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Dog Days
May 24, 2025 @ 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
DORF invites you to join us for the opening reception for ‘Dog Days’, a summer group exhibition exploring the deep, complex, and often healing bond between humans and their canine companions. Selected through an open call, the exhibition features over 20 local and regional artists whose work celebrates the role of dogs in our lives—as loyal friends, symbolic figures, protectors, muses, and sources of joy and grief.
While the term “dog days” historically referred to a season of heat, unrest, and misfortune in ancient Roman and Greek calendars, this show reclaims the phrase with a different perspective: that in a time of global uncertainty and rising temperatures, the steady, loving presence of a dog can be a grounding force—a source of comfort, stability, and meaning.
Curated by DORF founders Sara Vanderbeek and Eric Manche, Dog Days is also a personal tribute to their beloved dog Lu, who spent 14 years as their cherished companion before returning to the cosmos in 2022. The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the emotional roles dogs play in our lives—how they rescue us, stay with us, and reflect our own humanity back to us in quiet and profound ways.
🐕🦺 Puppy and dog adoptions with the Austin Humane Society
🖌 Live dog portrait painting by Ami Plasse – RSVP signup coming soon!
🎧 Doggy dance party with DJ Dana Scully (Queer Vinyl Collective)
🐾 Leashed, friendly pups welcome!
