News Roundup, March 24, 2022
Two significant exhibits have just opened in town: the 92nd Juried Artists Exhibition at the San Antonio Arts League and Museum, and “Mars Needs More Women” at the Centro Cultural Aztlan.
Like every year, SAALM issued an open call to artists to submit works for the Artists Juried Exhibition, but this year the museum broadened its reach by inviting artists from all corners of Texas to participate. And they sure did. Altogether, 167 artists submitted more than 430 artworks in a range of media, from painting to photography, sculpture, collage, papel picadoand encaustic (hot wax) painting.
The submissions were judged by Leah Hardy, an artist and professor at the University of Wyoming who has exhibited nationally and internationally, and who founded a metalsmithing program at that school. Judges are always prominent art figures who live and work outside of Texas.
“This year is the first time that the first-place winning work is a sculpture,” said current SAALM president Dona LeCrone Walston. That work is “Merry-Tunes-Go-Round,” a “found objects piece” featuring a central, guitar-shaped instrument. The work of San Antonian, Marc Eiasenberg, it won the top Onderdonk Purchase Award. A total amount of $12000 was given in awards. All the exhibited art is for sale. (Official opening, Sunday, Match 27 at 3 p.m.; on view until June 2; SAALM, 130 King William St., 78204; 210-223-1140; free admission; closed Sundays-Mondays)
The “Mars Needs More Women, Project: MASA-V” exhibit, currently on view at the Centro Cultural Aztlan, is part of an ongoing series which “gathers Chicana artists that use outer space and science fiction iconography with past, present and future tropes, to comment on social-political issues.” Curated by Cathryn Merla-Watson and Iliana Pompa, this intergenerational show features 19 women artists from the South Texas border areas, as well as from San Antonio and Austin. Included are Catherine Cisneros, Celeste de Luna, Suzy Gonzalez, Mari Hernandez, Terry Ybanez, and others. (On view through June 10, Centro Aztlan, 1800 Fredericksburg, Suite 103; 210-432-1896, www.centroaztlan.org; free and open to the public Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
It’s a big weekend at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, which is ready for its annual Night of Artists, a two-day celebration and live art auction, and a major fundraiser for the museum. The works to be auctioned can be seen online. Some 300 artworks created by 78 leading contemporary Western artists are offered, including paintings, sculptures and mixed media pieces. Featured artists include: Martin Grelle, George Hallmark, Z.C. Liang, Kenny McKenna, Jan Mapes, Kim Wiggins, Stefan Savides and San Antonio’s Brenda Kingery, plus many others. The signature event, the Exhibition Opening, Art Sale and Reception, is scheduled for March 26. (March 26 evening event, McNutt Sculpture Garden, 210 W. Market St., 210-299-4499, www.briscoemuseum.org). Public exhibition and fixed-price sale: March 27- May 8)
It’s also an important weekend at the Public Theater of San Antonio, which is opening its somewhat truncated season with “35 mm: A Musical Exhibition,” a musical theater show delivered in a novel format. Created by Ryan Scott Oliver, the show features five singers/actors who enact scenes/stories inspired by projected photos taken by Oliver’s co-creator, Matthew Murphy. The San Antonio version is directed by Rick Sanchez, with music direction by Andrew Hendley and choreography by Paige Berry.
The five performers are John Berring, Jennifer Hoskins, Chaz Ingraham, Isidro Medina and Jillian Sainz. It’s great that the venerable San Pedro Playhouse will once again be alive with the sound of music! (Fridays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. but no show on Easter Sunday. An additional show is scheduled for Thursday, March 31, also at 7:30 p.m.; Tickets $45 (adult), $30 (military seniors, students) and $15 for youth up the age of 12; a fee of $2-4 is added to all tickets; San Pedro Playhouse in San Pedro Park, 800 W. Ashby, 210-733-7258, www.thepublicsa.org)
And we are pleased to let you know that the Classic Theater’s performances of “A Doll’s House, Part 2” will proceed as expected at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Two outstanding actors, Anna Gangai and Vic Trevino, appear in main roles. The play tells the story of Ibsen’s famous character, Nora, 15 years after she walked out on her husband and family. (Thursday-Friday and Sunday (last show) at 7:30 p.m., SABOT, 555 Funston Place, 78209; tickets at www.ClassicTheatre.org)
At the Woodlawn, “Hairspray” will be closing its run Sunday, March 27. (1920 Fredericksburg Rd, 78201, 210-267-8388, www.woodlawntheatre.org)
The small but mighty Overtime Theater has a new show, “Beneath the Surface,” opening Friday March 25. Written by Michael Song, the production “is an anthology of three stories, each exploring themes of isolation, confinement and one’s belief in the world that surrounds us… “As each story unfolds, the audience is invited along on the journey of conjecture, to deduce and ultimately discover what lies beneath the surface.” (Runs through April 16). In addition, the company is presenting Choreographies by Women, performed by the Grupo Folklorico Ocotochitl and Sarah Davis Sunday.This ensemble is also taking part in the Folk Dance Festival this weekend. (See story from March 22 on this site) (Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera Rd., #205, 78238, tickets at the door or online at www.theovertimetheater.org
The San Antonio Choral Society’s Lenten Vespers Concert, “Holy Week Meditation” is likely to put you in a spiritual, contemplative frame of mind. With two of their ensembles performing, Sonoro and Sonido Barroco, the singers will perform a range of beautiful Lenten music, including two compositions by the Baroque French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, including the famous “Stabat Mater H. 15,” Joseph Haydn’s “Seven Last Words” and Antonio Lotti’s mournful “Crucifixus A 8.” All of these depict the Passion of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Jesus himself, his mother, Mary and his disciple Peter. (Sunday, March 27 at 6 p.m., St. John’s Lutheran Church, 502 E. Nueva St., 78205; 210-223-2611, www.stjohnssa.org)
The Musical Bridges Around the World’s International Music Festival continues with “The Lark” at the San Fernando Cathedral. The Miro Quartet will perform with bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen. Duo Amal will follow on Saturday, and The Austin Troubadours close the fest Sunday at 7 p.m. (all concerts are free but registration required. Register at www.mbaw.org/imf or via Eventbrite.)
A new ensemble has recently come to our attention: Adelante Winds, founded by two women, Sabrina Stoval and Ruth Aguirre, to explore and expand the range of composers and styles played by woodwind groups, such as their quintet. They have performed at colleges throughout San Antonio and beyond, and will have a concert – with poet laureate Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson – Sunday. (March 27 at 3 p.m., Burleson Warehouse, 221 Burleson Rd., $10 donation is suggested. For more, write to info@adelantewinds.com)
The Agarita Chamber Players will present two Humble Hall, outdoor concerts on Sunday in District 1 and 6. The first session will take place at the H-E-B, Grissom Rd, 78251, at 1 p.m.; the second at 5:30 p.m. at Beautify San Antonio Park, 801 S. Main St, 78204, in the King William area. Free; bring chairs or blankets.
And here’s a reminder that the Greater San Antonio Community Bands Association will hold a festival of wind-band music at the Beethoven Maennerchor Saturday. (422 Pereida St., 78207, 11:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.; www.gsacba.org)
You might have heard that our City Hall had undergone a major restoration and renovation, most of it inside and not easily accessible. Well, here’s a chance to see it all, or most of it, including all the beautiful art San Antonio artists contributed to embellish the building. Design/Forum, a local nonprofit, will present a public tour led by architect Allison Chambers. (March 26 at 10 a.m., 100 Military Plaza; free)
April is National Poetry Month but some poetry events are already taking place, including a poetry and prose reading, “Seeking, Seeing, Celebrating the Natural World Sunday at Bihl Haus Arts. The reading is organized in conjunction with the Elizabeth Rodriguez’s exhibition, “Texas TRIPtich. The artist’s interest in nature, rivers and lakes is reflected in her paintings. Poetry readers are mostly from the group Stone in Stream, founded by Mobi Warren and Jim LaVilla-Havelin. Other poets who will read their poems are Jean Hackett, Suzanne Green, and Antonia Murguia. (March 27 at 2 p.m., Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredericksburg Rd., 210-383-9723, www.bihlhausarts.org)
Another welcome literary development in town is the Texas Authors Series, to be launched by the new Latino Bookstore & Gift Shop on April 1 with the appearance of best-selling author, Reyna Grande, author of the novel “A Ballad of Love and Glory.” From then on, the series will spotlight a Texas Latino author evert first Friday of the month. (1300 Guadalupe St.)
And here is great news from one of our premier professional galleries – Ruiz-Healy Art. Ruiz-Healy will be presenting the work of three San Antonio artists for the first time, at the 2022 EXPO Chicago, the international exposition of contemporary & modern art. It’s a pretty big deal! The artists are: Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Cecilia Paredes and the late Chuck Ramirez. If you happen to be in that part of the country, you may want to visit the huge show. Ruiz-Healy will be in booth 411. To visit the San Antonio Ruiz-Healy gallery, find it at 201-A E. Olmos Drive, where these and other San Antonio artists have been exhibited for years.
We also want to let San Antonio dancers know that the famous Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will hold auditions for new dancers here in San Antonio, in connection with their appearance at the Carver Center. The two-hour event will include an observed master class and the audition. (March 30, 6-8 p.m.; Little Carver (behind the main theater); 226 N. Hackberry, 78202.) Interested dancers need to send headshots and resume to Winifred@cleoparkerdance.org