Sometimes it feels like it’s hard to know who Austin is exactly for these days. Hippie Hollow goers who remember Willie’s first Fourth of July picnic? Thankfully, we’ve still got a few of those left to keep Austin weird. Tourists and bachelorette parties? They’re sneaking up behind you, watch out! Tech workers, and even young […]
Category: Arts
Posted inArts
Yee-Ha-Ha-Ha: How Austin Made Texas a Comedy Powerhouse
On a mild September Friday night in Spicewood, hundreds of Hill Country residents flocked to Angel’s Icehouse’s first-ever comedy night. Headliner Darius Bennett stepped onto the outdoor stage of the venue, which is known for its spectacular views, live music, and, on this night, lots of kids. Much to his surprise, Bennett, a regular at […]
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Texas Dance Company F*cked Around, Now Must Pay $560,000 to Fired Black Dancers
Six months after the prestigious Dallas Black Dance Theatre chose to f*ck around — by wrongfully firing all of its dancers just days before the season was set to start — they’re now finding out the hard way that worker’s rights are protected by law. The theater reached a $560,000 settlement with the National Labor […]
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10 Perfect Gifts for the Single, Childless Women in Your Life
The holidays are here, which means the single, childless women in your life are baking cookies, hosting dinner parties, and snuggling on their couches with a chic, on-brand blanket. These gifts — for your ambitious loved ones who’ve just deleted Hinge again — are thoughtful and specific. Many of them are also made by good […]
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F*ck Amazon. This Year, Give Your Holiday Money to Texas Businesses of Color.
This holiday season, instead of pouring your hard-earned money into the pockets of a Disney villain who’s destroying the Fourth Estate, let us help you cross items off your shopping list while helping you support small businesses owned by Black and Brown Texans. At The Barbed Wire, we cover all things Texas for all Texans. […]
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‘We Should Be Paying Attention’: These Are the Faces of 38 Trans Texans Killed by Violence Since 2013
Editor’s note: This story mentions threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. For 25 years, a growing number of people have honored Trans Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20 as an annual memorial to the lives of transgender and gender nonconforming people lost to violence. The 38 trans and gender nonconforming Texans who have died […]
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Locals Say SpaceX Is Polluting Sacred Land. This Project Aims to Preserve It.
Among the Carrizo Comecrudo people of Texas, it is said that the state’s rivers are like ancestors. As they flow toward the sea, they bring their abundance, their beauty, and their knowledge with them. In South Texas, the place where these rivers meet and empty into the Gulf of Mexico is a sacred life source […]
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Dallas Won’t Fund Theater That Fired All Its Black Dancers
What goes around comes around, and management for the Dallas Black Dance Theatre is learning the hard way. This past May, its dancers voted to unionize with the American Guild of Musical Artists for the usual reasons — because they wanted better working conditions. Terrell Rogers, one of the fired dancers, told KERA News, that […]
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The Texas Voyager: Nobody Compares to the ‘Best Damn Writer’ in Texas
Texas hasn’t gotten its due as a major piece in the complex puzzle of American art. We’re here to rectify that. Every two weeks, H. Drew Blackburn will conduct a thoroughly scientific analysis of the 254 essential (one for every county) books, movies, tv shows, albums, podcasts, songs, and magazine articles — you name it […]
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‘They Just Don’t Want Authors’: Latiné Writer Uninvited from Speaking at Texas School
“The most rewarding part of stories,” said author Jonny Garza Villa at a book signing hosted by Austin’s Little Gay Shop, is “realizing that I can write something that’s hyperspecific, a Mexican-American experience in a specific city in Texas, and how what that character is going through can relate to anyone, anywhere.” Garza Villa’s young […]