CultureMap Austin

6 days ago | austin.culturemap.com | Brianna Caleri

The University of Texas System Board of Regents has dedicated $100 million to creating a "permanent home" for the School of Civic Leadership. The 101-year-old Biological Laboratories building at UT Austin will be renovated by 2028 to house the civic school, which itself contains the regents-created and conservative donor-conceived Civitas Institute.

6 days ago | austin.culturemap.com | Brianna Caleri

Northeast Austinites will have a new way to keep cool this summer with the opening of the Colony Park Pool on May 24. Located at 7400 Loyola Ln., it's neighbor to Overton Elementary School on the west side of Lake Walter E. Long. The impressive community pool is intended to serve the Colony Park and Lakeside neighborhoods, but anyone is allowed to enter without a fee. It will be open year-round, which usually means it will be heated in winter months.

6 days ago | austin.culturemap.com | Brianna Caleri

After weeks of anticipation, Austin's best chefs, restaurants, and more winners of the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards can finally be revealed. You read all about the acclaimed nominees (as chosen by our judging panel of industry experts) in our special editorial series, then voted for Best New Restaurant in a bracket-style tournament. On Thursday, May 8, it was time to award the trophies.

1 week ago | austin.culturemap.com | Amber Heckler |Brianna Caleri

Is there a grocery store worth driving three hours for? Absolutely, and it’s worth staying a day or two to fully understandPullman Market. I’ve known the crew at Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group for a while now — chef Kevin Fink, his wife Ali Fink, and pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph are the ones I talk to the most — and every time they open something new, I’m blown away. It’s not just the concepts; it’s how they treat their team and the energy they bring as human beings.

1 week ago | austin.culturemap.com | Alex Bentley

There was a trend in the late 2010s/early 2020s of bawdy comedies featuring teenage female protagonists, including Blockers, Booksmart, and Yes, God, Yes. Those types of films seemed to go by the wayside in recent years, but they’re making a comeback with the new film Summer of 69. VIDEOAbby (Sam Morelos) is a high school senior and video game streamer who has had a crush on her classmate Max (Matt Cornett) for her entire childhood.