Exterior of Centro de Artes Gallery. Image: San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture
The Centro de Artes Gallery, managed by San Antonio’s Department of Arts and Culture, will reopen on Wednesday, January 26, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gallery has been closed since March 2020.
Installation image of artist headshots and bios. Image: San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture
The gallery reopens with an exhibition of works by thirty-four San Antonio-based artists who are connected to the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. According to the NYFA website, this program, “pairs emerging foreign-born artists with artists who have received a NYFA Artist Fellowship and/or past participants of the program.” The mentors share their own experiences and provide guidance to help mentees achieve goals and learn about available resources.
Installation image of artwork by Ernesto Ibanez. Image: San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture
NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program Exhibition – Round 2, is a continuation of an earlier exhibition hosted by Centro de Artes in 2019. The exhibition was organized by Richard Armendariz, Kim Bishop, Luis Valderas, and Guillermina Zabala and features artists representing twelve countries, including Argentina, Chile, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Installation of sculptures by Naomi Wanjiku. Image: San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture
Participating artists include: Fernando Andrade, Ricky Armendariz, Jose Balli, Kim Bishop, Hayfer Brea, Francisco Cortes, Juan de Dios Mora, Anna De Luna, Juan C. Escobedo, Anel Flores, Juan Flores, Sergio Flores, Brandy González, Beatriz Guzman Velasquez, Ernesto Ibanez, Julya Jara, Sergio Mata, Barbara Miñarro, Yoko Misu, Merle Mory, Anastassia Rabajille, Andrea V Rivas, Caroline Royall, Jesse Ruiz, Gloria Sánchez Hart, Sabine Senft, Hiromi Stringer, Luis Valderas, Jorge Villarreal, Anne Wallace, Naomi Wanjiku, Anahita Younesi, Guillermina Zabala and Claudia Zapata.
Richard Armendariz, “Blown off Course, Guided by Spirits,” 2020,
oil on carved birch plywood, 48 x 48 inches. Image: San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture
In a press release, Department of Arts & Culture Interim Executive Director Krystal Jones shared, “We are delighted to reopen the gallery doors to the community with such a powerful, impactful and important exhibit. This exhibition reflects on the multilayered immigrant and first-generation experience shared by so many in our community. Centro de Artes provides a place for these stories to be told, stories that have historically been underrepresented in gallery spaces.”
Executive Director of NYFA, Michael L. Royce, added, “Many of the participating artists have already contributed to the cultural landscape in San Antonio. The Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program expands their ability to contribute, and this exhibition is the cumulation of what they have learned and created throughout the collaborative process.”
The exhibition will be on view from January 26 through July 3, 2022. To learn more about gallery hours and upcoming programs, visit the Centro de Artes website.
