Arts Alive San Antonio

The horror and tragedy that took place in Uvalde on Tuesday when 19 school children and two teachers were killed by yet another disgruntled and armed young man, have had a huge impact on all of us in Texas. Some artists and art organizations have already voiced their support for the devasted families in Uvalde. We received this morning the Woodlawn Theater’s newsletter, listing ways that Texans can help, from blood donations to volunteer legal services. Helping and comforting the bereaved is, of course, the first priority. But we must also think about the future and how to prevent this kind of horror from devastating other communities. It’s our collective community that is in danger.

Artist Sylvia Benitez, the 2022 San Antonio Art League & Museum’s Artist of the Year, expressed her inner turmoil in her painting, The Storm- The Day the Children Died in Uvalde, included here. Poets associated with the literary journal, Voice de La Luna, (that our editor is also associated with) have also felt the need to express themselves. We are reprinting one of the poems here, written by magazine’s editor.

When
By James Adair
When will we decide we love our children
more then we love our guns?

When will we decide to feed the hungry
instead of watching them die?

When will we decide to house the homeless
instead of arresting them?

When will we decide to treat the sick
instead of forcing them into bankruptcy?

When will we decide to educate our students
without forcing them to mortgage their futures?

When will we decide that the poor are people, too?

When will we decide to love our neighbor – all our neighbors –
as much as we love ourselves?

When?
                                               ———————————————

Perhaps the art events coming up can help us recharge our batteries and maybe gain some insights into how to deal with difficult life situations.

An example of a difficult life situation is, in fact, the subject of Nine, a dance and multimedia production that will be presented by the Carver Community Center Saturday. The “Nine” of the title are the brave black teenagers, who, in 1957, integrated the Little Rock, AR, schools despite threats and animosity, including the state’s governor’s opposition to integration. Conceived by choreographer Leah Glenn of the Leah Glenn Dance Theater from Williamsburg, Virginia, the show will feature 15 dancers and stunning backdrops by artist Steve Prince, who also put his stamp on the costumes by painting meaningful words and symbols on them. (May 28 at 8 p.m.; Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry; tickets $30; 210-207-2234, www.thecarver.org)

And, there’s a great deal of good music coming up. Music has the power to heal, to re-energize us.

The Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony, MOSAS, will perform another concert produced by their own nonprofit, The MOSAS Performance Fund. Former San Antonio Symphony music director, Christopher Wilkins, will conduct. Wilkins is currently the music director of the Akron Symphony and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, an ensemble that performs weekly in the summer throughout the city’s neighborhoods. The concert’s eclectic repertoire “reflects Wilkins’ desire to explore music from around the world” said Brian Petkovich, musician and president of the MOSAS Performance Fund. On the program:

 Leonard Bernstein – Overture to “Candide”
 Richard Wagner – “Forest Murmurs” from “Siegfried”
 William Grant Still – “The American Scene,” Suite 5:1 and “Grand Teton (A Symbol of American  Strength)” Arturo Marquez – Danzon No. 2
Mykola Lysenko – “Taras Bulba” Overture
Edward Elgar – Enigma Variations”

(The concerts will take place June 2-3 at 7:30 p.m.  First Baptist Church, 515 McCullough Ave.; for tickets ($20 + $10 parking) go to www.mosasperformancefund.org)

Fans of Mariachi music, rejoice! Mariachi Nuevo Tecaliltan, and the winners of the last Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza, will perform at the International Trumpet Guild’s 46^th Annual Conference, which will be held in San Antonio next week. A concert billed as “Mariachi Madness” on May 31 will first showcase school mariachi groups and top vocal winners, Melanie Olivares and Deborah Carrillo-Barquero.
The big guns will appear in the evening, the above-mentioned Mariachi Nuevo Tecaliltan from Guadalajara, in Mexico. Led by Fernando Martinez, a former vocalist and violinist for the Mariachi Vargas, this ensemble has recorded more than 60 albums and has performed throughout the U.S. and Latin America. The group includes seven violinists, three trumpeters and a section with a harp, a guitarron, two guitars and a vihuela. The International Trumpet Guild brings together trumpet players, educators, students, instrument manufacturers and other trumpet professionals from all over the world. Sounds a fun and happy evening! (May 31 at 7 p.m., Lila Cockrell Theater; tickets $10-$20, to purchase go to https://www.ticketmaster.com/international-trumpet-guild-san-antonio-texas-05-31-2022/event/3A005c44c2e16e88)

A concert that you may not want to miss is coming up at the Whitewater Amphitheater this weekend: Willie Nelson & Family. Tickets are still available for Friday, May 27. (Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, TX, 78132; standing room only; 830-964-3800; https://www.ticketweb.com/event/willie-nelson-family-whitewater-amphitheater-tickets/11939155)

Alamo City Arts presents “La Jolie Garden” featuring selections from “Le Corsaire” performed by the Alamo City Dance Company (a youth company) and Alamo City Symphony Viva conducted by guest conductor Mark Rogers, the music director of the Heart of Texas Concert Band. This “tribute to spring” will be performed in the historic Fort Sam Houston Theater on JBSA – Fort Sam Houston. (May 28 at 2 and 7 p.m.; 2472 Stanley Rd., on base.  For tickets call the resident Harlequin Theater at 210-222-9694; $15 for kids, $25 adult & Military.)

Dance and poetry will be featured at “Words and Movement in the Cave of Knowledge,” presented by Galeria E.V.A.  It is an effort to bring storytelling and live performing to the South Side community. The venue is owned by sculptor Veronica Castillo Salas. The spoken word part will be performed by Josie Mendez-Negrete, professor emerita UTSA. The movement part will be performed by Rosa Rosie Torres, a dance teacher and choreographer. (May 28, 3-5 p.m. $10 donation, students free; Galeria E.V.A., 3412 S. Flores, 78204; parking available across the street. Similar events will take place monthly at the gallery through August 2022)

“Pop Madness” is “a Pop Culture Convention featuring authors, artists, anime, crafts, cosplay and more, courtesy of the San Antonio Public Library. It will take place at the Igo Library this year. (May 28, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Igo Branch Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, 78249.; for more info call 210-206-ARTS.)

The visual arts scene is always rich and diverse in San Antonio.

The latest news from the McNay Art Museum is about a new exhibit focusing on two big names of the cubist movement, two names that immediately spring to mind in connection with cubism: Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Whether you are a fan of cubism or not, you have to recognize their role in the art developments that challenged traditional approaches of viewing the world. In this exhibition, “paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints from the McNay collection come together to demonstrate how Cubism transcended time and space,” says the press release. The exhibition was curated by Lyle W. Williams, curator of modern art, and Rafael Fernando Gutierrez Jr., the inaugural Douglas Foundation intern in curatorial studies. It sounds very interesting to us. (On view, May 25 – September 2, 2022, Lawson Print Gallery, McNay Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels, 78209; free admission Thursdays 4-9 p.m. and every first Sunday of the month.)

At the Briscoe Museum of Western Art, they also have “summer specials” for us. The new exhibit, “The Sons of Charlie Russell: Cowboy Artists of America,” will open this weekend at the downtown museum.Curated by Emily Wilson, the curator of art at the Briscoe, the show features  works from 17 lenders, including the Anon Carter Museum of American Art, the Booth Western Art Museum, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and others. Nine of the exhibited works come from the Briscoe’s own collection. The show will not be seen anywhere else. A whole series of events – tours, book signings, family art activities, talks and demonstrations are scheduled between May 27 and Sept. 5. The exhibit focuses on the Cowboy Artists of America, an organization whose members “maintain and evolve the style and subject matter of traditional western Art.”  Charlie Russell was both a cowboy and a prolific artist who painted more than 2000 images of cowboys, Indians and Western landscapes. (Briscoe Museum, 210 W. Market St.; 210-299-4499, www.briscoemuseum.org)

Artpace has announced its summer 2022 artists-in-residence, who will be working at Artpace through July 25. They are: Weaver Hellen Ascoli, originally from Guatemala, now a resident of Baltimore, Maryland; Jonesy, an artist and filmmaker working in Los Angeles, and Betelhem Makonnen, an Ethiopian artist, now living in Austin. During their residency, the artists will host Community Collaborations, offering an opportunity for the public to connect with them via studio visits, workshops or lectures. Their exhibit will open on July 21.

Painter Kathy Sosa is exhibiting her distinctive and popular portraits at Cappy’s restaurant on Broadway, through July 24 (Cappy’s, 5011 Broadway.)

                                                                    NEWS IN BRIEF

The Public Theater of San Antonio has appointed a number of new board members. They are: Kelly Archer Deary (Overland Partners Architects), who also worked for Disney Theatrical in New York; Brandon L. Howard, CPA, PLLC (UTSA); Dakota Haselwood Community Volunteer) and Ricardo Chavira (actor).

San Antonio’s Chamber of Commerce’s Artisan Show has returned to the River Walk. More than 40 artisan booths will be selling pottery, textiles, jewelry, paintings, bead work, and more. (Friday-Monday on the River Walk near the Chamber’s building, 849 E. Commerce St.) It’s a good place to find original gifts.

“The Immersive Van Gogh” the exhibit that makes you feel immersed in the master’s paintings is receiving very mixed reviews online. It’s now here, in San Antonio. Opens June 2. (Lighthouse Art Space, 221 Burleson St.; tickets $30- $100, www.immersivevangogh.com)