Honoring Neighborhood Elders with Art

Blackshear Neighborhood Garden is raising funds to 
HONOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ELDERS
with a mural by local artist Ryan Runcie!

(Location of mural)
(Previous work by Ryan Runcie)

The garden was founded in 2008 by a diverse group of neighbors. As the neighborhood continues to grow and change, we feel that it’s important to honor these elders, listen to their families’ stories and struggles, and continue learning how to come together to build community around food and fun.

Won’t you join us?

Your donation will go to paying the artist, buying supplies for this outdoor public art, and covering fundraising platform fees.
We are grateful to our support team: Creek People for sharing resources, Masonry  for fundraiser design and graphics, and Austin Parks Foundation  for sponsorship of the garden.
We appreciate any amount you can give to help us reach this goal!

Once we have raised half the total amount, Ryan Runcie can begin work on the mural. We hope to pay him this deposit by early December! The mural will be located on the rain tank at the entrance of the garden, welcoming all and highlighting the importance of rainwater and healthy watersheds in our lives. After a meeting in the garden and ongoing conversations, design is already underway. We hope to complete the project by the end of 2020 and begin holding (covid-safe) events to engage with the neighborhood and wider community.

Find out more about Ryan Runcie and his art here.
Connect with Blackshear Neighborhood Garden here.


Ryan Runcie will create a mural that incorporates portraits of the elders who founded and supported the community garden on East 9th Street. The garden leadership team and the member gardeners have discussed the idea of painting a public mural at the garden for a few years now. We feel especially drawn to move forward this project in the current moment, since several of our elders have passed on now, and the struggle for racial justice and equity has been lifted up this summer.

During the covid-19 pandemic, the garden has seen a surge in participation, and the next wave of folks have experienced it as a place to gather, connect with neighbors and nature, and find some peace and sustenance together. This bright spot during a dark time has motivated our efforts to highlight the individuals and families who have built communities on the East Side, and we want to bring their presence to the awareness of new neighbors and members.

This public art piece is very much about community: honoring the Black and Brown families and communities who have lived in Austin for generations, as well as the specific folks from 9th Street who came together to start the community garden. Art and story are just one of the paths by which the current neighbors, gardeners, and wider community can come together to build real relationships, as we all grapple with -and dream about- what a truly equitable society could be. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Ryan Runcie, and look forward to the vibrancy his work will bring to this public space. It will inspire the sharing and learning from the stories of these elders, and bear witness to the healing power of creating caring neighborhoods.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about this project, and we are grateful for the support to make it real!