There is no application fee. DORF open calls are, and will always be FREE to apply. This is an online application process only. Applications will not be accepted by postal mail or email.
poolboy: don't pick up (2024), photo by Ryan Thayer Davis @ryanthayerdavis
DORF FISHBOWL RESIDENCY: KITCHEN TABLE / Sept 8–26, 2026
The Houston-based collective brings puppetry, printmaking, performance, and collective care for the final Fishbowl Residency of 2026.
DORF is pleased to welcome Kitchen Table for the Fishbowl Residency this September, transforming DORF’s gallery into an active space for puppetry, printmaking, performance, experimentation, and community gathering.
Kitchen Table’s residency explores the ways creative practice can help us gather, organize, resist, and care for one another. Throughout the residency, Kitchen Table invites Austin audiences into a series of participatory programs ranging from a shadow puppet performance and hands-on printmaking workshops to a large-scale puppet and prop build and an immersive performance ritual.
Rather than separating artist and audience, Kitchen Table’s residency invites people to make, learn, play, and build together.
"We take solace that we don’t disrupt alone, we build networks of mutual aid and collective resistance. We nurture small flames into big flames. Historical radical conversations started at a kitchen table. Have that potluck, be the villager: bring a dish."
- Kitchen Table
Programming Schedule
Playing in the Shadows
Shadow Puppet Performance with Andrea Garcia
Friday, September 11, 2026 | Doors 7:00 PM | Performance 7:30 PM
Kitchen Table presents Playing in the Shadows, a 30-minute shadow puppet performance exploring the ways people gather, organize, resist, and find community.
Through a series of interconnected scenes performed with paper shadow puppets, audiences witness moments of shared meals, dancing, learning, and collective action that illustrate how communities care for one another while living under systems of oppression.
As the story unfolds, antagonists emerge behind the screen and enter the audience’s space. Following scenes depicting factories, environmental destruction, surveillance, policing, and exploitation, these masked and costumed characters disrupt the audience, embodying the forces that threaten community life.
Meanwhile, the shadow world becomes a site of resistance. The puppets organize, protest, dismantle surveillance cameras, practice mutual aid, and build collective power. As the action behind the screen intensifies, it begins to directly oppose the antagonists occupying the physical space.
In the final act, the community unites through collective action. The puppets ultimately overcome the antagonists, celebrating the enduring power of solidarity, mutual support, and community organizing.
Weekend Workshop 1 of 2:
Spoon Power! Block Printing Workshop with Jessica Snow
Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 1:00–4:30 PM
poolboy (the play) (2026), photo by Sarah Navarrete @bysarahannie
poolboy: don't pick up (2024), photo by Ryan Thayer Davis @ryanthayerdavis
Learn the fundamentals of block printing while exploring the symbolism and culture of the spoon as a tool of sustenance, receptivity, community care, and possibility.
Led by Jessica Snow, this beginner-friendly workshop will guide participants through designing, transferring, carving, and printing their own custom blocks on paper and/or fabric. Participants will leave with their carved blocks and a small edition of prints, with print trading encouraged.
Participants are invited to bring a family spoon, photograph, or drawing as inspiration.
Open to all levels, ages 8–100+. Youth under 13 are requested to attend with a paid guardian. All materials are included.
Weekend Workshop 2 of 2:
Printing for Solidarity / Printing as Community Care Letterpress Printing Workshop with Jessica Snow
Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 1:00–4:30 PM
Using traditional wood type and letterpress printing, participants will create posters centered on solidarity, support, and lived experience.
The workshop explores the power of printed words to amplify voices and create catharsis, connection, and community. A special collection of letters featuring Spanish-language diacritics will be available, expanding participants’ ability to create messages in the language of their choice.
Participants who attend Spoon Power! are encouraged to bring their carved blocks and incorporate them into their posters.
Open to all levels, ages 8–100+. Youth under 13 are requested to attend with a paid guardian. All materials are included.
Presented in partnership with Print Austin.
poolboy (the play) (2026), photo by Sarah Navarrete @bysarahannie
CARPENTER HOTEL X DORF:
ARTIST TALK + WALK
Thursday, August 27 / 7–9 PM
Locations: Carpenter Hotel and DORF
Join Sam Mayer for an evening conversation on his residency process, beginning with an artist talk at Carpenter Hotel, followed by a short walk to DORF’s gallery space to experience the evolving work in person.
Cash-bar with full food and drink offerings available at Carpenter Hotel.
Learn more about our partnership series with Carpenter Hotel here!
poolboy: don't pick up (2024), photo by Ryan Thayer Davis @ryanthayerdavis
Video Streaming
Additional digital and livestreamed programming will emerge on the DORF Youtube account throughout the residency, extending the project’s exploration of visibility, performance, and artistic process into online space. Watch here for upcoming streams!
ABOUT FISHBOWL RESIDENCY
Named for DORF’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls, Fishbowl Residency invites audiences to witness artistic process unfolding in real time, transforming the gallery into a living studio where process becomes performance, and the boundaries between private creation and public encounter begin to dissolve.
Leaning into experimentation, collaboration, and improvisation, the residency will function as an evolving site for artistic play, process-sharing, and interdisciplinary exchange.
Throughout each residency, DORF will host weekly open studio hours on Saturdays from 12–5 PM, inviting audiences to witness works in progress and engage with the artists.
With Fishbowl Residency, DORF continues its commitment to building artist-centered cultural infrastructure in Austin—advancing experimental models that support creative risk-taking while critically examining the social, economic, and psychological conditions shaping artistic practice today.
Carpenter Hotel x DORF
The Fishbowl Residency is part of DORF’s broader programming partnership with Carpenter Hotel this year. Together, we’re bringing a year of curated, artist-led experiences to Carpenter Hotel and the Austin community—from workshops and artist talks to residencies, guided experiences, and custom art commissions.
Rooted in a shared commitment to supporting artists and celebrating Austin’s evolving cultural landscape, the partnership prioritizes meaningful engagement, accessibility, and fair artist compensation. Through this collaboration, visiting artists will receive complimentary accommodations, and all resident artists will receive a food and beverage stipend during their residencies. Learn more about Carpenter Hotel and the partnership here.
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.
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.
For more information, contact us at dorf@dorfworld.org.
PARKING:
Paid parking is available in the Zilker Point garage (near DORF entrance on Toomey Road) at $5/hour (max $30). Additional public paid parking is available along Toomey Road west of the building.
ACCESSIBILITY
ADA accessible parking is available at Zilker Point garage, with elevator access to DORF. DORF is also accessible via S. Lamar Blvd’s sidewalks.
DORF’s gallery is wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly. Onsite restrooms are wheelchair accessible with baby changing stations.
Service animals and friendly animals of most kinds are welcome at DORF!
Please check in at the Reception Desk or email us with questions or for assistance.
DORF:
218 South Lamar Blvd.
Suite 140
Austin, Texas, 78704.
Acknowledgements
This project is supported in part by an Austin Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment, Carpenter Hotel, and DORF’s generous community of volunteers and donors.
