The City of Round Rock is not just a growing community; it is also quickly becoming a haven for arts and culture enthusiasts. A well-known face in this vibrant cultural scene is Christina Rudofsky, the City’s Arts and Culture Associate who can often be found welcoming attendees at special events or greeting visitors at the Downtowner Gallery located at 231 East Main Street, Suite 160.
Rudofsky has been nurturing and celebrating the city’s artistic spirit as a City of Round Rock employee since 2019. Her warm demeanor and passion for the arts create inviting spaces for visitors and residents to experience Round Rock’s thriving arts and culture community. Outside of the gallery, you might find her helping host an Art PopUp Show or a concert series like Music on Main on the main Prete Plaza stage on Wednesday nights in the spring or fall or a more intimate show in one of the City’s downtown parklets during the lunchtime Music on Main series. Currently, she is assisting with planning for the City’s signature two-day arts event — The Round Rock Arts Fest and Chalk Walk, which will take place 2 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6 and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7 in the northwest parking area of Dell Diamond, 3400 E. Palm Valley Blvd.
Supported by strategic planning, Round Rock serves as an example of the role art can play in enriching lives and building a stronger, more vibrant community. By providing resources, education and support to artists and arts organizations, Round Rock’s Arts and Culture Office has also been instrumental in fueling the expansion of creativity within the city. The office launched in 2011 following the adoption of the City’s Arts and Culture Strategic Master Plan, which provided a blueprint for its development and resulted in the hiring of Arts and Culture Director Scot Wilkinson.
Since that time, Round Rock’s artistic landscape has flourished — Today, the creative industries in the city provide over 2,000 jobs, and the collective revenues of arts and cultural nonprofits reach nearly $2.5 million. The Arts and Culture Division — just a two-person team — hosted more than 100 events in Round Rock last year, drawing in approximately 90,000 attendees total. In acknowledgment of growing demand for arts in Round Rock and changing needs and trends, the city underwent an update to its master plan, known as Round Rock Creates.
Part of that plan is to increase the visibility of the arts — which Rudofsky works hard to do! She maintains an active list of events and information about arts and culture in Round Rock at roundrocktexas.gov/arts. She also runs the City’s Arts and Culture Facebook page at facebook.com/ArtsinRoundRock. If you’re not already following it, you’ll be amazed to see just how much art exists in Round Rock.
So next time you’re at one of Round Rock’s family-friendly special events and see this smiling face, be sure to say hi to people working hard to support the arts and culture in our community.
