Lydia Street Gallery began as an idea over a decade prior to its inception in January 2021.  I bought the little commercial space initially as a permanent home for my art therapy practice, Art Therapy Austin in fall of 2011.  I opened the doors each fall for the East Austin Studio Tour (later called the Austin Studio Tour) as I had been since founding my practice in 2003. Each time I thought, this space would make a great gallery, my immediate thought would be that’s a a lot of work! Eventually, my immediate thought became, actually, that sounds like fun. That was in 2019.  I started to talk with different artists I admired, making plans for what would be both a shared art & therapy group practice & an art gallery.  

A week before the pandemic lock down, I had what would be my last meal for some time with my family in a local Thai place near my home. At the end of the meal, they served the usual fortune cookies.  My fortune said “Now is a good time to open a gallery.”  I am not kidding.  I thought, well, I guess I’m on the right track!  A week later, the country shut down.  Therapists moved online & I thought the space might as well be used for good.  

We opened during stage 5, pre-vaccine in January 2021.  The speciality was for mid & late career artists, a demographic I felt was somewhat neglected in Austin. We held 34 exhibitions, participated in six art fairs, & exhibited 32 artists.  Five of our artists have since passed from this life, some less expected than others: David Amdur, Steven Bernard Jones, Lawrence McFarland, Stephen Daly & Madelon Umlauf. While each of them are deeply missed, I am grateful to have given them a moment to shine.

In 2025, I made the decision to renovate & shift gears, to try out a new idea. The rest is yet unwritten! Let’s see where Lydia Art Salon goes…

                                               -Deanna Miesch, gallerist