Category: art

Actions for the Earth opens at Contemporary at Blue Star

Lhora Amira, IRMANDADE: The Shape of Water in Pindorama, 2018-2020, HD video, single channel sound, film still. Image courtesy of SMAC Gallery, copyright Lhora Amira.

Blue Star Contemporary announces Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology, an exhibition curated by Sharmila Wood and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI) on view from June 2 through September 3, 2023. Actions for the Earth is a traveling exhibition that considers how artistic practices use kinship, healing, and restorative intervention to foster a deeper consciousness of our interconnectedness with the earth. (Contemporary at Blue Star, 2023)

This exhibition turns to a group of interdisciplinary artists to engage with the overlapping, worldwide crises of our time. Ongoing climate change, entrenched social inequity, and renewed concerns over public health have all underscored the need for approaches that take on global responsibilities while caring for our local environment. For decades, artists have sought to find new antidotes to oppressive structures of power, and promoted greater understanding of the many ways that nature, health, and sustainability are intertwined.

Actions for the Earth presents the work of eighteen intergenerational artists and collectives who place action, instruction, reciprocity, and exchange at the forefront of their practices. By sharing their participatory artistic interventions and healing strategies alongside research in ecology, science, and ancient beliefs, these artists remind us that we are connected within a constellation of living networks, inseparable from the planet and its environments. Artworks on view create space for the honoring of ancestors, foreground the significance of Indigenous knowledges, and engage in speculative imaginings through science fiction and network sciences—organic, digital, and spiritual.

In its curatorial approach, Actions for the Earth acts as a resource for studying our current times. The works on view not only emphasize themes of learning, care, and intimacy, but offer concrete knowledge by inviting the public to participate in actions such as instruction-based meditation and deep listening activities. The life of these works, and the interventions they propose, extends far beyond the scope of the exhibition to engage people in their personal contexts. 

Artists: Ackroyd and Harvey, Lhola Amira, Arahmaiani, Sayan Chanda, Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser), lololol, Ana Mendieta, Zarina Muhammad, Patrina Mununggurr, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, Tabita Rezaire, Eric-Paul Riege, Cecilia Vicuña, Katie West, and Zheng Bo

Contemporary at Blue Star presents exhibitions with artists from San Antonio and around the world sharing their global perspectives that encourage understanding, empathy, change, and action, fulfilling our mission to inspire, nurture, and innovate. Like most non-collecting contemporary art spaces, the Contemporary contributes fresh insights and perspectives on larger issues affecting society and culture by highlighting trends, movements, and conversations happening in art. Admission to the Contemporary is always free.

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Disney Animation: Immersive experience extends residency in San Antonio

Critically acclaimed Immersive Disney Animation announces extensions in eight cities, including San Antonio. Photo: Lighthouse Immersive Studios.

Following celebrated premieres in 10 cities and rave reviews from critics and audiences across North America, Lighthouse Immersive Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios have announced that Immersive Disney Animation is being extended by popular demand to August 13, 2023 in Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis, Nashville, and San Antonio, with Las Vegas, Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto continuing through September 4, 2023. The production will also open in Tokyo on April 29 at Mori Arts Center Gallery (52nd floor, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower), with additional international presentations soon to be announced. (Immersive Disney Animation, 2023)

Immersive Disney Animation was called “Jaw-dropping” by Axios, “a peek behind the curtain that you would just never otherwise get” by the Boston Globe, with Elite Daily remarking, “you really feel like you’ve stepped inside your fave film.” Tickets are on sale now.

Creating iconic animated stories for all ages for nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios has joined forces with North America’s top creator of experiential projection exhibitions (including The Original Immersive Van Gogh, which never traveled to Atlanta, but opened in over 20 cities across North America) to present the music and artistry within Disney Animation’s canon of films—from hits of today like Encanto, Zootopia and Frozen, to all of the classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan and Pinocchio. Audiences will feel like they have entered the incredible worlds of beloved Disney characters and become one with them.

The status for each city is as follows:

TORONTO (1 Yonge St.) | NOW OPEN through September 4
CLEVELAND (850 E. 72nd St.) | NOW OPEN through August 13
NASHVILLE (4416 Ridgefield Way) | NOW OPEN through August 13
DETROIT (267 E. Grand River Ave.) | NOW OPEN through August 13
DENVER (3900 Elati St.) | NOW OPEN through August 13
BOSTON (130 Columbus Ave.) | NOW OPEN through August 13
SAN ANTONIO (221 Burleson St.) | NOW OPEN through August 13
MINNEAPOLIS (1515 Central Ave. NE) | NOW OPEN through August 13
LAS VEGAS (3720 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) | NOW OPEN through September 4
COLUMBUS (940 Polaris Pkwy.) | NOW OPEN through August 13
DALLAS (507 S. Harwood St.) | April 20 – September 4, 2023
TOKYO (52nd floor, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower) | April 29 – August 31, 2023
ATLANTA (159 Armour Dr.) | May 1 – September 4, 2023

“We have opened Immersive Disney Animation in ten cities so far, with our Dallas opening right around the corner. And while we expected a positive reception, we have really been blown away by just how incredibly excited audiences are with this experience, a testament to the timeless legacy of Disney Animation’s worlds, stories and characters.” – Corey Ross, producer and founder, Lighthouse Immersive Studios

The creative team for Immersive Disney Animation is led by Oscar®-winning producer J. Miles Dale (Best Picture 2018 -The Shape of Water). Mexico City-based Cocolab worked with Dale and the Creative Legacy team at Walt Disney Animation Studios to develop the program for Lighthouse Immersive Studios. Special Projects Producer Dorothy McKim (Oscar-nominated, Get A Horse!) is spearheading the project for Disney Animation.

Dog art walk with artist Hiromi Stringer

The dog walk will be held this Thursday, April 20. Image: Hiromi Stringer, Dog (Germany)19 2022 gouache and sumi ink on oriental paper, 9 ½ x 13 in. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Attention all dog lovers. The Contemporary at Blue Star is hosting a social dog walk on Thursday, April 20, from 5p.m. to 7 p.m. with exhibiting artist Hiromi Stringer. The event is free and open to all dog owners who want to join in on the fun. (Contemporary at Blue Star, 2023)

The walk is through The King William neighborhood and starts with an hour of socializing with fellow dogs and their humans. Local shops, including the SouthPaw Waggery will be in attendance with goodies and swag. Attendees can screen print matching Contemporary bandanas for themselves and their furry friends, or park their dogs at our hosted dog parking station while they explore the exhibitions inside the galleries, such as Hiromi Stringer’s The Dog Show.

At 6 p.m., Hiromi will lead the dog walk through the neighborhood, which will conclude at the Contemporary for a viewing of the exhibition The Dog Show. To participate, complete the registration form. Do not miss out on this exciting event.

About the exhibition:
The Dog Show: Time Traveler Umeyama’s Drawings from the 21st Century, Hiromi Stringer
March 3 – June 4, 2023

Inspired by a chance encounter almost 30 years ago, when artist Hiromi Stringer saw someone walking a Siberian Husky dog on a busy street in Bangkok, Thailand, an incident that made her wonder about globalization and mundane objects in our life.

In The Dog Show, Stringer revisits her ongoing project UmeyamaReports, which chronicles the travels and observations of ShoeiUmeyama, Stringer’s fictional character. Umeyama is a Japanese man from the mid-1800s using time-teleportation to visit today’s modern world. This time, Umeyama reports on a variety of dogs and their owners, making observations, not only on the traits of each breed, but on the mundane objects that connect them with their owners, such as collars, leashes, and bowls, among others. Writings in Japanese—which visitors can translate using Google Translate on their personal devices—offer further insights into Umeyama’s particular point of view. Umeyama’s drawings, artifacts, and observations are displayed in the imagined Umeyama Time Teleportation Museum (UTTM) showcasing Umeyama’s achievements and the legacy of his history as a time traveler. Ink paintings/reports serve as his record of what he observed as he made sense of the modern-day U.S. Stringer’s exhibition and Umeyama’s imaginary findings represent an alternate perspective and reflection on today’s contemporary society.

Drawing on her personal paradigm shift, which included cultural and language differences, Stringer’s work reflects her curiosity about the world in which she lives. Using a micro perspective borrowed from Umeyama’s view, whose base point is Japan 170 years ago, a time when the country was under governmental enforced national isolation.

Stringer sees parallels between one’s process of knowing and living with very limited information about other countries and her own experience in a foreign land. By using Umeyama as a lens, Stringer provides a more objective view of the world while acknowledging her own subjectivity in her works.

Stringer is a 2019 alum of Contemporary’s Berlin Residency Program. During the three months that she lived and worked at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien as a residency awardee, she continued her UTTM work which took on new meaning in a new foreign home. Through her art, Stringer invites viewers to explore the mundane objects of our times and consider how they inform our current existence. Her approach to art is an extension of her curiosity about the broader world, and her latest work offers a unique perspective on globalization that is sure to spark conversations and inspire contemplation.

Events at San Antonio Museum of Art to celebrate latest exhibition

The San Antonio Museum of Art’s latest exhibition Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii runs through May 21, 2023. Photo: Google

The San Antonio Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii, opened February 24 and continues through May 21, 2023. During its run, the Museum will offer a variety of related programming in collaboration with community partners including lectures in conjunction with Trinity University, a performance by OPERA San Antonio, a fashion show with custom clothier Limatus Bespoke, inspired menu items at Tre Trattoria, and a tasting with the San Antonio Botanical Garden. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2023)

Self-Guided Audio Tours
Exhibition visitors will have the opportunity to take a self-guided audio tour that offers in-depth knowledge of landscapes and their impact and importance to the community. Audio will be provided by local experts in environmental issues, indigeneity, geology, flora and fauna, and more.

Tre Trattoria Exhibition-Inspired Menu Items
Inspired by Tuscan hillsides, Tre Trattoria – housed inside SAMA – will offer a special menu throughout the exhibition. Offerings will include Deviled Eggs “Carbonara,” consisting of Kewpie mayo, Parmigiano-Reggiano, black pepper, crispy guanciale and white truffle oil; Gnocchi Cacio y Pepe; Spaghetti All’Amatriciana; and a refreshing Strawberry Campari Spritz.

Limatus Bespoke x SAMA Fashion Show
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 6p.m. – 8p.m. | Tickets: $35 | Front Row VIP: $60

Fashion meets art at this exclusive showing of Limatus Bespoke’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection inspired by the exhibition. Attendees can enjoy sips, art, music by Steven Lee Moya, and a one-night-only fashion show.

Evening for Educators: Reimagining the World Around Us
Tuesday, March 7, 2023 | 4:30p.m. – 6:30p.m. | Free
Enjoy a guided gallery experience with Dr. Leticia Rodriguez, visiting assistant professor of classical archaeology at Trinity University, connect with colleagues from throughout the city, and experiment with hands-on art activities to share in your teaching practice.

Free Spring Break Family Day: Roman Landscapes
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 | Free Museum and Exhibition Admission 10a.m. – 7p.m.
Art activities: 10a.m. – 3p.m.
Explore art-making experiences, story times, food vendors, performances, and more as part of SAMA’s Spring Break Family Day celebrating Roman Landscapes.

Concert with the Yale Whiffenpoofs
Sunday, March 19, 2023 | 11a.m. – Noon | Free with Museum Admission
Join the Yale Whiffenpoofs for a morning of music at SAMA. Every year, fourteen senior Yale students are selected to be in the Whiffenpoofs – the world’s oldest and best-known collegiate a cappella group. Singing a mixture of old Yale tunes, jazz standards, and other hits from across the decades, the Whiffenpoofs perform more than 200 concerts across six continents each year.

Landscapes by Boat with San Antonio River Foundation’s Frates Seeligson
Sunday, March 26, 2023 | 1p.m. – 2p.m. | Members: $25 | Non-Members: $35
In celebration of Roman Landscapes, SAMA has partnered with the San Antonio River Foundation for a special river boat tour. Frates Seeligson, executive director of the foundation, will lead an hour-long excursion focusing on the San Antonio River and how the natural landscape has shaped our community. Arrive early to experience Roman Landscapes before the tour and make connections between the ancient Romans’ relationship with the environment and our relationship with the South Texas landscape.

Lennox Seminar Lecture Series
The Lennox Seminar Lecture Series brings nationally recognized speakers to Trinity University’s campus for a variety of topics. This year, the series has partnered with SAMA and will feature lectures focusing on art, nature, and myth in Roman landscapes.

Lectures include:
Beyond the Picturesque: Personification as Landscape in Roman Visual Culture Friday, March 31, 2023 | 6p.m. – 7p.m.
Members, Educators, and Students: Free | Non-Members: $5

Join Jaś Elsner, professor of late antique art at Oxford University, for a lecture examining the place of personification in Roman landscape imagery.

Additional Lennox Lectures at Trinity University:
Bettina Bergmann, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Mount Holyoke College
Caitlín Barrett, Archaeologist and Associate Professor of Classics at Cornell University
Rachel Foulk, Professor of Art History at Ferris State University

Ancient Roman Recipes with the San Antonio Botanical Garden
Sunday, April 16, 2023 | 2p.m. – 3:30p.m.
Museum and Garden Members: $40 | Non-Members: $45
San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place

Learn about the flora and fauna featured in the works in the special exhibition Roman Landscapes and partake in dishes that bring together true Roman ingredients and a local spread of foraged greens, jams, winter pickles, meats, breads, and luxury desserts. Adult beverage included. Ages 21+.

Texas Scholars Dig Roman Villas
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 | 6p.m. – 7p.m.
Members, Educators, and Students: Free | Non-Members: $5

Join scholars John R. Clarke (University of Texas at Austin) and Thomas Noble Howe (Southwestern University) for a presentation about their work exploring, documenting, and preserving luxurious Roman villas destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

SongScapes of Opera
Friday, May 12, 2023 | 7p.m. | Members: $15 | Non-Members: $20
The performance will highlight pieces from the standard classical repertoire as well as songs by composers from traditionally underrepresented populations. Opera singer and recitalist Bronwyn White will provide a short lecture about each piece before it is performed, including a brief translation, an interesting aspect of its history, musicality, subject, or place in the composer’s life, and how each song ties into the theme of SongScapes.

Wild West Wildlife Festival at the Briscoe Western Art Museum

Free festival highlights the animals and natural beauty of the West. Photo: Briscoe Western Art Museum, used with permission.

From the heart of San Antonio, the museum known for spotlighting the art and beauty of the American West, the Briscoe Western Art Museum, is starting the year in a wild way with its free Wild West Wildlife Festival, as well as a weekend of beastly programming that features the most famous bear in the world to close out the fantastic Thomas D. Mangelsen: A Life In The Wild exhibition. Go “Full STEAM Ahead” into 2023 with free hands-on educational programming, free locals days and the amazing art of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2023)

Calendar highlights include:

Get Wild with Your Family: Free Wild West Wildlife Festival

January 21, 10a.m. – 3p.m.

Highlighting the animals and natural beauty that put the “wild” in the wild West, the Wild West Wildlife Festival celebrates the flora and fauna that define the West and inspire Western art. The Briscoe hosts a beastly day of animal fun, education and hands-on crafts for all ages. Activities highlight the wildlife that calls the West home, with a focus on Texas habitats and creatures great and small. The free festival features art, storytelling and more to inspire everyone to explore the nature all around them and includes free admission to the museum.

See the Beasts of the West at Thomas D. Mangelsen:  A Life In The Wild

Through January 29

Western Art celebrates the American West, including the wild places and wildlife that grace the land. Through January 29, the Briscoe features 40 of the renowned nature photographer’s most resonant photographs in Thomas D. Mangelsen – A Life In The Wild, taking viewers on a journey across the West and around the globe. One of the most prolific nature photographers of our time, Mangelsen is an award-winning photographer whose images have been exhibited internationally and published in iconic mediums such as “National Geographic,” “Good Morning America,” and “60 Minutes.”

Spend an Evening with a Famous Bear:  Meet Jackson Hole Grizzly Bear 399

January 27, 6:30p.m.

Join us as Todd Wilkinson, author of “Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone,” talks about the most famous bear in the world, Bear 399. One of the oldest grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Bear 399 is the world’s most famous brown bear mother. Wilkinson will also discuss the iconic Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The event is free for museum members. Tickets are $14 and are available online.

San Antonio DreamWeek:  The Briscoe Presents Art In The Wild & Write In The Wild

January 29, 1p.m. – 4p.m.

Discover nature in the heart of San Antonio with San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea Vocab Sanderson in the museum’s McNutt Sculpture Garden. Everyone will commune with nature and work hands-on with clay sculpting, sketch drawing or watercolor painting to explore DreamWeek’s themes of representation and identification. Guests will then be immersed in Thomas D. Mangelsen: A Life In The Wild for the last day of the exhibition. After presenting original poetry inspired by Mangelsen’s images, Sanderson will invite guests to choose an animal for their own poetic inspiration. The event is free with museum admission.

The Art of the Rodeo:  Student Western Art Competition Exhibit

On display January 5 – February 5, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo’s Student Western Art Competition Exhibition fills the Clingman Education Gallery and is included with general admission. Featuring the 12 winning entries in the 2023 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo’s Western Art Competition, the pop-up exhibit showcases the best work from the annual contest that includes 183 South Texas school districts across 54 counties, as well as those attending a private school or homeschooled in one of the eligible counties. Each of the works showcases an appreciation of western heritage, which the Briscoe and the Rodeo happily share. “Horse Talk” a colored pencil drawing by Katherine Ferno, a student at Dripping Springs High School, is featured as “Best in Show.” Enjoy the rodeo exhibition during regular museum hours and be sure to stop by when you are downtown for the Rodeo’s Western Heritage Weekend, February 4.

Howdy Neighbors:  First Sundays Free for Local Residents

To show how friendly the West is and to thank the San Antonio community for its continued support, the Briscoe Western Art Museum makes the first Sunday of each month “Locals Day,” greeting locals with free general admission. Bexar County residents can enjoy the Briscoe’s Locals Days through 2023, with free admission on February 5, March 5, April 2, May 7, June 4, July 2, August 6, September 3, October 8, November 5, and December 3. As always, children 12 and under receive free admission to the Briscoe every day, as do active duty members of the military, making the Briscoe a terrific spot for local families to enjoy any time.

Full STEAM Ahead:  Free Education Series Offers Hands-on Learning Fun

Families and visitors of all ages can learn about the American West in the Briscoe’s free monthly education series, “Full STEAM Ahead.” Learners of all ages work together and learn about the American West by engaging in hands-on, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) learning experiences. Each activity ties back to the Briscoe’s art and artifacts, bringing the West to life in a new way. From transportation and weather to animals, astronomy and engineering, each program explores an aspect of life in the West to engage and inspire learning. Full STEAM Ahead is included with general admission and is free for museum members.

2023 Full Steam Ahead dates include:

  • January 21 (Wild West Wildlife Festival)
  • February 18
  • March 18 (Part of the Briscoe’s Spring Break Roundup)
  • April 15
  • May 20
  • June 17
  • July 15
  • August 19
  • September 16
  • October 21 (Briscoe’s 10th Birthday)
  • November 11 (Yanaguana Indian Arts Festival)
  • December 15                                                                                                                                              

SAMA presents Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii

Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii opens at the San Antonio Museum of Art in February 2023. Photo: Google

The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) recently announced that it will present Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompeii in February 2023, the first exhibition in the United States to explore landscape scenes as a genre of ancient Roman art. Serving as a contrast to the typical works of antiquity with which most museum audiences are familiar—the larger-than-life statues venerating gods or heroes, or scenes of battle or ritual found on friezes or pottery—these works instead depict artists’ idyllic visions of a countryside dotted with seaside villas and rural shrines, where gods and mythological heroes mingle with travelers, herdsmen, and worshippers. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2023)

Organized by and presented exclusively in San Antonio, Roman Landscapes features more than 65 works, including major loans from museums in Italy, France, and Germany, many of which have never before been shown in the United States. The exhibition was curated and organized by Jessica Powers, SAMA’s Interim Chief Curator and Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., Curator of Art of the Ancient Mediterranean World, and will be on view at SAMA from February 24 through May 21, 2023.

Roman Landscapes will be accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue published by the museum, featuring essays by Powers; Bettina Bergmann, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Mount Holyoke College; Verity Platt, Professor of Classics and History of Art at Cornell University; Lynley J. McAlpine, Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow at SAMA; Timothy M. O’Sullivan, Professor of Classical Studies at Trinity University; and Thomas Fröhlich, Director of the Library at the German Archaeological Institute in Rome. In conjunction with the exhibition, Trinity University will dedicate its spring Lennox Seminar Lecture Series to subjects explored in the museum’s presentation.

Developed through several years of research that began with Powers’ explorations of works in SAMA’s own notable collection, Roman Landscapes will feature an array of wall paintings, sculptures, mosaics, and cameo glass and silver vessels created in Roman Italy between 100 BC and AD 250. The exhibition will introduce visitors to their cultural and archaeological contexts and highlight the artistic conventions that distinguish Roman landscape scenes, including fluid, almost impressionistic brushwork and the use of bird’s-eye perspective.

The exhibition is organized around five thematic sections. The first, “Garden Landscapes,” brings together paintings and sculptures from houses in Pompeii and nearby villas on the Bay of Naples to evoke the experience of a Roman peristyle garden. “Coastal Views and Cultivated Landscapes” and “Sacred Landscapes” present mural paintings and relief sculptures that depict seascapes and rustic shrines, images that show how landscape scenes once decorated lavish Roman residences. In “The Dangerous Landscapes of Myth,” mythological paintings then reveal landscape scenes as settings for hazardous encounters between humans and the gods, presenting visually the oft-told stories that served as warnings about individual or community behavior. The last section, “Landscapes in the Tomb,” compares wall paintings from communal tombs in Rome with those from houses and explores the adaptation of landscape imagery for funerary settings.

San Antonio is the nation’s seventh-largest city and is consistently listed as one of its fastest-growing. The Museum is housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of San Antonio’s River Walk and is committed to promoting the rich cultural heritage and life of the city. It hosts hundreds of events and public programs each year, including concerts, performances, tours, lectures, symposia, and interactive experiences. As an active civic leader, the Museum is dedicated to enriching the cultural life of the city and the region, and to supporting its creative community.

Contemporary at Blue Star presents DreamWeek Mental Health Workshop

DreamWeek with Mental Health and Identity/Representation Workshop will take place on Thursday, January 19, 2023. Photo: Google

Blue Star Contemporary and Ruby City proudly announce a collaboration for a mental health and identity/representation workshop on Thursday, January 19 from 5p.m. to 7p.m. Mental health therapist and That Gray Zine creator Erica Edmonds will be leading the workshop, which is part of DreamWeek, an annual event in San Antonio that celebrates diversity and promotes dialogue and understanding among different communities. (Blue Star Contemporary, 2023)

During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and express their experiences with the intersections of identity, representation, and mental health through writing or image making. Responses will be shared with the community with a display in front of the Contemporary the weekend of January 20 to 22. Interested participants will also have the opportunity to publish their expressions in an upcoming volume of That Gray Zine.

The workshop is open to all members of the community, the Contemporary at Blue Star and Ruby City believe that understanding and supporting our own and others’ mental health is crucial for building strong, inclusive communities, and both organizations are excited to provide this opportunity for learning and growth.

That Gray Zine, created in 2019 by Erica Edmonds, discusses all things mental health in order to reduce stigma, foster a sense of community, advocacy, validation, and empowerment. Erica Edmonds is a mental health therapist and has a group practice in San Antonio Texas. Inclusivity, intersectionality, social justice, anti-racism, and the decolonization of mental health are important frameworks for how she navigates her group practice and the zine.

Ruby City is a contemporary art center in San Antonio, TX dedicated to providing a space for the city’s thriving creative community to experience works by both local and internationally-acclaimed artists. Envisioned in 2007 by the late collector, philanthropist and artist Linda Pace, Ruby City presents works from the Linda Pace Foundation Collection of more than 1400 paintings, sculptures, installations and video works. The new building, designed by renowned architect Sir David Adjaye OBE, is part of a campus, which also includes Chris Park, a one-acre public green space named in memory of Pace’s son, and Studio, an auxiliary exhibition space which presents curated shows and programming throughout the year.

The Contemporary at Blue Star presents exhibitions with artists from San Antonio and around the world sharing their global perspectives that encourage understanding, empathy, change, and action, fulfilling our mission to inspire, nurture, and innovate. Like most non-collecting contemporary art spaces, the Contemporary contributes fresh insights and perspectives on larger issues affecting society and culture by highlighting trends, movements, and conversations happening in art. Admission to the Contemporary is always free.

Free Family Saturday at the Contemporary at Blue Star

Contemporary at Blue Star presents Free Family Saturday on December 3, 2022. Photo: Contemporary at Blue Star, used with permission.

Contemporary at Blue Star, San Antonio’s first and longest running contemporary art nonprofit, proudly invites San Antonio families to Family Saturday on December 3 from 1p.m. to 4p.m. During this free event for families and kids of all ages, Red Dot Artists Ashley Perez, Andy and Yvette Benavides, and Ernesto Ibañez will inspire youth to look at and understand contemporary art through fun-filled hands-on activities and art making. Family Saturday is free and open to the public. There will be complimentary food and refreshments. Support for the Contemporary at Blue Star’s Family Saturday is provided by the King William Association. (Contemporary at Blue Star, 2022)

Currently on view at the Contemporary is the Red Dot Show. The exhibition presents and celebrates the work of over 100 San Antonio-based artists, offering the public an opportunity to start or expand their own art collections, with works on sale for a wide variety of tastes and budgets. Proceeds from art sales equally benefit artists and the Contemporary at Blue Star’s year-round exhibitions and expansive, no-cost art education programs, which inspire, nurture, and innovate through contemporary art.

The Contemporary was founded in 1986 for artists, by artists, through a grassroots movement sparked by the cancellation of the first major museum exhibition of contemporary art in San Antonio. Six arts supporters and artists founded Contemporary Art for San Antonio to provide an exhibition venue for artists and the public. With the support of donors and property developers Bernard Lifshutz and Hap Veltman, the founders, artists, and volunteers converted a warehouse into a gallery for the first annual Blue Star Exhibition. Over the years, the Contemporary has grown to include a professional staff, a robust calendar of onsite and offsite exhibitions, community collaborations, creative youth development programs, international exchange opportunities for artists, and public art projects. Formerly known as Blue Star Contemporary, the institution announced its mission-driven new name, graphic identity, and website in 2022. 

Pop-up art show: A. Mishea – Artist and Visionary

Do not miss this one day showing of A. Mishea’s artwork at The Cellar Door in Katy, TX. Photo: A. Mishea, used with permission.

Come and see the exclusive work of one of the most original and enigmatic visionary artists of today at this new, one day pop-up exhibit in Katy. It will take place on Saturday November 12 from 1p.m. to 3p.m. at The Cellar Door. Visitors will be able to explore original works, obtain poster prints, and meet the artist. This limited-time exhibition not only allows visitors to admire her works like “The Daughter” and her “Vibrations” collection, they will also get to learn more about A. Mishea as a person and artist. (A. Mishea, 2022)

A. Mishea has been recently exhibited at the Museum of Emotions in Austin, TX with her piece entitled “Passion.” She has also illustrated for the Rideshare Chronicles as well as created album covers for local Houston musicians, such as KC2000. She has also completed countless works for companies in the Houston, San Francisco, and Las Vegas Area on behalf of INKomplete Art. Many have described her art as “visually stimulating.”

This pop-up exhibit is free and will be hosted at The Cellar Door located at 829 S Mason Rd, Unit 280, Katy, TX 77450. The event is 21 and up. All food and drink purchases made by the attendee are the responsibility of the attendee. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. 

Art is a worthwhile investment, come start your collection with this emerging artist!

INKomplete Art is a graphic illustration and design company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 2017, INKomplete Art has worked with countless publishers, musicians, sports team, and businesses throughout the U.S by generating original custom designs. 

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A. Mishea pop-up art show

Contemporary at Blue Star’s Red Dot Art Sale and Show

The contemporary art organization’s largest annual fundraiser celebrates the work of over 100 artists with works on sale to benefit artists and San Antonio’s home for contemporary art. Photo: Google

Contemporary at Blue Star, San Antonio’s first and longest running contemporary art nonprofit, proudly announces its 32nd Annual Red Dot Art Sale and Show. The special benefit opening will take place on November 9 from 7p.m. to 10 p.m. The Red Dot Show will then be on view in the Contemporary’s galleries November 11, 2022 through January 8, 2023. (Contemporary at Blue Star, 2022)

The opening night celebration is one of San Antonio’s most beloved contemporary art events, with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. This gathering of old and new friends has become a mainstay event on the calendar of the city’s creative community. Individual tickets to the Red Dot Art Sale fundraiser are $50. As of today, November 5, tickets are sold out but there are still sponsorship options still available. 

Red Dot presents and celebrates the work of over 100 San Antonio-based artists, offering the public an opportunity to start or expand their own art collections with works on sale for a wide variety of tastes and budgets. Proceeds from art sales equally benefit artists and the Contemporary at Blue Star’s year-round exhibitions and expansive, no-cost art education programs, which inspire, nurture, and innovate through contemporary art.

Sponsorships and artwork sales at Red Dot help raise vital funds for the Contemporary’s exhibitions, art education programs, and outreach initiatives. Sales proceeds from Red Dot artworks are equally shared between the Contemporary and the artists, positively impacting the livelihood of more than 100 San Antonio artists. Beginning on November 9, artworks that are available for purchase can be viewed on the event page or in person during the Red Dot Art Sale fundraiser, a festive gathering for San Antonio’s contemporary art community. 
 
Each year, the Contemporary recognizes honorees whose creative contributions have made a lasting impact on San Antonio’s vibrant art community. In 2022, the Red Dot committee, with its event chairs Cheryl Morrell Armendaríz and Richard “Ricky” Armendariz, and Martha Martinez-Flores and Dr. Mike Flores, have chosen to honor artist Andy Benavides, arts patron and chef Johnny Hernandez, and arts education champion S.M.A.R.T., a nonprofit nurturing creative minds and building community through experiential art education. 

The Contemporary at Blue Star presents exhibitions with artists from San Antonio and around the world sharing their global perspectives that encourage understanding, empathy, change, and action, fulfilling our mission to inspire, nurture, and innovate. Like most non-collecting contemporary art spaces, the Contemporary contributes fresh insights and perspectives on larger issues affecting society and culture by highlighting trends, movements, and conversations happening in art. Admission to the Contemporary is always free.