Keep Austin Weird
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This article is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (April 2010) |
Keep Austin Weird is the slogan adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in Austin, Texas. The phrase has long been believed to have been coined in 2000 by Red Wassenich,[1] who says he made the comment after giving a pledge to an Austin radio station. He later began printing bumper stickers, and now operates the website keepaustinweird.com and published Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town.[2]
Despite a challenge from Wassenich,[3] the slogan was later trademarked by Outhouse Designs and used to market T-shirts, hats, and mugs.[4][5]
A recently released book on the topic, Weird City,[6] discusses the cultural evolution of the "Keep Austin Weird" movement as well as its commercialization and socio-political significance.[7][8]
The Austin Independent Business Alliance is among at least 75 local groups affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance, a national non-profit that supports and connects pro-local community-based organizations.
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[edit] Culture
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This section may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite independent sources that support the characterization. (September 2010) |
The "Keep Austin Weird" slogan reaches far beyond a marketing campaign.[citation needed] Austin is the self-proclaimed "live music capital of the world" and the people of Austin reflect a friendly, accepting culture of artistic and individual expression that maintains the city as a vibrant and eclectic creative center and haven for an LGBT community, intellectual community, community of naturalists and environmentalists, and for subcultures and people(s) who are not mainstream. In a mostly conservative Texas, Austin is "Weird" because of that and because it continues to be liberal and progressive politically, socially, in culture, in the arts and in music, among other things. "Keep Austin Weird" moves beyond a mere slogan, to reflect the dynamics that encompass Austin.
In January 2009 alone, over 1700 live music venues were supported.[9] In addition, multiple festivals such as SXSW, Austin City Limits, Armadillo Bazaar[10] and the Batfest, among many others are highly attended with enthusiastic and often large audiences.
Austin's culture is further enriched by a multitude of celebrities such as actress Sandra Bullock, athlete Lance Armstrong, writer Bruce Sterling, film directors Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez, actor Matthew McConaughey and fashion designer Tom Ford.
There are many other notable figures who make Austin their home exactly because the culture is "Weird" and highly supportive of non-mainstream individuals and subcultures, intellectuals, and artistic and creative personalities.
Another "weirdness" to the city is the 1.5 million bats that live under the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, the largest urban bat colony in the world. When the bats first moved into the bridge following a rehabilitation of the structure in the 1980s, they were initially reviled, but have come to be celebrated as a tourism boon for the city, bringing in an estimated 7.9 million dollars from tourism and related business. A prominent piece of public art is in the shape of a swooping bat, and the annual Bat Fest, held in the summertime, further promotes them.
[edit] Criticisms
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This article's Criticism or Controversy section may compromise the article's neutral point of view of the subject. Please integrate the section's contents into the article as a whole, or rewrite the material. (May 2010) |
"Keep Austin Weird" seemingly promotes an independent, anti-corporate Austin, yet Outhouse Designs trademarked the slogan in 2003 and has used it ever since. Andrew Allemann, host of a satirical "Make Austin Normal" website, asks: "How can you have a commercial slogan that screams anti-corporation?"
Despite this criticism, the Keep Austin Weird campaign has proven successful. In April 2003, Borders bookstore withdrew plans to build a store near local bookstore BookPeople and local music shop Waterloo Records. In an article published by the Daily Texan, Abhinav Kumar writes:
A case study by Civic Economics, a strategic planning consulting firm, found that "local merchants generate substantially greater economic impact than chain retailers." The study revealed that if someone was to spend $100 at a chain like Borders, only $13 would be funneled back into the Austin economy. However, if you spent $100 at a local business such as Waterloo Records, about $45 would go back to fuel the Austin economy.
Additionally, in an Austin Chronicle article Civic Economics also revealed that over a 5-year period, $11 million dollars would have been siphoned off BookPeople and Waterloo Records.
[edit] See also
- Leslie Cochran
- Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas (book)
- Keep Portland Weird
[edit] References
- ^ Yonan, Joe (March 27, 2011). "Can Austin stay weird?". Washington Post. http://www.northjersey.com/travel/destinations_us/118728504_Can_Austin_stay_weird_.html.
- ^ "Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town by Red Wassenich". Schifferbooks.com. http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/book_template.php?isbn=0764326394. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ Yardley, Jim (December 8, 2002). "Austin Journal; A Slogan Battle Keeps Austin Weird". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/us/austin-journal-a-slogan-battle-keeps-austin-weird.html.
- ^ Kanter, Alexis (September 9, 2004). "Keep Austin Weird?". The Daily Texan. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2004/09/09/Focus/Keep-Austin.Weird-713824.shtml. Retrieved 2006-03-16.
- ^ Ross, Warren R. (2005-08-15). "Structures of justice". Uuworld XIX (3): 1. http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/1805.shtml. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
- ^ Long, Joshua (2010). Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas. University of Texas Press.
- ^ Kelso, John. "It's Weird Social Science: Thesis on Austin now a book." Austin American Statesman May 6, 2010.
- ^ Dunbar, Wells. "Viva la Resistance." Austin Chronicle June 4, 2010.
- ^ "Austin Metro Area Entertainment Guide, Your guide to Austin Music, Events and Activities". Austinmetro.com. http://www.austinmetro.com. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ "The 36th Season - Armadillo Christmas Bazaar". Armadillobazaar.com. http://www.armadillobazaar.com. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
