Whitney and Waller Austin were on the show this week talking about the upcoming WhitneyStrong Foundation event and how making art can play a role in addressing gun violence. Tune in to WXOX 97.1 FM, or stream on Artxfm.com Thursday at 10am to hear artists talk about their work and social acvtivism on LVA's Artebella On The Radio with Keith Waits.
Waller Austin is an interdisciplinary artist who relies heavily on humor to engage viewers with a myriad of subversive themes, juxtaposing the authentic with the apocryphal. The reactionary nature of his work has compelled him to explore concepts of originality and memisis, post-colonial colloquialisms, and mythologized identities of self and the other.
Austin studied painting and art history at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned a Master of Fine Art degree from Sam Fox School of Art and Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. Austin currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, Whitney and their two children, where he is an adjunct art instructor at Jefferson Community and Technical College.
Austin had prepared a silly art exhibition to open at the Tim Faulkner Gallery on September 21st, but after his wife survived being shot 12 times as she walked into work in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 6th, Waller was moved to create a much different installation in response to the incident.
Whitney Austin is a Louisville native who studied Entrepreneurship and Psychology at the University of Louisville. With her husband Waller she is the founder of Whitney/Strong
“For nearly a year, Whitney/Strong has worked tirelessly to create relationships, both on the local and national stages that will help us on the road to ending gun violence. In celebration of our efforts, we are excited to announce our largest event yet, A Night for Life. It will provide an in-depth overview of the majority-supported solutions we've selected to help end the epidemic of gun violence in our country.”