevate Your Art Career w/ Ash Almonte
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12pm-2pm
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Chambers Theatre @ Inspired Minds Art Center
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FREE - sponsored by the Buda Economic Development Corporation
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RSVP required (check back for link)
6:00pm
Artists’ Happy Hour
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6pm-8pm
7:00pm
Filmmaker Screening: "Dance Hall Days" 🖌️
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7pm-9pm
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Screening and Q&A w/ the Filmmakers
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The Chambers Theatre @ Inspired Minds Art Center
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GET $5 TICKETS (check back for link)
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Sponsored by the Buda Chamber of Commerce
Friday, September 20
All-day
Live Art - en plein air
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Artists set up easels and create live outside
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LOCATION: Anywhere outdoors in the 78610 zip code
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See MAP
Live Mural Painting
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Inspired Minds Art Center
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Front Yard - 121 Main Street
Festival Fine Art Show
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Fine Art Competition & Sale
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Artwork of diverse mediums
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121 Main Street
5:00pm
Opening Reception of "Westerly" - Works by Debbie Carroll
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5:00pm-7:00pm
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306 Main Street
7:30pm
Godspell - Live Musical 🖌️
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7:30pm-10:00pm
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The Chambers Theatre @ Inspired Minds Art Center
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Buy tickets HERE
Saturday, September 21
All-Day Events
(To see scheduled events, click HERE)
Artisan Markets
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9am-5pm
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Buda Welcome Center (Outside)
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303 Main St.
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Inspired Minds Art Center (Outside)
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121 Main St.
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Live Outdoor Music
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9:30am-4:30pm
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Busking musicians playing music in various locations from Stagecoach House to Jackson Tyler Morris Memorial Skate Park
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See Music Schedule
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See MAP
Festival Fine Art Show
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10am-5pm
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Fine Art Competition & Sale
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Artwork of diverse mediums
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Vote for the People's Choice Award! Voting ends at 4:00pm
Artist Demonstrations @ Inspired Minds Art Center:
SEE SCHEDULE HERE
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Quick Draw Outdoor Plein Air Art Competition
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Potter's Wheel w/ Stephen McCrorie
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Live Mural Painting by Jaz Davis
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Metal Sculpture by Nathan Miller
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Fun with Cartooning w/ Darius Miller
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Saori Weaving by Wimberley Valley Saori
Saturday, September 21
Scheduled Events
8:00am
Plein Air Competition Judging
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8am-9am Drop-off Artwork
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11am-12pm judging
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Closed to public
9:30am
Quick Draw Competition
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9:30am-11:30am
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Artists have 2 hours to create artwork outside in various locations along Main Street from Stagecoach House to Jackson Tyler Morris Memorial Skate Park
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See MAP
10:00am & 11:00am
Story Time for Kids with your Librarian
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10am & 11am
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Sponsored by the Buda Public Library
11:00am
Dance Performances
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11:00am-12:30pm
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The Chambers Theatre @ Inspired Minds Art Center
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Performers TBD
12:00pm
Free Kids Arts & Crafts Activities
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12pm-5pm
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Inspired Minds Art Center
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Outside
Young Entrepreneurs Market
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12pm-4pm
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Downtown Buda
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Inspired Minds Art Center's North Parking Lot
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1:00pm
First Look Fête 🖌️
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1pm-3pm
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Be the first to view and purchase prize-winning artwork from the 2024 Buda Plein Air Competition
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Award-winning wine and small bites
2:00pm
2:30pm
Community Drum Circle
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2:30pm-4:30pm
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Come drum together and be part of the community’s heartbeat
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All ages and abilities
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Instruments provided
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Downtown Buda Greenbelt & Gazebo
3:00pm
Plein Air Art & Quick Draw Competition Awards
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3:00pm-5:00pm
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Cheer on the artists who participated in the Buda AF Plein Air Art Competitions!
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View and purchase award-winning plein air artwork
4:00pm
Festival Fine Art Show Voting ENDS
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Vote for the People's Choice Award until 4:00pm
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Awards presented at 5pm
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Fine Art Competition & Sale (10am-5pm)
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Artwork of diverse mediums
7:30pm
Godspell - Live Musical 🖌️
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7:30pm-10:00pm
2024 Buda Arts Festival
Ticketed Events
- Mon, Sep 23Inspired Minds Art CenterSep 23, 2024, 1:00 PM – Oct 12, 2024, 6:00 PMInspired Minds Art Center, 121 Main St, Buda, TX 78610, USA
- Multiple DatesFri, Oct 11The Chambers TheatreOct 11, 2024, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PMThe Chambers Theatre, 121 Main St, Buda, TX 78610, USA