Photos by Anna Mazurek
Jessica Shaefer, Global Art Program Manager and Lead Curator for the Artist in Residence (AIR) program, which commissions local artists to create unique installations at its offices around the world to inspire interaction, dialogue and learning for employees gave us some insight into the initiative as well as a look at an interactive art event at the Facebook Art House at SXSW 2019.
The AIR program aims to generate awareness for the artist. She spoke to us about this and one of the local Austin artists, Adrian Landon Brooks, who was working on a mural outside the Native Hostel on 4th street in Austin.
Adrian is one of the up-and-coming artists in Facebook’s under-the-radar – and very much growing – Artist in Residence (AIR) program, which commissions local artists to create unique installations at its offices around the world to inspire interaction, dialogue and learning for employees. It also aims to generate awareness for the artist.
Adrian is a painter and illustrator who works with found materials such as wood and metal as canvas. At Facebook’s Austin workspace, he incorporated found wood pieces as added texture to a Southwest landscape done in primary colors, incorporating simple, iconic imagery of two bird-like figures handing off geocubes to represent connectivity. Below is a picture of his mural at Facebook Austin.
Adrian’s work has been shown at galleries across the U.S. and internationally. However, his participation in the Facebook Artist in Residence program was a major turning point for his career.
For many years, the Artist in Residence program has been about bringing art into Facebook; now it’s focused on how the AIR program can help communities outside itself. This mural being created at SXSW for Austin is one of the first initiatives.
