Arthouse at the Jones Center



The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center on Congress Avenue, formerly known as the AMOA-Arthouse at the Jones Center, is one of two museum sites of the Contemporary Austin, in Texas.

History
Founded as the Texas Fine Arts Association (TFAA) in 1911, the organization's initial purpose was to maintain the studio and collection of sculptor Elisabet Ney, now the Elisabet Ney Museum. The association's early leadership helped to establish the studio art department at the University of Texas at Austin, promote the formation of a state arts commission, and found some of the state's major art museums.

In 1927, the TFAA began a visual arts touring program that brought selected works of art to communities throughout the state. In 1943, Clara Driscoll deeded her Austin estate, Laguna Gloria, to the TFAA, which operated the facility as an art museum until 1961, when the Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Inc. assumed that responsibility. Until the end of 1998, the TFAA maintained its state headquarters in the carriage house on the property and held three annual exhibitions in the main building.

In 1995, the TFAA's board of directors purchased the property at 700 Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. Three years later, in November 1998, the TFAA opened its new headquarters, the Jones Center for Contemporary Art.

In November 2002, the name of the organization was officially changed from the Texas Fine Arts Association to Arthouse.

In 2010 the architectural firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis (LTL) completed radical expansions and renovations to Arthouse at the Jones Center. As part of the remodeling, LTL and the New York City-based lighting design firm LumenArch installed 177 LED-lit rectangular laminated glass blocks perforating the southern and eastern walls of the building to create a "glowing" effect.