Latest / Austin Signal / Petition to close Austin schools, APD’s use of force, Reuse on the Runway
Transcript
- 0:09Some parents at two Austin middle
- 0:10schools are running out of time in
- 0:12their effort to get the schools
- 0:13closed, a move to try and
- 0:15avoid a state takeover of the entire
- 0:17Austin independent school district.
- 0:20Austin police characterized the
- 0:21fatal shooting this summer of an
- 0:23unarmed teen as a likely quote
- 0:25suicide by police, but
- 0:26some questioned the use of force and
- 0:28argue APD should better handle
- 0:30mental health crisis cases.
- 0:32That's coming up on today's
- 0:35show.
- 0:36The Austin Signal is a production
- 0:38of KUT News, hosted by
- 0:40Jennifer Staten.
- 0:42There's still time to apply to vote
- 0:43by mail in the upcoming midterm
- 0:45election.
- 0:46What seniors need to know?
- 0:48Plus, meet a local designer turning
- 0:50waste into wearable art for
- 0:51an upcoming fashion show.
- 0:54That and more up next on
- 0:56Austin Signal.
- 1:07Hi Austin, it's Wednesday, October
- 1:0914th, 2026.
- 1:11I'm Jennifer Staten.
- 1:13This is Austin Signal.
- 1:16Today is the last day for parents
- 1:18at Burnett and Webb Middle Schools
- 1:20to sign a petition to close
- 1:22their schools in an effort to avoid
- 1:24a state takeover of the Austin
- 1:26Independent School District.
- 1:28KUT's Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vazquez
- 1:30tells us a group of volunteers has
- 1:32been gathering signatures outside
- 1:34of the two schools.
- 1:40On Tuesday morning, Ana Salas-Porras
- 1:42was outside of Burnett Middle School
- 1:44approaching as many parents as she
- 1:45could.
- 1:46She'd asked them if they knew about
- 1:47the petition to close the school.
- 1:49If they didn't know what she was
- 1:50talking about, she would explain.
- 1:57Burnett and Webb Middle Schools
- 1:58received five consecutive failing
- 2:00grades from the Bye.
- 2:01Now the Texas Education Commissioner
- 2:03can appoint a new superintendent and
- 2:05a board of managers for Austin ISD.
- 2:07But with enough signatures, parents
- 2:09from both middle schools can ask
- 2:11the state to close their campuses
- 2:12instead and develop a plan
- 2:14for where their kids will go next.
- 2:16For the petition to be valid, 51
- 2:18percent of parents at each school
- 2:20must sign it.
- 2:25The petition to close the schools is
- 2:27the only way for parents to have a
- 2:29voice, Salas Porras tells a parent.
- 2:33After explaining the situation,
- 2:35she asks parents if they want to
- 2:36sign. Most of them do.
- 2:38Some of the petitions are already
- 2:40filled out with the students' and
- 2:41parents' information, including
- 2:42their addresses.
- 2:44Right as school starts, an
- 2:46announcement on the school speakers
- 2:47says every student will be sent
- 2:49home with the petition.
- 2:50That each community member reads the
- 2:52document carefully so they fully
- 2:54understand their rights and options.
- 2:55An AISD spokesperson told
- 2:57KUT that to ensure families had
- 2:59the right information, the district
- 3:01has gotten involved by providing
- 3:03hard copies of the petition, along
- 3:05with an explanation of their options
- 3:06in English and Spanish.
- 3:08With less than a week to gather
- 3:09signatures, on Friday, the Austin
- 3:11Council of PTAs said they
- 3:13would help inform parents and get
- 3:14their signatures.
- 3:15For the plan to work, they need 299
- 3:18signatures for Burnett and 174
- 3:20for Webb.
- 3:22That's why volunteers like las
- 3:23porras have been working non-stop.
- 3:26Juan Oribes is one of two Burnett
- 3:28parents helping out that morning.
- 3:29There is no information for the
- 3:30parents, they don't know, they are
- 3:32surprised.
- 3:33She says parents don't have enough
- 3:35information.
- 3:35Most of them are lost about what's
- 3:38happening. Initially, Uribe's was
- 3:40against the petition, but now
- 3:42she says it's all the same to her.
- 3:45Little bit of hope.
- 3:46But at least it gives her a little
- 3:47bit of hope.
- 3:49I'm doing what little or a
- 3:51lot for my own good.
- 3:52She feels like she's doing something
- 3:53for the well-being of her kid, she
- 3:55says.
- 3:56Vanessa Gámez, a web mom, says she
- 3:58doesn't want to sign the petition.
- 4:00It's not in her language.
- 4:02Even if
- 4:05it was in her own language, she says
- 4:07she doesn' understand the Texas
- 4:08education codes mentioned in the
- 4:10petition, as volunteers gather
- 4:12petitions outside of web.
- 4:14Gama says it feels intrus
- 4:17asking parents to sign.
- 4:20A pressionando con algo que
- 4:22pues hay mas dudas,
- 4:24hay m feel pressured, there's
- 4:27n a lot of questions.
- 4:29In a cuando vas
- 4:31a dejar a un ni
- 4:33para explicar.
- 4:34During dr not
- 4:36enough time to expl Some
- 4:39parents have told h
- 4:40they didn't quite under
- 4:43To answer any questions, Salas-Borra
- 4:46says volunteers will also be at
- 4:47after school events and football
- 4:49games gathering signatures.
- 4:51And for these parents to realize
- 4:52that they can organize and have a
- 4:54voice and not just let
- 4:56the state take over.
- 4:58Meanwhile, Gammes wishes the two
- 4:59middle schools had that many
- 5:01volunteers show up to uplift them
- 5:03when they needed it.
- 5:04Volunteers and families have until
- 5:06Thursday to submit the signatures to
- 5:08the superintendent, who would
- 5:09validate them and turn them to the
- 5:11state.
- 5:12I'm Greta Díaz González Vázquez
- 5:14in Austin.
- 5:22In July, the fatal shooting
- 5:24of Anthony L.
- 5:25Williams II, an unarmed teenager,
- 5:28was characterized by the Austin
- 5:29police chief as a likely, quote,
- 5:31suicide by police.
- 5:33But Austinites came out in droves to
- 5:35protest the shooting, questioning
- 5:37the use of force and arguing the
- 5:39department should better handle
- 5:40cases involving mental health
- 5:42crises. KUT's Andrew
- 5:44Weber reports.
- 5:46In the immediate aftermath of
- 5:47Anthony Williams II's shooting,
- 5:49Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said
- 5:51after three decades of experience,
- 5:53she was almost certain what it was.
- 5:55And all points are indicating
- 5:57that this was a suicide by police.
- 5:59But this whole incident started with
- 6:01a call. A 911 call,
- 6:03APD says was placed by Williams that
- 6:05said there was a suspect in a park
- 6:07with a gun.
- 6:09Austin 911, do you need police,
- 6:11fire, EMS or mental health services?
- 6:14And that call is key,
- 6:16says Chuck Wexler from the Police
- 6:18Executive Research Forum, a national
- 6:20think tank that provides training
- 6:21for law enforcement across the
- 6:22country.
- 6:23Wexlar says the 911 call dictates
- 6:25the tone of how officers will
- 6:27respond and gives them key
- 6:29information they need to know.
- 6:30Wexlor helped draft Perf's industry
- 6:32standard training for so-called
- 6:34suicide by cop calls.
- 6:36And our whole purpose of this
- 6:37training is to try to
- 6:39prevent this tragedy from
- 6:41happening.
- 6:42That if you can somehow
- 6:44get dispatchers to ask the
- 6:46questions, to try and figure out
- 6:48what this person is,
- 6:50and if they are suicidal.
- 6:52And Austin police have been using
- 6:53that training since it first came
- 6:55out in 2019.
- 6:57Seth Stoughton is a former police
- 6:58officer and criminologist with the
- 7:00University of South Carolina.
- 7:01He previously testified in the trial
- 7:03of Christopher Taylor, an Austin
- 7:05police officer who fatally shot Mike
- 7:06Ramos in 2020.
- 7:08He has questions about the incident.
- 7:10I certainly can't just look at this
- 7:12video and the information
- 7:14I know about the scene and conclude,
- 7:15oh, yes, this is definitely suicide
- 7:17by cop.
- 7:18In videos released after the
- 7:19shooting, three officers are seen
- 7:21responding.
- 7:22Williams is by a playscape.
- 7:23When officers approach him, he
- 7:25reaches for his waistband.
- 7:26They fire.
- 7:27He was unarmed.
- 7:28Staunton has questions about that
- 7:30initial 911 call, namely the
- 7:32exchange.
- 7:32Is he like brandishing it
- 7:34or does it just happen to happen?
- 7:39Brandy, she can get it, I'll just
- 7:40say Brandy
- 7:42she can do it.
- 7:44Someone or is he just by himself?
- 7:46You can in by yourself.
- 7:48A lot of people don't know what
- 7:50brandishing means or if
- 7:52they do know what brandishing, it
- 7:53means they're not going to be
- 7:54necessarily using brandishing
- 7:56in the same way
- 7:58as the police or a dispatcher.
- 8:01Stoughton didn't say whether
- 8:02officers responding to this incident
- 8:04were unreasonable or whether their
- 8:06actions were illegal.
- 8:07But the use of brandishing may have
- 8:09put them more on edge.
- 8:10It's a phenomenon called dispatch
- 8:12priming, when information related to
- 8:14officers colors how they may react
- 8:16to a call.
- 8:17Stoughtons said it's a necessary
- 8:18part of being a cop, and it saves
- 8:20lives. But if the information is
- 8:22wrong or incomplete,
- 8:24it can lead to bad outcomes.
- 8:26Usually I would expect a dispatcher
- 8:27to ask a more open-ended question
- 8:29there, not to supply
- 8:31the terminology that someone may
- 8:33not know.
- 8:34Officers didn't know Williams was
- 8:36unarmed, and the call was not
- 8:38flagged as mental health-related.
- 8:40Wexler, the other police expert,
- 8:41says there are always variables in
- 8:43these situations, and he points out
- 8:44that it's never clear whether an
- 8:46incident like this was planned or
- 8:48spontaneous until after the
- 8:50fact.
- 8:51Kind of behavior, this kind of
- 8:53phenomenon, happens,
- 8:55and you frequently don't
- 8:57realize it until after it happens."
- 9:00The shooting is still under
- 9:01investigation by Austin Police.
- 9:03APD told KUT that it's working
- 9:05on bolstering its training and
- 9:07communications to better deal with
- 9:08calls involving mental health crises
- 9:10and avoid these types
- 9:12of shootings going forward.
- 9:14Assistant Chief Angie Jones says the
- 9:16upcoming transition of APD's 911
- 9:18call center to a civilian-run
- 9:20model presents an opportunity to
- 9:22improve call takers' performance.
- 9:23The department has quality assurance
- 9:25reviews under APD's current
- 9:26management.
- 9:27They're done on an ad hoc basis.
- 9:29The civilian run model would have a
- 9:31manager tasked with regular quality
- 9:33assurance on calls, Jones says.
- 9:35But having a civilian
- 9:37manager that is dedicated to
- 9:39that will allow a much deeper
- 9:41dive into our quality assurance
- 9:43of our call takers, of our
- 9:45dispatchers.
- 9:46As for the officer's response,
- 9:48Jones says for a decade, the
- 9:49department has been using PIRF's
- 9:51training on de-escalation and more
- 9:53recently, how to avoid suicide
- 9:55by cop.
- 9:56Cadets at the Austin Police Training
- 9:57Academy simulate situations
- 9:58involving people having mental
- 10:00health crises and they practice
- 10:02de- escalation.
- 10:03How they talk, not barking orders.
- 10:05How they approach a situation, not
- 10:07bull rushing someone with their
- 10:08weapons drawn.
- 10:09Jones says the department is
- 10:11expanding training for active
- 10:12listening and crisis intervention at
- 10:14the academy.
- 10:16It will require that additional
- 10:17training for all officers.
- 10:19And what that's going to look at is
- 10:21in situations,
- 10:23in these situations where we have
- 10:25time, can we
- 10:26slow things down, earn trust,
- 10:29gain understanding, and build
- 10:30rapport with people before
- 10:32attempting to change their
- 10:34behaviors?
- 10:34Another possible solution to avoid
- 10:36officer-involved fatalities,
- 10:38drones.
- 10:39Those drones will have an operator
- 10:41that will be able to see what's
- 10:42happening and then tell the officers
- 10:44that are on standby,
- 10:46close by, but not actually making
- 10:47contact what they see.
- 10:49So it gives us a different
- 10:50perspective. And we're really
- 10:52looking into those types of
- 10:54technologies and advancements.
- 10:56Jones says using drones as
- 10:58first responders could allow
- 11:00officers an eye in the sky and
- 11:02help alleviate pressure on the
- 11:04understaffed department to avoid
- 11:06shootings like these in the future.
- 11:11I'm Andrew Weber, in Austin.
- 11:21Polling this fall from AARP
- 11:24shows 84 percent of Texas voters
- 11:2615 older rate themselves at 10
- 11:28out of 10 on how motivated
- 11:30they are to vote in this fall's
- 11:31midterm election.
- 11:33In Texas, those 65 and older
- 11:35can apply to vote by mail.
- 11:36No other reason needed.
- 11:38For KUT's Longview Project
- 11:40on aging in Austin, I talked
- 11:42with Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon
- 11:43Mercado at her office about what
- 11:45seniors and those who care for them
- 11:47need to know about mail-in
- 11:49ballots.
- 11:50Remind us now what are the
- 11:52age requirements for
- 11:54voting by mail in Texas.
- 11:57You can qualify to vote by mail
- 11:59for a couple of different reasons.
- 12:01Those include having a
- 12:03disability, being
- 12:04out of the county during the
- 12:06voting period, being pregnant
- 12:08and expected to deliver within three
- 12:10weeks of election day, or being
- 12:1265 years of age or older.
- 12:15Even though you're qualifying under
- 12:16the age requirement, you can select
- 12:18an annual application that will
- 12:20qualify you for ballots for the
- 12:22entire year, but you do have to
- 12:24apply every year.
- 12:25Even though you're 65 years of
- 12:27age or older this year, and you'll
- 12:29also be that older, older
- 12:31next year, the state still
- 12:33requires you to apply every year.
- 12:34Do you know the origin of that
- 12:36requirement of asking folks who are
- 12:3865 and older to reapply
- 12:41every year to get ballots
- 12:43for that year?
- 12:44These requirements are developed by
- 12:46the Texas legislature.
- 12:48So with what we generally know about
- 12:50the Texas Legislature and the
- 12:52majority of that body, they have
- 12:54generally aired to be very
- 12:55conservative with allowing folks
- 12:57to apply for ballot by mail.
- 12:59So somebody who is age 65
- 13:01and older or in one of the other
- 13:03categories you describe wants to
- 13:04apply for a ballot by mail,
- 13:07what do they have to do to
- 13:09fill out that application?
- 13:11You will complete all the voter
- 13:13information fields, including
- 13:15providing one of the following
- 13:16numbers. Either your Texas
- 13:19driver's license or Texas ID number
- 13:20or your election identification
- 13:22certificate, if that's your state
- 13:24ID, or the
- 13:25last four digits of your social
- 13:27security number.
- 13:28The state requirement is that you
- 13:30include whichever number is
- 13:32the number you used when you
- 13:33registered to vote.
- 13:35If you're like me, I
- 13:37registered to vote over 20 years
- 13:39ago. I have no idea, did I use my
- 13:41driver's license? Did I use social?
- 13:43So we encourage all voters to
- 13:45just include both numbers.
- 13:46That way we can be cautious and
- 13:48hopefully accept their application
- 13:50regardless of which number is
- 13:52included.
- 13:52And where can people actually get an
- 13:53application?
- 13:56Unfortunately, you cannot apply
- 13:58online. We don't have like an app or
- 14:00a website that the state allows you
- 14:01to use.
- 14:02You can go online to vote travis.gov
- 14:05or votetexas.gov
- 14:07to find that application, complete
- 14:09it, print it, mail it to our office
- 14:11or your elections administrator,
- 14:13depending on your county.
- 14:14You can also go to the secretary of
- 14:15state's office.
- 14:16You can come to our offices in
- 14:17person if you'd like to.
- 14:19Get an application for ballot by
- 14:21mail, and you can also request that
- 14:23our office or the Secretary of
- 14:24State's office mail you an
- 14:25application ballot by email as well.
- 14:27Is there a lot of steps?
- 14:28Go online, print it out, and then
- 14:30fill it out. All the different
- 14:31numbers. Is there more direct way
- 14:33to do it or is this really like
- 14:35the only way?
- 14:36That is unfortunately really
- 14:38the way it has to be done.
- 14:39It is a lot of steps.
- 14:40It does put a lot burden and
- 14:42barriers on the part of the voter.
- 14:45What is the deadline to apply for
- 14:47a ballot by mail for this
- 14:48fall's general election?
- 14:50October 23rd.
- 14:52We encourage folks, though, to
- 14:54apply as soon as possible.
- 14:56It's kind of a big package.
- 14:57You've actually got the parts here.
- 15:00I see like I think three envelopes
- 15:02and a piece of paper.
- 15:04What do people need to know to
- 15:06fill this out?
- 15:06Once we mail their ballot
- 15:08to them, they are going to get an
- 15:10envelope that notes that it's from
- 15:12the Travis County Clerk's Office.
- 15:13It will have an official elections
- 15:15logo placed on it and
- 15:17inside of that package will be
- 15:19a series of different notices that
- 15:21are legally required to talk to them
- 15:23about the instructions for returning
- 15:25their ballot by mail, completing
- 15:26their ballot by mail.
- 15:27They'll have two inner envelopes.
- 15:30So one is going to be the secrecy
- 15:32envelope.
- 15:33Where they actually place their
- 15:35ballot inside.
- 15:35It has more instructions for the
- 15:37voter. And then they're gonna have
- 15:39their carrier envelope to put
- 15:41the secrecy envelope inside of.
- 15:43And that will already be
- 15:45postage paid.
- 15:46It will be addressed
- 15:48to our PO box.
- 15:50It will have a signature line
- 15:52for them as well and
- 15:54some additional instructions to make
- 15:56sure that they have properly
- 15:57completed everything they need to do
- 15:59to return their ballot to us and
- 16:00have it accepted. Can people...
- 16:03Get help filling out either
- 16:04their application for mail-in ballot
- 16:06or the actual ballot.
- 16:09Yes, people can have assistance
- 16:11for filling out your
- 16:13application for ballot by mail, as
- 16:14well as your actual ballot.
- 16:16Whoever is helping you will review
- 16:18the instructions that we provide on
- 16:19all of these different materials.
- 16:21They will complete an additional
- 16:23witness or assistance section
- 16:25of the application.
- 16:27They will also
- 16:29be able to assist you with your
- 16:31ballot that has another set of forms
- 16:32that go with it as well.
- 16:33What is the dead?
- 16:34Line for getting the ballot
- 16:36filled out and all
- 16:38the envelopes and back in the mail
- 16:40so that it gets to you all in
- 16:42time to be counted for the
- 16:43November 3rd general election.
- 16:45The legal requirement is that the
- 16:47ballot must be postmarked by 7 p.m.
- 16:49On Election Day, so essentially the
- 16:51same time frame as an in-person
- 16:52voter, right? Inline by 7p.m., or
- 16:54postmark by 7pm on Election day.
- 16:56It physically needs to be in our
- 16:58office by 5 p.
- 16:59M. The next business day, so 5 p
- 17:01.m. Wednesday.
- 17:02They also have the option to
- 17:04hand-deliver their ballot to us on
- 17:06Election-day only.
- 17:07You can hand- deliver it to our
- 17:09office at 5501 Airport Boulevard.
- 17:12Every county in Texas is
- 17:13allowed to have one
- 17:16location for hand delivery that is
- 17:17also a legislative restriction so we
- 17:19cannot have multiple drop boxes
- 17:21across the county.
- 17:23It is only on election day and is
- 17:24only your ballot so you cannot bring
- 17:26a ballot for a loved one.
- 17:28For both the application
- 17:30and then also the ballot,
- 17:32what can people do to check the
- 17:34status?
- 17:35The voters can actually
- 17:37check votetexas.gov,
- 17:39votetravis.gov for the
- 17:41ballot tracker and it
- 17:43will also show their application
- 17:45status as well.
- 17:47The state has had several challenges
- 17:49with their voter database, Team
- 17:512.0.
- 17:53Because of the different sort
- 17:55of software development bug,
- 17:56syncing issues that we've
- 17:58run into, we haven't always
- 18:00found that system to be the most
- 18:02timely with updating.
- 18:04How would you describe seniors as
- 18:06a voting group?
- 18:09They're our best voters.
- 18:10They're well-versed in the
- 18:12procedures. They've had many years
- 18:13of experience coming to the polling
- 18:15place, navigating through this
- 18:16process.
- 18:17So they are generally well-prepared
- 18:20walking into the poll place.
- 18:21They know what IDs to bring.
- 18:23And I will say they also tend to
- 18:25be the constituency that has
- 18:27done the most research on their
- 18:28ballot. So they're quick at
- 18:30the voting booth.
- 18:35That was Travis County Clerk,
- 18:37Diana Lee Monmercado.
- 18:39And that conversation was part of
- 18:40our project, The Long View, about
- 18:43aging in Austin.
- 18:45We've got more Austin Signal coming
- 18:47up right after this.
- 18:59This is Austin Signal,
- 19:01thanks for tuning in.
- 19:03Have you ever looked at a box of
- 19:05straws and thought, wow, I
- 19:07can make a great dress out of those?
- 19:10No?
- 19:10Well, a few artists in Austin
- 19:12have and they're sending their straw
- 19:14creations down the runway.
- 19:17For KUT's Art Beat, Stephanie
- 19:19Federico met one designer who's
- 19:20turning waste into wearable art for
- 19:23Austin Creative Reuse's upcoming
- 19:25fashion show.
- 19:27Joanne Cabaroos is heating up a
- 19:29panini press, but she's not
- 19:31making a sandwich.
- 19:33First, she needs to put on her gear.
- 19:35I put the respirator here and then
- 19:36the goggles
- 19:39She closes the
- 19:41lid and sets a timer for 45
- 19:43seconds.
- 19:44Then we wait and listen.
- 19:48We're out on the balcony of our
- 19:49apartment in Round Rock.
- 19:51I'm just doing this very
- 19:53safely, carefully outside.
- 19:55I wanna make sure everyone knows
- 19:57that I'm doing this.
- 19:59Maybe people might start doing
- 20:01this too in their household.
- 20:03Don't do this in your own home.
- 20:05You can smell something.
- 20:10I'll remove it from the panini
- 20:12press and I'll wait because
- 20:14right now it's sticking a little bit
- 20:16on the parchment paper.
- 20:19Joanne pulls out a gooey green blob
- 20:21of plastic.
- 20:22It used to be a pickleball.
- 20:24If you want to shape it a certain
- 20:26way, you've got to
- 20:28mold it and manipulate
- 20:30the object quickly because it's
- 20:32going to...
- 20:33Cool off quickly.
- 20:35She uses a gardening tool to shape
- 20:37the melted pickleball into flowers.
- 20:40She'll sew those onto an upside-down
- 20:41lampshade attached to a headband.
- 20:43I found a $1
- 20:46lampshade from
- 20:49Austin Creative Reuse
- 20:51and then I wanted
- 20:53to use it for the hat.
- 20:55Joanne is creating an outfit she'll
- 20:57wear for the reuse on the runway
- 20:58fashion show at Mueller's
- 21:00Branch Park Pavilion this weekend.
- 21:03Which one?
- 21:04This one.
- 21:05A giant bat sculpture hangs
- 21:07from the ceiling as you walk into
- 21:09Austin Creative Reuse.
- 21:11Joanne made it using recycled
- 21:12materials.
- 21:14The Windsor Park Shop has just about
- 21:16every random thing you can imagine.
- 21:19Rows of plastic bins are filled with
- 21:21ornaments, napkin rings,
- 21:23doll parts, and empty shotgun
- 21:25shells.
- 21:26There's a bin of small plastic
- 21:28containers with lids, and
- 21:30another of large plastic containers
- 21:32with outlets.
- 21:33For $2, you can buy a wooden duck
- 21:35that floats in water.
- 21:37All of this stuff is donated.
- 21:39This place is like a goodwill, but
- 21:41for crafty people.
- 21:42And these materials, well, you
- 21:44wouldn't think they could be turned
- 21:45into clothes.
- 21:47The idea for a fashion show started
- 21:49five years ago.
- 21:51Staff here wanted to showcase the
- 21:53talent of artists in Austin who are
- 21:54making new stuff out of old stuff.
- 21:57They were also concerned about the
- 21:58amount of waste the fact that
- 22:00industry sends to landfills.
- 22:02It felt like an opportunity to
- 22:03showcase sustainable style and
- 22:05inspire audiences to see different
- 22:07ways that fashion can be made
- 22:09reuse-centric.
- 22:10That's Gillian Strigley.
- 22:11She's the artist program coordinator
- 22:13at Austin Creative Reuse.
- 22:15About 40 designers will walk their
- 22:17creations down the runway this year.
- 22:19Some will wear the outfits
- 22:20themselves, others will enlist
- 22:22friends as models.
- 22:24The designers aren't required to use
- 22:26any particular materials, but
- 22:27they're encouraged to include items
- 22:29that don't sell well at the shop.
- 22:31They get a lot of those lanyards
- 22:33folks wear around their necks at
- 22:34conferences, and binders,
- 22:37lots of binders.
- 22:38This year, we actually asked
- 22:39designers, and it was totally their
- 22:41choice, if they wanted to try
- 22:42incorporating some of those more
- 22:44challenging materials.
- 22:45And quite a few people did, so we're
- 22:46excited to see, especially the
- 22:47binders. I don't know how that's
- 22:49gonna work, but I'm very excited to.
- 22:50Jillian says one time a designer who
- 22:53worked in healthcare used the
- 22:55tops from vials of rattlesnake
- 22:56antivirus.
- 22:57Venom to make a cloak.
- 22:59You can imagine some outfits
- 23:08worn out on the streets.
- 23:10But other pieces are more art than
- 23:12fashion.
- 23:13Several have been displayed at the
- 23:14Doherty Art Museum.
- 23:15Center and local businesses.
- 23:17I've also heard of designers
- 23:18breaking down their looks and
- 23:20reusing those materials again in the
- 23:21future. So we we love that our
- 23:23designers are truly inspired by the
- 23:24idea of circular economy and we'll
- 23:26make sure that those materials
- 23:27continue to be used in one form or
- 23:28another.
- 23:30This is a bike tube I
- 23:32found on the ground when I was
- 23:34walking with my dog.
- 23:35Back at Joanne's house in Round
- 23:37Rock, she's showing me her outfits.
- 23:39Jigsaw puzzle pieces are affixed
- 23:41to the straps of a purple dress.
- 23:43Its skirt is made out of bubble wrap
- 23:45with rhinestones glued to it.
- 23:48She's incorporated a yoga mat and
- 23:50some duct tape.
- 23:51She's attached vinyl wreckers to
- 23:53half of a volleyball for a second
- 23:54hat.
- 23:55Pickleball paddles are fastened to
- 23:57one another for a purse.
- 23:59So you're seeing trash,
- 24:01trash in there.
- 24:03You're seeing some reuse materials
- 24:05and also real trash.
- 24:07She has to be careful not to become
- 24:09a garbage collector.
- 24:10Everywhere I go, it's like
- 24:12automatic.
- 24:13Ooh, what is that?
- 24:14Can I use that?
- 24:16Is that worth it to take it
- 24:18home and stuff?
- 24:19Joanne says there's really no
- 24:21planning when she puts an outfit
- 24:22together.
- 24:23The design depends on the materials
- 24:25she finds.
- 24:26She'll walk into Austin Creative
- 24:27Reuse with tunnel vision.
- 24:29And so I look around in the
- 24:31store, oh, that's the color I
- 24:33want, let me look, let my look.
- 24:35Is this the structure that I
- 24:37think that will fit
- 24:39in my, this idea that
- 24:41I'm, I think.
- 24:42She's taking time off from her
- 24:44nursing job to focus on her
- 24:45creations and getting them out there
- 24:47into the world.
- 24:48She made a dress out of used
- 24:49climbing rope that's on display at
- 24:51Mesa Rim Climbing Gym.
- 24:53And you can see one of her
- 24:54pickleball creations at Pickler
- 24:56Austin West.
- 24:57She knows there's not a lot of money
- 24:59doing what she's doing, but hopes
- 25:01with exposure she might get
- 25:03commissions.
- 25:04Build something else.
- 25:06Like my soul is calling me
- 25:08for a creative path.
- 25:10It's always been, but now
- 25:11Now is the time."
- 25:13And she'll follow her creative path
- 25:15down the runway at Mueller's Branch
- 25:17Park Pavilion on Saturday.
- 25:19For KUT's Art Beat, I'm Stephanie
- 25:21Federico in Austin.
- 25:29That is it for us today
- 25:31on Austin Signal.
- 25:34Caroline File is our technical
- 25:36director.
- 25:37Alexandra Hart is our producer.
- 25:40Kristin Cabrera is our managing
- 25:42producer.
- 25:43Jimmy Moss is our showrunner.
- 25:46And I'm your host, Jennifer Staten.
- 25:48We'll talk with you tomorrow.