Why should artists stay in Austin, or, more importantly, make Austin their home? The Austin Museum of Art's "22 to Watch" -- the brainchild of Dana Friis-Hansen and co-curators Gail B. Sanders and Erica M. Shamaly -- offered some good incentive. It was the first AMOA exhibition to focus on local talent in over a decade. The work, culled from artists living within a 50-mile radius of Austin, testified to the range of personalities who are trying to make the local art scene here a more thriving place to live and work. Of course Austin still has a long way to go in securing itself a permanent position on the contemporary art map, but if this exhibition is any indication of what's to come, then maybe it's time to start unpacking.
