The galleries are being transformed in preparation for the Ransom Center’s exhibition I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America. We hope you will join us for “FutureLand,” the opening celebration for the exhibition from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, September 14.

Come relax in the Design Within Reach outdoor lounge, sip on refreshments from Austin Wine Merchant and Dripping Springs Texas Vodka, and escape the heat with architecturally-inspired ice cream sandwiches from Coolhaus. Bring your vision of the future to life with Toy Joy’s interactive “City of the Future” and pose in a photo booth with one of Bel Geddes’s famous streamlined cars.
You’ll also get a first look at the exhibition, have the opportunity to enter a drawing…

Austin Film Society Discount

Membership to the Ransom Center just became more valuable! We are pleased to announce that Ransom Center members can now receive a $10 discount on a membership to the Austin Film Society (AFS). AFS promotes the appreciation of film and supports creative media production.  Combine a Ransom Center membership with a membership to AFS, and you’ll enjoy year-round access to film-related activities and events.

Become a member of the Ransom Center.

If you are already a member and want to receive a discounted membership to AFS, download and mail a membership form along with your payment or credit card information to AFS, 1901 E 51^st, Austin, TX, 78723. Please write “Harry Ransom Center Member” at the top of the form and enclose…

The Harry Ransom Center extends a thank you to the many generous sponsors who are helping us turn Friday’s opening party, “Kings & Creators,” into an event of biblical proportions.

Tickets are still avilable for this opening celebration. Join online or purchase a membership and tickets at the door.

Enjoy wine provided by the Austin Wine Merchant and Vineyard Brands Inc., a signature “Merrymaker” cocktail courtesy of Dripping Springs Texas Vodka, and screenings of biblically inspired clips, from Pulp Fiction to Jesus Christ Superstar to Bob Marley’s “Exodus,” curated by local filmmaker Tommy Swenson of The Alamo Drafthouse.

Guests will also have the opportunity to create a custom bookmark or notecard with the calligraphers of Capitol City Scribes.

All royal guests will receive gift bags compliments of…

The Harry Ransom Center extends a thank you to the many generous sponsors who are helping us turn Friday’s opening party, “Uncensored,” into a memorable event. Enjoy a Greenwich Village-inspired specialty cocktail from Treaty Oaks Platinum Rum, “Censored” copper ale courtesy of Lagunitas Brewing Co., and “Objectionable Films” curated by Tommy Swenson. Guests will also receive gift bags compliments of the Ransom Center, Austin Film Festival, Austin Sugarworks, Better Bites of Austin, Dr. Kracker Texas Whole Grain Specialists, Richard’s Rainwater, Texas Olive Ranch, Tommy’s Salsa, and Tribeza Magazine.*

One lucky guest will also win an “Uncensored Prize.” Guests at the opening may enter to win a two-night stay at the W Hotel, Austin; two producer’s passes to the Austin Film Festival, which…

Photo by Anthony Maddaloni.

In one of Tennessee Williams’s early writings in which he interviews himself, he identifies his audience as “the wild at heart kept in cages.” He also notes that the play Battle of Angels is a prayer for “more tolerance and respect for the wild and lyric impulses that the human heart feels and so often is forced to repress in order to avoid social censure and worse.”

The human heart and its freedom becomes a theme in both of the current exhibitions, whether about the personal life and work of Tennessee Williams, as seen in Becoming Tennessee Williams, or in the characters and novels featured in Culture Unbound: Collecting in the Twenty-First Century.

Williams’s draft of The Glass Menagerie, when…

Actors from Different Stages Theater Company perform scenes from 'Night of the Iguana' by Tennessee Williams at the 'Wild at Heart' exhibition opening.

The Harry Ransom Center celebrated the opening of its exhibitions, Becoming Tennessee Williams and Culture Unbound: Collecting in the Twenty-First Century, with the “Wild at Heart” event on Friday, February 11. Guests enjoyed informal tours of the exhibition, readings of “Night of the Iguana” by Different Stages Theater Company, cocktails courtesy of Balcones Distilling, hors d’oeuvres, and more.

Pam Berry was the lucky winner of the “Wild at Heart” Prize. Congrats, Pam!

View photos in front of the streetcar.

View photos from the reception.

Become a member to receive complimentary admission and valet parking at exhibition opening parties. Members of the Harry…

The Harry Ransom Center extends a thank you to the many generous sponsors who are helping us turn Friday evening’s opening party, “Wild at Heart,” into a memorable event.

Guests will enjoy a New Orleans-inspired specialty cocktail created by Balcones Distilling and readings of Williams’s “Night of the Iguana” performed by Different Stages Theater Company.

Guests will receive gift bags compliments of Casa Brasil Coffees; Dr. Kracker Texas Whole Grain Specialists; Grove/Atlantic; Little, Brown and Company; Harper Perennial; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Picador; Random House Publishing Group; Roman Candle Company; Simon & Schuster; and Sweet Leaf Tea.*

One lucky guest will also win a “Wild at Heart Prize.” Guests at the opening may enter to win a two-night stay at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans,…

“Wild at Heart,” the opening party for the spring exhibitions, is just one of the many exciting events that the Ransom Center has planned for members. View full calendar featuring a curator tour, mixology class, Magnum Photos presentation, and more. We invite you to join, upgrade, or renew today to experience all that the Ransom Center has to offer. Below, view the new membership video, featuring members speaking about what they enjoy most about their involvement with the Harry Ransom Center.

Join today for 50% off an Individual membership to the Harry Ransom Center!

Through Groupon, purchase a one-year Individual membership for $25 (regularly $50) or buy two Groupons for a one-year Dual membership (regularly $90).

Join now on Thursday, October 7.

Members of the Harry Ransom Center enjoy exhibition openings, events with the Director, complimentary parking at select events, private exhibition and collection tours, and the latest news of acquisitions, programs, and more. Our members receive a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the cultural wonders we keep secure for the future.

We invite you to join today to experience all that the Ransom Center has to offer.

Restrictions: Offer valid on Thursday, October 7. Only valid for individual and dual level memberships. Once purchased, you must redeem…

An exhibition opening to celebrate ‘Discovering the Language of Photography: The Gernsheim Collection’ for Harry Ransom Center members and guests.

The Harry Ransom Center celebrated the opening of its exhibition, Discovering the Language of Photography: The Gernsheim Collection, with a “Picture Perfect Evening” on Friday, September 10. Guests enjoyed informal tours of the exhibition, photo-inspired screenings, “make-and-take” photo keepsakes with The WonderCraft, cocktails courtesy of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, hors d’oeuvres, and more.

Guests received gift bags with items from The Blanton Museum of Art, Con’ Olio Oils & Vinegars, CSI Printing, Lip Glosserie, Saks Fifth Avenue, and South Austin People – So.A.P.

View photos from the reception.