AUSTIN, Texas — This weekend marked the 31st year of the Art from the Streets (AFTS) show in Austin. The show gives unhoused and at-risk people the chance to sell the artwork they've been working on all year.
"So many artists put their heart and soul in what they do and all their pieces that are here," said Kelley Worden, executive director, Art from the Streets.
Art from the Streets has a free studio where people can come and create art four days a week.
"Many of them come in and they find that positive community, and that's what they're needing to help them move forward," Worden said.
The program hosts art shows throughout the year, but this weekend's is its largest one, showcasing more than 3,000 art pieces created by more than 100 artists – artists like Larry Williams, who is an Austin native and has overcome homelessness.
"I had to paint my way back to where I needed to be," Williams said. "This gives me equilibrium."
Williams paints every single day, because he says it gives him an outlet to express his point of view.
"We have something to say, but we're not quite sure how to say it or what it is, you know, but the artwork is part of it,” Williams said.
Worden said the best part of the event is seeing the emotion from the artists when people buy their pieces.
"Our artists feeling validation, feeling self-assurance, just that, 'What I, my work is done, is valued,'" Worden said.
For Williams, he says it's a bittersweet feeling.
"When you know you got your favorite piece of artwork and you want to keep it, and you know you're going to sell it too, that's when you know you've done something good," Williams said.
Ninety-five percentof the profit from each sale goes directly to the artist. Art from the Streets’ next shows are the Travis Heights Art Trail in November and the holiday show in December.