On East Sixth Street, in a stretch of Austin that has seen galleries and creative spaces come and go, a husband-and-wife team opened something different in May 2026. Haus Obscura is a fine art print shop and gallery built on a premise that is simpler than most gallery models and more generous to artists than almost any of them.

Mark Mikhail spent 25 years in engineering before teaching himself fine art printing. The reason was personal: Heather Slingerland, his partner, is a photographer whose work deserved to be shown, and the standard gallery system made that harder than it needed to be. Mikhail did not hire a printer. He became one.

How the Model Works

Haus Obscura offers Austin artists a deal that is rare in the local art market: scan and print your work at no upfront cost, and split the revenue when it sells. For collectors, the shop offers on-demand prints, which means original work is available at a price point that does not require a second mortgage.

The printing itself is not a compromise. Mikhail produces museum-quality giclee prints using archival-grade papers and pigment inks, the same materials and standards used in major gallery reproduction work. The quality is real; the access is broader.

For artists who have watched Austin's rising costs make studio space, material costs, and gallery representation increasingly difficult, a model like this removes one of the primary barriers: the financial risk of printing work before you know if it will sell.

What the Space Represents on East Sixth

The East Side has always had a particular relationship with Austin's creative community. It has been the place where independent, non-institutional art has found room to operate. Haus Obscura fits that tradition while adding something to it: a technical resource that independent artists can actually use, housed in a space that also functions as a gallery.

The inaugural show, "Veil/Unveil," ran through late July 2026 and marked the space's public debut. It was a first statement from two people who built something new because the existing options were not working for the community they wanted to serve.

For Austin artists looking for a print partner that takes the work seriously and shares the financial risk, and for collectors who want original art without the original-art price barrier, check out Haus Obscura's services and current exhibitions on East Sixth Street.