March 6 - 28, 2020
Each year, undergraduate and graduate students in the visual arts take center stage in the Rising Eyes of Texas, a juried exhibition now in its thirteenth year at Rockport Center for the Arts.
Scheduled for March 6–28, the exhibition is free and open to the public. This year’s event features the work of 40 artists from 21 universities across Texas, including paintings, sculptures and more, with the top three “best in show” artists receiving a share of the $1,000 purse. Winning entries will be selected this year by Rebecca Gomez, a fine art consultant and former curator at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin.
A reception with the participating art students and their faculty will be held on Saturday, March 7, from 4–7 p.m. at Rockport Center for the Arts. The evening’s event also coincides with the Rockport Art Loop, a free, alfresco, walkable art experience held on designated Saturdays throughout the year. The March Art Loop event is 4–7 p.m. and also features exhibits at an additional seven galleries located in the Rockport Cultural Arts District.
“The Rising Eyes of Texas is a wonderful showcase for emerging artists,” said Elena Rodriguez, curator of exhibitions for Rockport Center for the Arts. “Every year, I’m amazed at the number of talented and forward-thinking student artists we have in Texas and I enjoy seeing the creativity they bring to the world.”
Juror Rebecca Gomez has spent her career focusing on contemporary Latin American and Latinx art, serving as the Curator of Exhibitions and Director of Programs for the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas, from August 2014 until December 2019, where curated nearly 60 exhibitions. She has served as an advisor to the City of Austin’s Tempo 2D Art in Public Places panel and is currently Administrative Director of the Juntos Art Association.
Gomez received her B.A. in Art History from Southwestern University, her M.A. in Art History and Criticism, focusing on Latin American Art, from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and served as an intern for the Royal Academy of the Arts in London. Her writings have appeared in peer-reviewed publications, including Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México); Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas (University of New Mexico); and in 2019, she presented a paper on Emerging Latinx Artist Collectives: Navigating Art Spaces and Coping with Austin’s Gentrification for the Latino Art Now Conference: Sightlines and Timeframes.
Reception: March 7, 2020 | 4–7 pm
638 E. Market St.
Rockport, 78382 TX
361-729-5519
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