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Saturday 12pm - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Prizer Arts & Letters

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Prizer Arts & Letters

We are a community-based and socially-engaged center for arts and literature.

The mission of Prizer Arts & Letters is to nurture and exhibit socially engaged artwork that fosters dialogue and creativity.

08/26/2026

A big thank you to Prizer artist-in-residence Sara Hickman for leading the Smithville Library’s Teen Night this week. For the group, Sara performed several songs, talked about the importance of mental health, and led creative drawing and journaling activities. Thank you, too, to Smithville Library Director Judy Bergeron for bringing the group to Prizer and to library staff member Paul for assisting with the creative activities.

08/14/2026

We had a great meeting with the incredible Hannibal Lokumbe at his studio in Smithville last week. Prizer is partnering with Hannibal on his program, the Music Liberation Orchestra, through which he teaches music, poetry and genealogy in area prisons.

Hannibal will also give a talk at Prizer about his process of bringing music and teaching restoration to incarcerated individuals - stay tuned for details about this important discussion.

Pictured: Hannibal in his studio talking about his current opera, Once A Place Called Earth

About Hannibal Lokumbe: Hannibal Lokumbe is an American composer, poet, community activist and noted jazz trumpeter. His career spans more than four decades. Originally from Smithville, Texas, Lokumbe lived and played in the New York jazz scene for many years where he performed with many of his music idols including Gil Evans, Roy Haynes, Cecil Taylor, Pharoah Sanders and Elvin Jones.

Notable awards and recognitions: Harlem Jazz Hall of Fame Lifetime Inductee; Bessie; National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); The Detroit Symphony Orchestra Lifetime Achievement, 2011; United States Artist Award in Music, Peter Cummings Fellow, 2010; Joyce Award 2011, Texas City Independent School District Hall of Fame; The Contemporary Arts Center SweetArts Award, New Orleans; Honorary Advanced Degree, Drexel University College of Arts and Sciences, 2017; Philadelphia Orchestra Composer-in-Residency, 2016-2019; 2020 recipient, Americans For The Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities.

Commissions: The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; The Philadelphia Orchestra; St. Louis Symphony; Detroit Symphony Orchestra; The American Composers Orchestra; Houston Symphony; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; New Jersey Symphony Orchestra/New Jersey Performing Arts Center; Kronos Quartet; Vocal Essence; Carnegie Hall; Carole Haas Gravagno; The Art Sanctuary of Philadelphia; Academy of Arts and Sciences; the Nashville Symphony and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (present).

07/24/2026

Thank you to Lindsay Hutchens, Austin’s Art in Public Places Coordinator, for coming to our Community Drawing Studio to tell people about the current open calls for public art. Two of these calls are for Texas-based artists, and two are for Austin-area artists (this includes artists residing in all counties that touch Travis - Williamson, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Blanco, and Burnet counties).

The deadline to apply is coming up soon on August 3rd. Here’s the link to apply: https://www.austintexas.gov/aipp Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment

07/23/2026

Many thanks to Sara Hickman Sara Hickman for opening the doors and hosting community gatherings during her stay as Prizer’s artist-in-residence. Sara has also been practicing her singing in the front window at night - it you stroll by 212 Main, you just might catch a window concert from the one and only Sara Hickman!

07/20/2026

We are deeply mourning the loss of artist Betelhem Makonnen. We had the honor of showing Bete’s work along with fellow artist and collaborator, Adrian Aguilera. Their exhibit, “People the We,” reflected Bete’s innate curiosity, her drive to engage with complex questions and her true openness of spirit. We will greatly miss Bete and thank her for the countless ways she enlarged our lives through her work and her being.

Pictured: Bete with Adrian and images from their show, “People the We.”

07/11/2026

Community Drawing Studio
Prizer, 212 Main Street, Smithville
Mondays in July & August, 7pm to 8:30pm

We had such a good time at our first Community Drawing Studio of the summer! Thank you to everyone who joined us to draw and much gratitude to Sarah Farwell and Lee Powell for leading these informal sessions.

We invite you to join us on Monday nights in July and August - all ages and skills welcome. We have the supplies, so just bring yourself and the desire to create to this free open studio.

07/06/2026

The Community Drawing Studio is back at Prizer!

Join us on Monday nights in July and August from 7pm to 8:30pm at 212 Main St, Smithville.

These sessions are free and open to all ages and skill levels. Just bring yourself and the desire to draw and create!

06/28/2026

Prizer is excited to welcome Sara Hickman as the Smithville artist-in-residence for July and August, 2026!

During her residency, Sara will work on completing two books — the first is a memoir on her life in music and the second focuses on the caregiving journey she is on with her mom. Sara is also looking forward to creating more murals in Smithville that celebrate local icons.

About the artist: Sara Hickman is a Grammy nominated singer/songwriter, visual artist, and avid fundraiser for charities in Texas and around the world. She has released twenty-three albums, via major labels and independently on her own label, Sleeveless. She had a No. 3 adult contemporary hit titled “I Couldn’t Help Myself.” She appeared twice on The Tonight Show, hosted her own VH-1 special, and produced an independent video that won first place in the USA Film Festival.

Hickman’s songs have appeared in film and TV, and she has sung for several national ad campaigns. She also co-founded the three-part vocal group Domestic Science Club with Robin Macy and Patty Lege. On her 2011 collection “Best of Times,” Hickman’s songs were covered by Texas musicians such as Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, Shawn Colvin, Ruthie Foster and thirty-five others. This collection raised funds for non-profits during Hickman’s appointed time as the Official Texas State Musician in 2010, a title that landed her smack dab in between Willie Nelson (2009) and Lyle Lovett (2011).

Sara is currently the Creative Outreach Director for St. Cecilia’s Episcopal Church in Roundtop, TX, and she has taught classes on songwriting, creativity, and navigating the music industry. She owns a vintage shop called Twig in Smithville, TX and has a podcast called Studio of the Future interviewing artists, musicians, politicians and various folks of interest.

06/16/2026

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Jonathan Paul Jackson’s show this past weekend. And, thank you to Jonathan for sharing his work and for all he brought to Smithville during his residency!

Jonathan be at Prizer (212 Main St, Smithvile) now through Friday. DM him if you’d like to stop by and see his work before he leaves! We will miss you, Jonathan!

06/13/2026

Jonathan Paul Jackson’s residency show opens today, Saturday, June 13th!

Stop by anytime between 2pm to 9pm to meet him and see work he created during his time at Prizer.

Address

Austin, TX

Opening Hours

Saturday	12pm - 5pm
Sunday	12pm - 5pm

Website

http://www.prizerartsandletters.org/

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