Plans to showcase Tucson arts, cuisine and culture on an international stage have been dashed with the cancellation of Austin, Texasβ, annual SXSW festival.
A contingent from the University of Arizona was expected to travel to SXSW as part of the universityβs inaugural βWonder House,β which was designed to be a hub for arts, music, food, immersive drama and talks by some of the UAβs noteworthy faculty including presidential scholar and photographer David Hume Kennerly, planetary sciences professor Dante Lauretta and renown linguist Noam Chomsky, with PBS host Evan Smith.
βWonder Houseβ was set to take over the downtown Austin Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao on March 13-15, to present talks, showcase Sonoran cuisine and shine a light on Tucson arts and artists including muralist Jessica Gonzales and photographer Mike Olbinski.
Austin city officials on Friday announced that they were canceling the festival in light of growing concerns over the novel coronavirus. The announcement came a week before the festival was to kick off March 13, bringing with it tens of thousands of music, art and technology fans from around the world.
Fridayβs announcement comes after several big names including Twitter, Facebook and TikTok pulled out of the event, citing concerns over travel in light of the virus.
SXSW organizers in a statement said they were working through the ramifications of the cancellation and considering options that could include rescheduling the event.
UA officials said they had been monitoring the coronavirus developments and taking cues from the Centers for Disease Control. βWonder Houseβ participants were expected to leave for Austin on Tuesday.
SXSW is the largest regional music, arts and technology festival and often musicians find their way to Tucson stages either before they play Austin or on their way home from the festival, which this year was to run March 13-22.
