501(c)(3) Nonprofit • Est. 1994
Alpine's Gallery Night
Over 30 years of building West Texas into a destination for art, music, and community.
How It Started
Six galleries and one bookstore
In 1994, a handful of Alpine artists and gallery owners had a simple idea: open their doors on the same night and invite everyone in.
That first Gallery Night — held the weekend before Thanksgiving — featured six public and private gallery locations and one bookstore in downtown Alpine. The response was immediate. Locals showed up in force, and artists who had been working quietly in studios across the Davis Mountains suddenly had an audience.
As attendance grew, the event expanded from a single evening into a full weekend and was rebranded as Artwalk. What started as a neighborhood open house became West Texas' longest-running arts festival — now in its 32nd year.
The nonprofit entity, Alpine's Gallery Night, Inc., was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2006, giving the organization the structure to fund scholarships, commission public art, and support community programming year-round.
Every November
Artwalk Alpine
Two days of open studios, live music, and community — the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Every year, dozens of local and regional artists set up along 5th Street and Kishmish Plaza in downtown Alpine. Sixteen to nineteen local businesses open with extended hours. Eight or nine Texas bands play on the main stage from morning through the evening. Food trucks line the street. And all of it is free to attend.
Artwalk traditions include the Art Car exhibition and parade, a silent art auction benefiting the Alpine Public Library (their single largest fundraiser each year), and the naming of a featured artist for each edition.
The event runs Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. both days, drawing visitors from across Texas and beyond to a town of 6,000 people.
What AGN Does
Beyond the festival
Scholarships, murals, and year-round support for the arts in Far West Texas.
Art scholarships
Annual scholarships to Sul Ross State University and Alpine High School graduates pursuing further education. Over $12,000 raised within two years through raffles, rummage sales, and auctions benefiting area school art programs.
Downtown murals
Starting in 2013, AGN commissioned muralist Stylle Read to create community murals throughout downtown. Alpine now has 57 murals and won Texas Travel Awards for Best Public Art in 2021 and 2025.
Cultural District
In 2011, downtown Alpine and the Sul Ross campus were designated a Cultural District by the Texas Commission on the Arts — driven in part by events like Artwalk, the Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and Trappings of Texas.
Spirits of the West
In 2022, AGN launched Spirits of the West as a spring counterpart to the fall Artwalk — expanding programming to two major annual events. Now in its 5th year, the festival brings Texas distillers, winemakers, brewers, and musicians to Alpine every April.
Library support
The Artwalk silent art auction is the Alpine Public Library's single largest fundraiser each year, directly supporting a vital community resource.
Alpine's art scene
AGN's work has helped sustain a downtown gallery district that includes Big Bend Gallery (35 artist co-op), 5th Street Gallery (in the restored 1912 Masonic Lodge), Whitlock Studio, and Curry Studio — all within walking distance.
Public Art
57 murals and counting
AGN's mural program has transformed Alpine's downtown into one of the most photographed small towns in Texas.
The Place
Why Alpine
A small town with an outsized creative identity.
Alpine sits at 4,475 feet in the Davis Mountains of Far West Texas, with a population of about 6,000. It's the county seat of Brewster County — the largest county in Texas — and the gateway to Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Sul Ross State University anchors the town's creative life. Its art legacy stretches back to 1932, when Julius Woeltz started a summer art colony at what was then Sul Ross State Teachers College. The university's Museum of the Big Bend and its studio art, art education, and art history programs continue to draw artists and students to the region.
Between the university, the galleries, the murals, and events like Artwalk and Spirits of the West, Alpine has built something rare: a genuine arts community in one of the most remote corners of the state. AGN has been at the center of that for over three decades.
Support the Mission
Back the arts in West Texas
50% of every sponsorship and donation goes directly to Alpine's Gallery Night, Inc. in support of regional artists. The other 50% covers festival production costs.