Celebrate with a Family Day on Sunday May 1, 2022. Photo: San Antonio Museum of Art, used with permission.
The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) invites families to celebrate the first day of Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month with Chinese Lion Dancers, gallery games, special performances, and delicious food during Family Day on Sunday, May 1, 2022 from 11a.m. to 3p.m. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2022)
Admission to the fun-filled experience at SAMA is free for residents of Bexar County between 10a.m.–12p.m., and children ages 12 and under are always free. Activities will begin with an opening ceremony.
Scheduled Performances:
Remarks and Opening Ceremony I 11a.m.
Chinese Fan Dancers I 11:20a.m.
Vietnamese Association Dancers I 11:40a.m.
Lion Dancers I Noon and 2p.m.
Dragon Dancers I 12:30p.m. and 1:30p.m.
Mao Dance I 1p.m.
Hawaiian Dancers | 2:30p.m.
Throughout the day, SAMA will offer an array of activities including mock porcelain painting and expressive mask creation; Japanese, Chinese, and Oceania Gallery Games; and interactive calligraphy demonstrations. Visitors who work up an appetite can head to the Sari-Sari Filipino Restaurant and Bakery and Aloha Kitchen food trucks, which will be serving up authentic flavors onsite.
San Antonio Museum of Art’s Photography Workshop: The Visualization of Identity with local artist Mari Hernandez will be held on Saturday April 23, 2022. Photo: San Antonio Museum of Art, used with permission.
In support of Wendy Red Star’s “A Scratch on the Earth” exhibit, the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is hosting two interactive events encouraging self-discovery and worldly exploration. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2022)
Travel inward at SAMA’s Photography Workshop: The Visualization of Identity with local artist Mari Hernandez on Saturday, April 23, from 1p.m. – 4p.m. Guests will be given the knowledge and space to contemplate their identities and histories to create a portrait of self, a theme seen frequently throughout Red Star’s current work on display. Participants are asked to bring their phone with a working camera, a tripod and any personal objects such as clothing and props they would like to include in their portrait. After drawing connections to the provided artworks, participants can execute their vision on the grounds of the San Antonio Museum of Art. Tickets are available for purchase here starting at $50 for members and $60 for non-members.
On Friday, April 29 from 5:30p.m. – 7p.m., art and culinary experiences converge at SAMA’s River Pavilion for a culinary journey with Chef Rebe Mariposa. This special interactive exhibition introduces duos to a personal connection to the land through food and native ingredients. Participants will create their own delicious amaranth polenta accompanied by various other natively-grown ingredients such as mesquite, juniper berries, pecans, and chile pequin. Participants will end the night with an understanding of the correlation between access to food and the knowledge of how to use wild ingredients to create meals. Tickets are available for purchase here, and prices are based on attendance for two, starting at $50 for members and $60 for non-members.
The Briscoe Western Art Museum presents The Poetry of Art: National Poetry Month Celebration and Reading. Photo: Briscoe Western Art Museum, used with permission.
Celebrate National Poetry Month by enjoying an afternoon of poetry inspired by art as the Briscoe Western Art Museum hosts “The Poetry of Art: National Poetry Month Celebration and Reading” in honor of San Antonio’s 2022 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest on Sunday, April 10, 2p.m. – 4p.m. The free reading and celebration is part of National Poetry Month San Antonio and will be held in the Briscoe’s McNutt Sculpture Garden, 210 W. Market Street, San Antonio. Admission to the reading is free. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2022)
Showcasing poetry inspired by select artworks at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, the McNay Art Museum, Ruby City, the San Antonio Museum of Art, and the Witte Museum, “The Poetry of Art” will feature local poet laureates reading their work and Jim LaVilla-Havelina, San Antonio’s National Poetry Month Coordinator, as well as adult and youth winners of San Antonio’s 2022 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. Former San Antonio poet laureate Carmen Tafolla will read a poem inspired by a piece of art from the Briscoe, while other San Antonio poet laureates will be on hand to read their poems based on works from other local institutions. The pairings featured in this year’s ekphrastic poetry effort include Jenny Browne, the McNay Art Museum; Jim LaVilla-Havelin, San Antonio Museum of Art; Octavio Quintanilla, the Witte Museum and current San Antonio Poet Laureate, Andrea Vocab Sanderson, Ruby City.
An ekphrastic poem is based on a piece of art, taking an existing piece of visual art and using written words to describe and expand on the theme of that work of art. Many of these poems explore hidden meanings or an underlying story. Each local art institution selected one work from their collection to feature in the 2022 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest for adult and youth poets.
The featured works include:
The Briscoe Western Art Museum, With No Roof but a Resistol, Bruce Greene.
The McNay Art Museum, The Sole Sitter, Willie Cole.
Ruby City, Hub, 3rd Floor, Union Wharf, 23 Wenlock Road, London N1 7ST UK, Do Ho Suh.
San Antonio Museum of Art: Landscape of Four Seasons, Unkoku Togan.
The Witte Museum, Carretta Wheel from a Tejano Freighter.
From its McNutt Sculpture Garden to the museum’s beautifully restored historic home inside the former San Antonio Public Library building, the Briscoe’s collection spans 14 galleries, with special exhibitions, events and a fantastic Museum Store, providing art, culture, history and entertainment. Museum hours, parking and admission details are available online.
Preserving and presenting the art, history and culture of the American West through engaging exhibitions, educational programs and public events reflective of the region’s rich traditions and shared heritage, the Briscoe Western Art Museum is located on the San Antonio River Walk at 210 W. Market Street in the beautifully restored 1930s former San Antonio Public Library building. Named in honor of the late Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe Jr. and his wife, Janey Slaughter Briscoe, the museum includes the three-story Jack Guenther Pavilion, used for event rentals and programs, and the outdoor McNutt Sculpture Garden.
The San Antonio Museum of Art is bringing visitors new exhibitions, new art installations, and a new executive director. Photo: San Antonio Museum of Art
The San Antonio Museum of Artis kicking off the New Year with a new executive director, new installations and new exhibitions in 2022. Following an international search, the Museum recently named Emily Ballew Neff, PhD, as its new executive director, just in time to welcome new works and exhibitions from renowned artists, including Wendy Red Star. From February 11 through May 8, 2022, contemporary artist Wendy Red Star will evaluate identity, cultural heritage, and American history in her mid-career survey and latest exhibition, Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2022)
New Art Installations Now through June 26, 2022 visitors can explore new acquisitions from San Antonio artists in SAMA’s Contemporary gallery. SAMA acquired nine artworks by eight San Antonio-based artists, including Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Jenelle Esparza, Joe Harjo, Jon Lee, Ethel Shipton, Chris Sauter, Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga, and Liz Ward. SAMA acquired the works as part of an initiative developed to support the city’s visual artists and reflect the vibrancy of the community and its rich cultural landscape. All of the artworks, which include textiles, painting, photography, prints, and sculpture, mark first entries by the artists to SAMA’s collection.
Upcoming Exhibitions Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth: February 11, 2022 – May 8, 2022 Drawn from the collection of The Newark Museum of Art and museums across the country, Red Star’s mid-career survey will include photography, textiles, and film and sound installations, produced over a period of fifteen years. An immersive video will be screened inside a sweat lodge recreated within the gallery at the heart of the exhibition. An enrolled member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Tribe, Red Star works across disciplines to explore the intersections of Native American ideologies and colonialist structures, both historically and in contemporary society. Drawing on pop culture, conceptual art strategies, and the Crow traditions within which she was raised, Red Star pushes photography in new directions—from self-portraiture to photo-collage and altered historical photographs—to bring to life her unique perspective on American history. The importance of family, Indigenous roots of feminism, Crow mythology, history of the Montana landscape, and the pageantry of Crow Fest are among the subjects that Red Star brings to life in this exhibition.
Upcoming Events 24th Annual Mays Symposium: Contemporary Perspectives on Native American Art
Native American cultures have often been romanticized, appropriated, or erased from the canons of art history. This symposium seeks to provide greater context, understanding, and inclusivity through fresh insights into the personal and societal narratives that are woven into the practice of contemporary Native American artists.
Virtual Keynote with artist Wendy Red Star Friday, February 25, 2022 at 6p.m. (Virtual)
Lectures and Panel Discussion Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 9:30a.m.-12:30p.m. (In-person and live-streamed)
Artist Presentations by: Joe Harjo, Artist, Chair of Photography, Southwest School of Art Ruben Olguin, Artist, Educator
Panel Discussion by: Joe Harjo Dakota Hoska, Assistant Curator of Native Arts, Denver Art Museum Risa Puelo, Independent Curator, Writer Ruben Olguin Moderator: Dr. Annette Portillo, Professor, University of Texas, San Antonio
The San Antonio Museum of Art serves as a forum to explore and connect with art that spans the world’s geographies, artistic periods, genres, and cultures. Its collection contains nearly 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of history. Housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of San Antonio’s River Walk, the San Antonio Museum of Art is committed to promoting the rich cultural heritage and life of the city. The Museum 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.
Wendy Red Star, Indian Summer – Four Seasons, 2006 Archival pigment print on sunset fiber rag, 23 x 26 in. (58.4 x 66cm). Gift of Loren G. Lipson, M.D. Collection of The Newark Museum of Art. Photo: Wendy Red Star, used with permission.
The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) will present a mid-career survey of the work of Portland-based artist Wendy Red Star starting February 11, 2022. The exhibition Wendy Red Star: A Scratch on the Earth features forty works drawn from the collection of The Newark Museum of Art and museums across the country and includes photography, textiles, and film and sound installations, produced over a period of fifteen years. At the heart of the exhibition, an immersive video will be screened inside a sweat lodge recreated within the gallery. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2021)
An enrolled member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Tribe, Red Star works across disciplines to explore the intersections of Native American ideologies and colonialist structures, both historically and in contemporary society. Drawing on pop culture, conceptual art strategies, and the Crow traditions within which she was raised, Red Star pushes photography in new directions—from self-portraiture to photo-collage and altered historical photographs—to bring to life her unique perspective on American history.
The importance of family, Indigenous roots of feminism, Crow mythology, history of the Montana landscape, and the pageantry of Crow Fest are among the subjects that Red Star brings to life in this exhibition. The artist’s exploration of ancestral Apsáalooke land culminates in the recreation of a sweat lodge. Inside, an immersive 360-degree video is projected onto the interior walls joining imagery from Crow mythology and the Montana landscape. Another large-scale wall installation maps the ancestral lands of Apsáalooke women. To reclaim the matrilineal society disrupted by the reservation system, Red Star contacted women across the country and researched their familial ties to the land. Also included is a powerful series of self-portraits, titled Apsáalooke Feminist, for which Red Star and her daughter Beatrice pose wearing traditional elk-tooth dresses, symbols of Crow womanhood.
The title A Scratch on the Earth is a translation of the Apsáalooke word Annúkaxua and refers to the period after 1880 when U.S. government policy prioritized keeping Crow people on their reservation. Red Star mines archives to investigate the boundaries of the Crow reservation and how they came to be negotiated throughout the nineteenth century. Growing from the somewhat arbitrary borders that were historically imposed on the Apsáalooke, the exhibition also explores how boundaries between cultural, racial, social, and gender categories have subsequently been reinforced, and how they blur across time and space.
The exhibition was organized by The Newark Museum of Art and curated by Nadiah Rivera Fellah, guest curator, and Tricia Laughlin Bloom, Newark’s Curator of American Art. In San Antonio, it is generously funded by The Ford Foundation, The Betty Stieren Kelso Foundation, and The Brown Foundation, Inc. It is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue published by The Newark Museum of Art. A selection of programs and a symposium featuring the artist will also be offered during the exhibition.
“Red Star’s work engages images and materials that are rich with meaning to initiate vital conversations about identity, culture, and American history. SAMA is thrilled to share this important exhibition with our community.”
Lana Meador, SAMA’s Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Agarita celebrates San Antonio Museum of Art’s 40th anniversary with free community concert. Photo: Agarita
An innovative chamber ensemble dedicated to producing bold, collaborative musical events, Agarita offers a new way to experience classical and contemporary music. Rooted in San Antonio and founded by Daniel Anastasio (piano), Marisa Bushman (viola), Ignacio Gallego (cello), and Sarah Silver Manzke (violin), Agarita nourishes the local community through artistic collaborations, community engagement, and free, adventurous programming. (Agarita, 2021)
Agarita was recently named San Antonio Magazine’s Best of the City 2021: Culture winner for its collaboration with area partners. It works intimately with local artists of various genres to weave cross-artistic narratives for each concert. Agarita’s past collaborations have included the McNay Art Museum’s Pop América exhibit, lighting artist Chuck Drew, Cameron Beauchamp from the Grammy Award-winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth, chef Elizabeth Johnson and Pharm Table restaurant, poet Laura Van Prooyen, sculptor Danville Chadbourne, educational arts institution SAY Sí, and the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival for a concert inside San Antonio’s historic Mission San José.
As a nonprofit organization, Agarita believes that the arts should be accessible to everyone in its community. Agarita presents free public concerts, performs at local schools, and offers opportunities for other artists through its collaborations. The next event will take place on Sunday, December 12 at the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Agarita Celebrates SAMA’s 40th! Date: Sunday, December 12, 2021 Time: 11a.m. – 12:15p.m. Location: San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 West Jones Ave, San Antonio, TX 78215 Collaborator: Highlights of SAMA’s permanent collection Description: Agarita returns to the San Antonio Museum of Art for a concert celebrating the museum’s 40th anniversary. Musical selections will reflect artworks on display in the special exhibit. This concert is FREE and open to the public.
The San Antonio Museum of Art will present a new orchestral suite by composer Nathan Felix. Photo: San Antonio Museum of Art, used with permission.
On Friday November 12, 2021, the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) will present a new orchestral suite, Black Neon Rose, by composer Nathan Felix, featuring newly written music for four harpsichords, strings, and a choir. The music draws inspiration from SAMA’s exhibition America’s Impressionism: Echoes of a Revolution. Local harpsichord builder Gerald Self will introduce the performance with a brief discussion on the history of harpsichords and give insight into his building process. The musicians will be in a formation that best activates the acoustics and spatial qualities of the Great Hall. This performance will be limited to fifty (50) people. Tickets are $15 for non-members and $10 for members. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2021)
Nathan Felix – Composer, Filmmaker, Recording Artist Friday November 12 from 7p.m. to 8p.m.
The Great Hall San Antonio Museum of Art 200 W. Jones Ave. San Antonio, TX 78215
The San Antonio Museum of Art serves as a forum to explore and connect with art that spans the world’s geographies, artistic periods, genres, and cultures. Its collection contains nearly 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of history. Housed in the historic former Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of San Antonio’s River Walk, the San Antonio Museum of Art is committed to promoting the rich cultural heritage and life of the city. The Museum 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.
San Antonio Museum of Art is offering several lectures in November. Photo: San Antonio Museum of Art, used with permission.
This November, travel the globe with the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) through their collection of online lectures. From November 2 through November 30, guests can peek inside a cat mummy, hear about the challenges of restoring a 400 year-old Chinese scroll, decide the truth about a fake Roman mosaic, or discover the female shift in African Art. (San Antonio Museum of Art, 2021)
The lecture schedule is below.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021| 6p.m. – 7p.m. $5 for members | $10 for non-members Online Lecture: “African Art in American Collections: From Male to Female Authorship” with Moyo Okediji, PhD Dr. Moyo Okediji, Professor of Art and Art History at the University of Texas, will examine the growing role of women artists in African art and the responsibility of museums in effecting this transition.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021| 12:30p.m. – 1p.m. Online Lecture: Conservator Chats: Restoring a 400-year-old Chinese Handscroll Painting: A Story Told by the Conservator Eddie Jose Fee: Donation Appreciated Processes usually behind the scenes and inaccessible to the public, conservator Eddie Jose shares the yearlong process and challenges encountered while restoring a 400-year-old Chinese handscroll.
Wednesday, November 17, 2021| 12:30p.m. – 1p.m. Online Conservator Chats: “A Peek Inside: The SAMA Cat Mummy” with Dr. Sarah Schellinger and Ms. Mimi Leveque Fee: Donation Appreciated Take a closer look at the treatment of the ancient Egyptian cat mummy currently housed in the Museum’s Egyptian collection with Dr. Sarah Schellinger, who specializes in the art and archaeology of ancient Egypt, Nubia, and Mimi Leveque.
The San Antonio Museum of Art enriches lives through exceptional experiences with art. Its mission is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret significant works of art, representing a broad range of history and world cultures to strengthen our shared understanding of humanity.
La Panadería’s Pan de Muerto. Photo: La Panadería, used with permission.
Día de los Muertos is right around the corner and the San Antonio Museum of Art, La Panadería, and Twang are helping San Antonians embrace the holiday. (San Antonio Museum of Art, La Panadería, 2021)
San Antonio Museum of Art – Día de los Muertos Family Day The San Antonio Museum of Art is hosting a Touch-Free Family Day celebrating Día de los Muertos on Sunday, November 7, 2021. From 11a.m. to 3p.m., families can explore the Latin American galleries with a bilingual, self-paced scavenger hunt and learn more about Día de los Muertos with a link to a story time video. Kids can also decorate a traditional sugar skull and craft tissue paper cempasúchil (marigolds). The best part is that it is free for SAISD students and families.
Link for art activity video demonstrations, virtual story time, and self-guided gallery walk available in the art kit. Art kits are first come, first served.
La Panadería – Pan de Muerto Highlighting Mexico’s “Bread Cultura,” La Panadería will offer their classic Día de Los Muertos pan dulce like Pan De Muerto and specialty pan dulce boxes starting October 15, 2021. Guests can order their family-sized Pan de Muerto online or in-store, with pickup available from October 28 – 31, 2021.
Día de los Muertos Cocktail from Twang WAKE THE DEAD cocktail Single serving: Twang-A-Rita Unwind Lime 1oz. Bourbon 1oz. Gin .5 oz. simple syrup .25 oz. lime juice Shaken topped with ginger beer Two dashes Angostura bitters Recipe courtesy of Aaron Peña, Owner of Amor Eterno and Squeezebox in San Antonio, TX
WAKE THE DEAD cocktail. Photo: Mario Maldonado, used with permission.
The fan-favorite Pumpkin Spiked Milkshake is back this month at EVO Entertainment this month. Photo: EVO Entertainment, used with permission.
This Halloween season, some San Antonio businesses are offering special events, specials, recipes, and more to help San Antonians celebrate the spooky season. (San Antonio Museum of Art, Taco Cabana, EVO Entertainment, Bakery Lorraine, Twang 2021)
San Antonio Museum of Art Families can enjoy the San Antonio Museum of Art in a new way by trick-or-treating throughout the museum on Sunday, October 31 from 10a.m. – 5p.m. Visitors are encouraged to come dressed in their Halloween costumes as they explore the museum’s galleries. Swords, scepters, weapons, wands, and full-face masks will not be permitted.
Taco Cabana This Halloween season, Taco Cabana is celebrating with the return of its popular Bean and Cheese taco coupon booklets. For a limited time and while supplies last, guests can purchase the booklets for $2 each at any Taco Cabana location. Each booklet will include five coupons for a free TC classic Bean and Cheese taco, and the $2 donation from each booklet sold will directly benefit local food banks. Offer is valid until October 31 and coupons are redeemable through November 30, 2021.
EVO Entertainment Austin, Schertz, New Braunfels and San Marcos locations On Saturday, October 30, families can check out “Pumpkins & Popcorn” at EVO locations featuring a specialty screening of Scoob! at 11a.m. Tickets to the event include a wooden pumpkin, painting and decorating supplies, and a popcorn and candy snack bag. Limited tickets are available for purchase here.
Kyle, Schertz and San Marcos locations On Wednesday, October 20 EVO’s Kyle, Schertz and Springtown locations will host the annual Drunken Pumpkin Parties. Guests will each get a large pumpkin, carving tools and stencils, a snack bag and hidden prizes while they enjoy a screening of the Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus. This event is 18+ and costumes are encouraged. Tickets are available here.
Throughout the month of October, select EVO locations will also be serving themed cocktails perfect for spooky season. “The Symbiote” is a strawberry margarita with a black salted rim created in honor of the highly-anticipated film Venom: Let There Be Carnage and will be available through October 31. The fan-favorite Pumpkin Spiked Milkshake is also making a return this fall, made with vodka and Baileys Pumpkin Spiced Irish Cream. A non-alcoholic version of the milkshake is also available.
Bakery Lorraine Beginning Thursday, October 28 and through the end of the month, Bakery Lorraine will be offering a special Halloween menu at both Austin and San Antonio locations. The menu will include a black cat tart for $6 made of chocolate mousse with a vanilla filling, a lemon mummy tart for $6 made of lemon curd topped with meringue and two chocolate chips for the mummy’s eyes, a chocolate caramel tart for $6 made of a caramel filling topped with chocolate ganache, a phantom of opera cake slice for $6 layered with pumpkin spice sponge cake and buttercream topped in a rich dark chocolate glaze, a voodoo doll gingerbread cookie for $5 made of gingerbread cookie dipped in a rich dark chocolate, and a ghost moon pie for $5 made of homemade graham cookies with a honey marshmallow filling dipped in a white chocolate.
Twang In the spirit of celebrating Halloween on October 31, family-owned salts and seasonings company, Twang, has a themed cocktail to enjoy at home using their Twang-A-Rita Nectarberry. The cocktail is appropriately named Witch’s Brew and is composed of 2 oz. cinnamon liqueur, 3/4 pomegranate syrup, 3oz. apple cider, and topped with champagne for a single serving. If wanting to celebrate with a bigger group, their punch recipe is composed of 16 oz. cinnamon liqueur, 6oz. pomegranate syrup, 24oz. apple cider, and 1 full 750ml bottle of champagne. Recipe courtesy of Aaron Peña, Owner of Amor Eterno and Squeezebox in San Antonio, Texas.
Bakery Lorraine’s ghost moon pie and voodoo doll gingerbread cookie. Photo: Bakery Lorraine, used with permission.
SA Examiner 