Briscoe Western Art Museum’s ongoing events

Briscoe Western Art Museum upcoming events include the new STEAM education series and The Art of Rodeo. Photo: Briscoe Western Art Museum, used with permission.

The Briscoe Western Art Museum is steaming into the 2022 with a new educational series, free days for local visitors, and a picture-perfect weekend to close out the U.S. premier of Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo, the fantastic photography exhibition highlighting the birthplace of the modern cowboy. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2022)

The museum’s upcoming calendar includes:

The Art of the Rodeo:  Student Western Art Competition Exhibit

On display January 7 – February 5, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo’s Student Western Art Competition Exhibit fills the Clingman Education Gallery and is included with general admission. Featuring the ten winning entries in the 2022 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo’s Western Art Competition, the pop-up exhibit displays the best work from the annual contest that includes 159 South Texas school districts across 48 counties. Each of the works show an appreciation of western heritage, something the Briscoe and the Rodeo happily share. The 2022 Best in Show, and 2022 Painting Watercolor Class Champion, scholarship recipient is Madelyn Teter from The Christian School at Castle Hills. 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.

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

Families and visitors of all ages are invited to learn about the American West in the Briscoe’s new education series, “Full STEAM Ahead.” Learners of all ages will work together and learn about the American West by engaging in hands-on, STEAM learning experiences. Sharing the American West through STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics – each of the activities 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.

Closing Weekend Photography Celebration: Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo

Closing out its successful United States debut at the Briscoe, Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo features celebrated photographer Werner Segarra inviting audiences to peer into the world of the Norteño Cowboys from Sonora, Mexico – not as a casual tourist, but as an intimate observer. With almost 60 images spanning more than 20 years of the lives of the vaqueros, Segarra’s images display the expansive landscape, their daily work, and the intimacy of their homes, not merely documenting the vaquero, but celebrating his subjects and their way of life. The exhibition’s closing weekend, January 22-23, features artist talks and exhibition tours with Segarra. Closing weekend events are included with general admission and free for museum members.

Storytime at the Stagecoach: “Fearless Mary Fields”

On Saturday, January 29, 11a.m. – 1p.m., join the Briscoe for a special Storytime at the Stagecoach and learn about Mary Fields, the first African American woman stagecoach driver. For many years, Fields traveled the West with her pet eagle, never losing a single horse or package. Hear her story as Antoinette Lakey reads from “Fearless Mary: Mary Fields, American Stagecoach Driver” and enjoy arts and crafts. A community leader, researcher, and dramatist, Antoinette Lakey currently serves as Artistic Director for Teatro Anansi, an organization with a mission to connect, celebrate and commemorate African American theatre, performing arts, and history within the greater San Antonio community. The presentation is part of San Antonio’s Dreamweek and is included with general admission.

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 is making 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 2022, with free admission on February 6, March 6, April 3, May 1, June 5, July 3, August 7, September 4, October 2, November 6 and December 4. 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.

The Briscoe is open Thursday through Monday, 10a.m. – 5p.m. and closed to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Admission is free for children 12 and under and for active duty members of the military. The museum is proud to participate in Museums For All, Blue Star Museums and Bank of America Museums on Us. The Briscoe is located on the south end of the River Walk, near the Arneson River Theatre and La Villita, with convenient parking at the Riverbend Garage directly adjacent to the museum or one of many downtown surface lots. Museum hours, parking and admission details are available online.

Briscoe Western Art Museum’s fall exhibit: Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo

La sabanía del peñasco blanco, Huásabas, 2012 Digital photograph on photographic paper. Photo: Werner Segarra, used with permission. Part of Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo, fall exhibit at the Briscoe.

The Briscoe Western Art Museum will transport everyone to the birthplace of the modern cowboy during its fall exhibition, Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo: Contemporary Photography of the Northern Mexican Cowboy. Making its United States debut at the Briscoe, Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo features celebrated photographer Werner Segarra inviting audiences to peer into the world of the Norteño Cowboys from Sonora, Mexico – not as a casual tourist, but as an intimate observer. A series of opening events that includes a documentary, artist’s lecture, and tours spans September 23-26. Following a preview party on September 24, the exhibition opens to the public September 25, 2021 – January 24, 2022. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2021)

With almost sixty images that span more than twenty years of the lives of the vaqueros, Segarra showcases the expansive landscape, their daily work, and the intimacy of their homes, not merely documenting the vaquero, but bringing forward through his images both meaning and a celebration of his subjects and their way of life. Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo takes you into the little-known culture of the cowboys of Sonora, Mexico, sharing aspects of their daily lives through the eyes and lens of Segarra. The photographs share the unique, passionate and strenuous life that these vaqueros lead. The exhibition is accompanied by Norteño music especially created by Leo Lopez. Video clips woven throughout the exhibition further illustrate the stories.

A professional photographer for more than thirty years, Segarra has participated in numerous group and individual exhibitions in various international galleries and museums. Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo showcases the lives and people Segarra has encountered by immersing himself in the Mexican cowboy world. Inspiration for Segarra’s work comes from personal experience after living in various countries around the world during his childhood and adolescence. Knowledge acquired throughout those years cultivated Segarra’s artistic sensitivity and respect for native cultures. The most significant encounter and inspiration for this exhibition was a student exchange that took him to northern Mexico. That experience captivated and motivated him to transmit his love and respect for this culture and share it with the rest of the world.

Exhibition opening events include:

“The Making Of” Vaqueros – Documentary Screening with Werner Segarra and Ellen Riojas Clark
Thursday, September 23 from 6p.m to 8p.m.
Instituto Cultural de Mexico.

Join the Briscoe at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico for a documentary screening and conversation with distinguished guest Ellen Riojas Clark, Ph. D., Professor Emerita in the Department of Bicultural Studies at University of Texas at San Antonio, and Werner Segarra, photographer of Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo: Contemporary Photography of the Northern Mexican Cowboy. A highly respected scholar, Dr. Clark’s received three National Endowment for the Humanities grants focused on Mexican American and Latino literature and culture research examines ethnic and cultural identity and cultural studies topics and is executive producer for the “Latino Artist Speaks: Exploring Who I Am” series. The event is free and open to the public.

Exclusive Preview Party: Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo
Friday, September 24, from 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m.
The Jack Guenther Pavilion at the Briscoe Western Art Museum

Join photographer Werner Segarra and Briscoe CEO and President Michael Duchemin, Ph.D., for the first look at Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo: Contemporary Photography of the Northern Mexican Cowboy. The event includes complimentary valet, beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and light bites. Free for Briscoe members and $25 for future members, RSVP or purchase tickets by September 20. Tickets are also available by calling 210.299.4499.

Artist Lecture: Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo with Werner Segarra and John Philip Santos
Briscoe Western Art Museum
Saturday, September 25, from 1p.m. to 3p.m.

Listen in as Werner Segarra and guest moderator John Philip Santos take a closer look at how the videos and photographs of Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo were created and what inspired Segarra to pursue the subject. Following the lecture, Segarra will sign copies of his book, “Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo,” available at the Museum Store. The lecture and signing are free with museum admission.

A member of the board of directors of the Briscoe Western Art Museum, John Philip Santos serves as a University Distinguished Scholar in Mestizo Cultural Studies to the Honors College at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is the author of the acclaimed book, “Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation,” as well as “The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire.” Santos has created an international forum for exploring mestizo cultural identity, or mestizaje, at UTSA and As an Emmy-nominated television producer, he has produced more than forty broadcast documentaries and news programs on cultural themes in sixteen countries for CBS and PBS.

Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo Artist Tour with Werner Segarra
Briscoe Western Art Museum
Sunday, September 26, from 1p.m. to 3p.m.

Join photographer Werner Segarra for a guided tour through Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo. Peer into the world of the Northern Mexican vaquero as an intimate observer and discover how Segarra was able to capture the life of the vaquero and a way of life that is on the brink of disappearing. Free with museum admission.

Vaqueros de la Cruz del Diablo is supported in part by the Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992, the Betty Stieren Kelso Foundation, and the Texas Commission on the Arts, with special consideration to the Wyatt Family Foundation.

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.