Five Local Artists Selected to Create Signature Tile Murals for San Pedro Creek’s First Phase

SAN ANTONIO (May 18, 2017) – Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo and the San Antonio River Authority have announced the selection of four local artists who will create tile murals that will be the signature art pieces of the first segment of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. The murals will serve as a lasting commemoration of the rich, interweaving cultures that define Bexar County and will create a foundation for our community’s future. Each mural will be inspired by a theme evoked by San Pedro Creek including history, culture and nature.

• Adriana Garcia’s mural will be located on the west bank of the creek between Santa Rosa Street and Martin Street and will explore the spirit of San Antonio’s blended cultures. In the mythic narrative of San Pedro Creek, this quality is expressed as De Todos Caminos Somos Todos Uno – From All Roads, We Are One. The mural will be 14 feet 8 inches high and 120 feet long, a total of 1,760 square feet. Garcia is well known in the San Antonio arts community and currently serves as the interim executive director of San Anto Cultural Arts.
• Katie Pell will commemorate the flora and fauna that once flourished along San Pedro Creek in her mural entitled Lost Nature to be located on the west bank of the creek between Martin and Travis Streets. Pell’s past work has explored personal, gender, and cultural identity, and has been featured in exhibitions both locally and nationally. The mural will be divided on two walls. On the first wall, the mural will be 1 foot 6 inches high and 50 feet long. On the second wall, the mural will 2 feet 6 inches high and 68 feet long. The entire mural will be a total of approximately 245 square feet.
• Alex Rubio will lend his signature curvilinear brush strokes, brilliant hues, and high contrast elements to capture the theme of water in a mural on the east bank of San Pedro Creek between Travis and Houston Streets. The mural will be 6 feet 9 inches high and 47 feet 5 inches long, a total of 321 square feet. Rubio’s work has been featured across Texas and is informed by his extensive outreach to San Antonio’s Latino communities.
• Joe Lopez has been recognized as one of the leaders of the Chicano art movement. Located on the west bank of the creek between Travis and Houston Streets, Lopez’s mural will evoke the diverse patronage of the Alameda Theater and the dynamic performances that took place at the cultural icon. The mural will be 8 feet high and 51 feet long, a total of 408 square feet.

Each artist will paint their murals on canvas. The painted murals will then be photographed and that digital file will be used to transfer the mural onto glazed ceramic tiles. The murals will be revealed at a grand opening of the first phase of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park on May 5, 2018 as part of the Tricentennial Celebration. The first phase stretches from the San Pedro Creek tunnel inlet near the Christopher Columbus Italian Society to Houston Street.

“On behalf of Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority, I am pleased to announce that these local artists will be sharing their talents through the creation of four large-scale murals for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “Through the revitalization of San Pedro Creek, we are inviting people to connect with our community’s vibrant history and culture, and these murals will be an important part of the cultural storytelling that will take place along the creek.”

Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority also announced the release of a request for qualifications to establish a prequalified list of artists, which will be used to create a streamlined selection process for additional public art projects for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. Artists interested in being commissioned for work along San Pedro Creek are invited to apply at SPCProject.org or PublicArtist.org.

“Through the prequalification process, we hope to attract top-level artistic talent from the local, national and international arts community,” said Carrie Brown, arts curator for the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. “There are several permanent and temporary art locations identified in the remaining segments of the project. We’re seeking artists who will create compelling works that will celebrate San Pedro Creek and engage the community in innovative ways.”

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About the San Pedro Creek Improvements Project:

Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority, in coordination with the City of San Antonio, are transforming San Pedro Creek as a cultural park to reflect its place in our cultural history, improve its function in flood control, revitalize natural habitat and water quality, and catalyze economic development. To learn more about the San Pedro Creek Improvements Project, visit spcproject.org.