The work of twelve LGBT artists from San Antonio will be featured in “We Are,” a group show that opens on May 17 at the Culture Commons Gallery.
Rainbow colored banners being hung as part of an installation by Michael Martinez. (Photo by Sarah Castillo)
The show is being presented by the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture and curated by Sarah Castillo, the founder of Lady Base Gallery, a group created in 2013 to support local women and LGBT artists.
The exhibit, which will be on view until July 16, is being presented to coincide with Pride Month which is celebrated during June.
“Becoming Antonia,” a series of self-portraits by photographer Antonia Padilla. (Photo by Sarah Castillo.)
The artists featured in the exhibit are: David Zamora Casas, Juan Zavala Castro, Agosto Cuellar, Anel I. Flores, Gustavo A. Garcia, Kimberly Hopkins, Julián Pablo Ledezma, Michael Martínez, Antonia Celeste Padilla, Kristy Perez, Jose Villalobos and Debora Kuetzpal Vasquez.
The artwork in the exhibition represents a variety of disciplines including drawing, printmaking, painting, installation, photography, zine, video, and fiber art.
Sarah Castillo (Photo by Antonia Padilla)
In an essay about the exhibit, Castillo writes.
Through ”We Are,” an intersectional dialogue of intimate and historical bodies of discourse are channeled through artistic modes of production that are embodied through materiality and gesture, art works that deconstruct heteronormativity through love and desire. Additionally, these San Antonio-based artists are activists, writers, educators, entrepreneurs; leaders that participate beyond the gallery to cultivate spaces of freedom and respite within their communities; they are true agents of change. This exhibition represents, a trans feminist, intersectional, queer politics of existence that questions authenticity and possesses an understanding that identity is not static, but forced, influenced, and evolving.
“San Antonio joins many cities around the country in celebrating the LGBTQI+ community,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a press release. “This exhibit is a reminder of the experiences, the struggles, and the realities of our LGBTQI+ community. I thank the artists for sharing their talents and their stories – some deeply personal – so that we can all learn and understand the importance of honoring and respecting all San Antonians.”
City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture presents “We Are” a survey of contemporary San Antonio LGBT artists curated by Sarah Castillo of Lady Base Gallery. May 17 to July 13 at Culture Commons Gallery, 115 Plaza de Armas, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Opening reception May 17 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information: getcreativesanantonio.com, 210-206-ARTS.
