Once upon a time, festival organizer (AAAFF, aGLIFF) and DIY arts scholar (Queercore), Curran Nault came up with the concept of OUTsider, which he pitched to five queer artists and festival friends on one food and drink-filled evening. The idea was that while Austin was at a creative zenith, something was also missing:

A queer space that pushed participants to explore beyond their artistic comfort zones; that created powerful dialogue between artists, academics, and audience members; that brought together LGBTQ+ artists from around the world.

By the end of the evening, OUTsider was born.