AUSTIN, Texas — A market highlighting Black creators in Austin said it has faced some challenges with its location.
One of the places the Black Makers Market has utilized is the African American Cultural and Heritage Facility, which has been overgrown and not properly landscaped.
City of Austin response
KVUE reached out to the city of Austin and received the following response with an update on the landscaping process:
"The landscaping contractor should be done by the end of the day tomorrow [Saturday, March 23]. The work we are doing is to provide a better short-term solution to even out the ground plane and provide better drainage at the facility so that events like the Black Makers Market can take place on the lawn more feasibly and sustainably."
The next market will be held from noon to 4 p.m. at the facility, located at East 11th Street.
The market is a chance to highlight more than 40 different vendors. It celebrates Black small businesses and entrepreneurs and gives them a platform.
Representatives from the market said the facility received temporary funding from the city to cut the grass before this weekend's event, but they were looking for a more permanent solution.
"We are so appreciative of what they're giving us and giving us the space to show out. But, you know, when it comes to a lot of people's products, you know, having high grass doesn't really look well with some of their handcrafted pieces," Dominique Kirven, the Black Makers Market's public relations coordinator, said.
"I know they're working on it, and we're we've been patient," Kirven continued. "But sometimes, we get that feedback from our own small businesses, our entrepreneurs saying like, 'Hey, you know, I don't want to put my products, you know, on gravel or grass that is not kept up.' And, you know, some people are allergic."
While the organization is grateful for the space, members said it could be better kept to improve the quality of their market.
"We don't want to have to go through a little forest to just to meet our makers, to network with our small businesses. We like to have the clean-cut like, any other turf that people have at other pop-up locations such as South Congress, you know, such as North Austin. They have so many, you know, clean, neat surfaces for us to actually view their product. And I think that's one of the biggest opportunities is making sure that we get that at get that equally, shown to us," Kirven said.
The other location the market uses is the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, but market members said it will be closing soon for renovations.