Austin Artist Wins Second Annual Tito's Prize

AUSTIN, TX — Big Medium, a nonprofit supporting contemporary art in Texas, has selected the winner of its second annual Tito’s Prize, officials said Tuesday.

Steve Parker has won the prize that includes a $15,000 award, a solo exhibition in the Big Medium Galleryfrom Oct. 19 through Nov. 18, and a prominent spot on the East Austin Studio Tour (EAST) November 10-11 & 17-18. The prize comes courtesy of a donation from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, the Austin-based liquor company, with the solo exhibition preceded by a special reception on Friday, Oct. 19 and run through the East Austin Studio Tour.

Parker is a musician, artist, and curator who creates communal, democratic work to examine history, systems, and behavior, officials described. The Tito’s Prize is intended to provide an artist the means to take a new step in their career. Big Medium hopes the award will have a meaningful impact on Parker’s artistic practice and help deepen his roots in Austin.

“I'm immensely honored and grateful to Tito's and Big Medium for this opportunity," Parker said in a prepared statement. "It's hard to describe how momentous this award will be for my practice. In the short term, it will provide me with the space, financial support, feedback, and platform to develop and refine a new gallery-oriented body of work. Looking forward, I am hopeful this opportunity will help me to wrestle with some fundamental questions in my own work, and in turn, equip me to make a positive, long-term impact to some of our city's most pressing artistic, cultural, and social issues.”

Parker was unanimously selected by a three-person curatorial panel, including Andrea Mellard, Director of Public Programs & Community Engagement at The Contemporary Austin; Dennis Nance, Galveston Arts Center Curator and artist; and Veronica Roberts, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Blanton Museum of Art.

“Steve Parker exemplifies the way contemporary artists push beyond the boundaries of genres and media towards the pursuit of creativity. His strong artistic practice in new music performance, in sites ranging from parks to parking lots, has expanded into public sound sculptures and more recently installations,"
Mellard said. "His generous approach brings together groups of trained performers and even invites curious members of the public to participate in his scores. Steve Parker proposed a multi-faceted exhibition proposal grounded in acoustic research that will be sure to engage the diverse audiences of the East Austin Studio Tour. I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to feature his work in the Big Medium Gallery as the winner of the Tito's Prize.”

Nance expounded on his role on the jury: "Jurying the Tito's Prize was a great opportunity to see work being made by Austin-based artists. The process provided a truly unique opportunity to gain insight on the community of artists that make up an important part of the cultural fabric of Austin. It's also wonderful to see Tito's and Big Medium stepping up to provide such a great opportunity and support for artists working locally. Steve Parker's work was introduced to me through this process and demonstrated an outstanding commitment to collaborative works that intersect artists and audiences through sound and installation. I feel his proposed installation for Big Medium will provide a unique experience for visitors to engage with his work.”

For his part, Zach Flores, director of philanthropic programming at Tito's Handmade Vodka, expressed the gratification of his company's role in the awards process: “Tito’s Handmade Vodka takes great pride in our creative community and those organizations such as Big Medium that help support and cultivate that creativity. It is our social responsibility to give back and directly support our artists by providing job opportunities while inviting the rest of our community to join us in doing so.”

For more information on Steve Parker and the Tito's Prize, visit bigmedium.org/titosprize.html.

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