Friday, September 18th at 7pm
Join us at MASS Gallery for a fundraiser dinner celebrating our 20th Anniversary! Gather with us in the yard to enjoy a beautifully handcrafted meal made in the Earth Oven- a communal, functional sculpture project that brings people together through shared experience. This special evening will feature an earth-focused menu of Mexican and Indigenous culinary traditions by guest chef Luna Vela, served on custom designed ceramic wares by Veronica Ortuño of Casa Veronica. Cocktails and NA drinks included. Dinner guests get a first look at MASS Gallery’s Fundraiser Exhibition and receive a one of a kind ceramic cup to take home.
Ticketed event. Limited capacity. Every ticket directly funds MASS Gallery's mission as an artist-run non-profit, ensuring our space remains a vibrant community resource that champions queer artists, creatives of color, and experimental art in Austin. Each ticket includes:
★ A multi-course menu* by Chef Luna Vela of Neighborhood Molino showcasing local Texas produce, wild ferments, oysters, clay-baked fish, & masa made with burnt seashells. A love letter to mother earth.
★ A custom ceramic cup by Veronica Ortuño of Casa Veronica
★ Curated drinks sponsored by Condesa Gin, Lapo’s, Lolo Wine & Rambler
★ An intimate first look at MASS Gallery’s Fundraiser Exhibition
★ An evening among old and new friends, celebrating MASS Gallery’s 20-year anniversary
*The menu is pescetarian, gluten-free, and contains dairy. It can be made dairy free.
Due to the nature of the event, other modifications or substitutions to accommodate dietary restrictions are politely declined.
Get your tickets here ASAP to save your spot!
Luna Vela is a Mexico-born, Texas-raised chef, artist, and anthropologist whose practice moves between the kitchen, cultural institutions, and the field. Luna is the founder of Neighborhood Molino, a community masa project based in Austin, TX, and has worked alongside many award-winning restaurants across the U.S. & Mexico. Her interdisciplinary practice spans collective food-making, film, and performance, rooted in ancestral memory, land, queerness, and intuition, with the quiet knowledge that feeding people is a political and sacred act of love by.
Web: lunavela.net | IG: @luna__vela / @neighborhood.molino
Veronica Ortuño (b. Santa Ana, CA) is a Chicana artist based in Elgin, Texas, where she works from Casa Veronica, an interdisciplinary studio focused on art, design, and creative projects. Her practice moves between functional design and sculptural installation, engaging ancestry, material, and cultural experience through ceramics, furniture, and glass.
Web: casa-veronica.com | IG: @casa_veronica
The earth oven is a communal, functional sculpture project led by Tanya Zal created in Fall 2025 that lives permanently in the yard at MASS Gallery. Grounded in the practice of hand-building and made collaboratively using natural building techniques, locally sourced materials, and decorated with recycled ceramic pieces. As a social practice based project the oven functions as an ongoing host for events exploring hospitality, community-building, and connection through shared experience. massgallery.org/earthoven
Thank you to our generous sponsors!
