DORF Presents DOG DAYS Closing Reception
A dog-friendly closing reception on September 6, 2025, from 6–10 PM will feature a performance by Katherine Vaughn with their dog Saba, along with live, assembly-line style dog portraits by American Cheese Fondue—marking the artists’ first appearance in five years.
August 19, 2025, Austin, Texas. As the summer heat (hopefully) begins to break, DORF invites the community to bid farewell to Dog Days with an evening full of art, performance, and tail-wagging fun. On Saturday, September 6, from 6–10 PM, guests can enjoy live performances, cold drinks, hot dogs, and music by Joy Melan and The Picks—plus one last chance to experience the exhibition, featuring dog-inspired works by over 20 celebrated Texas artists, and over 20 Austin-based youth artists, paying creative tribute to their canine companions.
Closing Event Performances:
Still from tether, 2024, live performance, 1 hr. Image courtesy of DORF and Katherine Vaughn.
Performance by Katherine Vaughn and their dog Saba
7:00 PM
Dog Days artist Katherine Vaughn will present an iteration of tether, an ongoing performance that animates her sculptural installation — a tender and uncanny gesture that brings the exhibition’s themes into visceral, embodied form. Vaughn, alongside their dog Saba, will transform the space with a duet of play, rest, running, panting, breaking apart, coming together, and trust.
“By collaborating with my dog, I invite the audience to consider how we might all engage in a more equitable collaboration with non-human entities, with the ecosystem and the landscape, to achieve optimal agency, health and well-being for all.” –Katherine Vaughn
Performance by American Cheese Fondue
6:00 - 10:00 PM
Live dog portrait oil painting, featuring a one-night-only reunion of the three-artist assembly line collective American Cheese Fondue (Thomas Cook, Jeffrey Primeaux, and Saul Jerome San Juan).
A limited edition of 9 custom commissions by American Cheese Fondue are available to pre-order for the closing performance. Each artist takes 20-minute turns working on an 8” x 10” commissioned dog painting, finishing within an hour before your eyes. Human automation at its finest!
Visit this link to learn more and reserve your portrait.
Performance by Joy Melan and The Picks
6:00 - 10:00 PM
Get a first listen of Austin singer/songwriter Joy Melan’s upcomining single with her live debut on the DORF stage. Joy Melan will also be joined by her bandmates, Austin cover band legends The Picks, playing the hits - with a doggy infused twist!
DORF Presents Dog Days
Curated with love, Dog Days features 20+ Texas artists exploring the roles dogs play in our emotional landscapes—as muses, companions, and healers.
Victor lee - Cigarettes and Chocolate, 2023, Oil on Canvas, 30" x 40"
Opening Reception:
Friday, May 23, 2025 | 5:00–10:00 pm
Exhibition Dates:
May 23 – September 6, 2025
Closing Reception:
September 6, 2025
Location:
DORF at Zilker Point, 218 South Lamar Blvd., Suite 140, Austin, TX 78704
Open Saturdays:
12:00–5:00 PM
DORF is pleased to announce 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.
barndogz, Beware of Dog, 2025, music video stillParticipating Artists:
Barndogz, Steef Crombach, Armando De Lara, Michael Guerra Foerster, Megan Hildebrandt, Jules Buck Jones, Calder Kamin, Victor Lee, Stephen Longoria, Rebecca Marino, Eric Manche, Daniela Oliver, Chloe (CJ) Schemidt, Jessie Steinberg, Hiromi Stringer, Sara Vanderbeek, Katherine Vaughn, Jean-Pierre Verdijo, Dylan Warren, Alyssa Taylor Wendt, and Shelley Wood.
Youth Artists:
A special section of the exhibition features works by students, friends, and family of Sunset Valley Elementary, who were invited to contribute art inspired by the dogs in their lives. DORF extends special thanks to the families and educators who made this collaboration possible.
Hazel Bloomfield, Caroline Cerny, Julian Clements, Minerva Dever, Max Devlin, Lane Dickson, Tatianna Drake, Sophia England, Perla Erven, Isabel Feliz, Cricket Furey-Marquess, Rooster Furey-Marquess, Ernie Hildebrandt-Abrami, June Hildebrandt-Abrami, Sammy Macioge, Florida Manche, Luna Noell, Charlie Phillips, Elliot Phillips, Emiliano Portillo, Rodrigo Portillo, and Felicity Smith.
Opening Event Highlights:
🐕🦺 Puppy and dog adoptions with the Austin Humane Society
🖌 Live dog portrait painting by Ami Plasse
🎧 Doggy dance party with DJ Dana Scully (Queer Vinyl Collective)
🐾 Leashed, friendly pups welcome!
Opening Reception Views:
Photos by Colette Presley-Belloni
Pet Policy:
The Dog Days exhibition and opening reception are pet-friendly. All socialized, well-behaved, and potty-trained dogs are welcome—as long as they remain leashed at all times.
Parking:
Paid parking is available in the Zilker Point garage (entrance on Toomey Road) at $5/hour (max $30). Additional public paid parking is available along Toomey Road west of the building.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project has been financed in whole or in part by the City of Austin’s Elevate Grant Program
Special thanks to our community partners: the Austin Humane Society and Sunset Valley Elementary.
ABOUT LU
𝘿𝙤𝙜 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙨 is inspired by the life and love of a very good dog—Lu—who spent 14 years as a best friend, protector, and muse to Sara and Eric, and many others! Lu’s story is one of love, loss, and transformation—of being rescued and rescuing in return. This exhibition carries that spirit forward, honoring the dogs who have walked beside us, and the ways they remain with us always.
ABOUT DORF
DORF was founded in 2018 with a mission to build a village of artists, advocates, and innovators. DORF’s values of openness, intention, expression, and community have guided its programming, which includes exhibitions that tackle social justice, amplify marginalized voices, and foster meaningful dialogues.
DORF is committed to fostering equity and innovation in the arts. By supporting artists who are at risk of cultural erasure or displacement, DORF aims to shift the balance of representation within art institutions, offering resources and platforms to those historically marginalized.
We have received recognition in publications like Texas Monthly, Sightlines Magazine, The Austin Chronicle, Glasstire, Southwest Contemporary, and more, and received “Best New Experimental Art Gallery” in The Austin Chronicle.