On Friday, March 1, we’re kicking off CAM with a special edition of everyone’s favorite lunch meetup: Taco Friday at Artpace. The very next day, area educators are invited to our Student Studio for a one-time-only Teacher Workshop with Window Works artist Leigh Anne Lester (see below for registration details). We’ll debut new works from our current Artists-in-Residence Tala Madani, Adam Putnam, and J. Parker Valentine on Thursday, March 21, including a sit-down Artists’ Dialogue with guest curator Suzanne Cotter. And on Saturday, March 23, we want to see the entire family in the building for an afternoon of Family Day fun!

Looking for a great fresh idea for your big Valentine’s date? No Valentine this year? Don’t worry… will you be ours?

Valentine’s Day is all about making connections… and so is Artpace After Hours, which takes adult audiences behind the scenes for casual art encounters and meaningful conversation. Come get acquainted with Artpace. Bring a friend. Or just make some new ones here. Mix, mingle, and maybe even find a new art crush.

On Thursday, February 14, we will walk After Hours guests through the Artpace building and our newest exhibitions: Transitios in our Hudson (Show)Room and Leigh Anne Lester’s Cultivated Divergence in our Window Works gallery. You can also get a sneak peak at our Spring Artists-in-Residence working studio spaces. (The residency projects will debut on March 21.)

Happy hour kicks off at 5pm, and drinks are on us. But space is limited, so make your reservations early. Call 210.212.4900 or email education@artpace.org.

Refreshments provided by Blue Moon, Dripping Springs Vodka, and Ocho at Hotel Havana.

JD Emmanuel Sunset Performance

Internationally acclaimed electronic musician JD Emmanuel will perform original ambient compositions in a sunset performance on our rooftop. Emmanuel was invited to perform at Artpace by current International Artist-in-Residence J. Parker Valentine.

Spring International Artists-in-Residence Community Potluck
Thursday, January 31, 6-8:30pm
Free and open to the public

Join us this evening for our Spring International Artists-in-Residence Community Potluck. Meet the new residents: Tala Madani (Tehran, Iran), Adam Putnam (New York, New York), and J. Parker Valentine (Austin, Texas). They just moved into their Artpace digs last week and are eager to get to know their neighbors in San Antonio.

We’ll provide several homemade, mouthwatering soups, lovingly prepared by our very own Curator of Education Kaela Hoskings—with vegetarian and vegan options from We Both Love Soup. You are welcome to bring YOUR favorite soup, or contribute by complementing the menu. Bring crackers, bread, or dessert to share on this casual evening of food, friends, and the future, as we talk to the new residents about their upcoming projects at Artpace. Artist presentations begin at 7pm. Yes… it’s going to be soup-er.

Join us on Thursday, November 8 for a little informal education and some meaningful art encounters at 445 N. Main Avenue.

Artpace After Hours takes adult audiences behind the scenes of our residencies and exhibitions to reveal the mysteries of contemporary art through casual conversation and gallery interactions. The program runs from 5-7pm; complimentary happy hour kicks off at 6pm.

Space is limited, so make your reservations early. Call 210.212.4900 or email education@artpace.org.

Image credit: Photo by Francisco Cortes

Art Talk & Book Launch

In the next edition of Artpace’s ongoing art lecture series, Art Talks, current International Artist-in-Residence Dor Guez will give a lecture on the occasion of the launch of his new catalogue, Dor Guez: 100 Steps to the Mediterranean, published by The New England Press in conjunction with his exhibition of the same name currently on view through December 9, 2012, at The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Boston. The exhibition, which includes work from series Lydd Ruins, The Monayer Family, The Nation’s Groves, SABIR, and Scanograms, is the artist’s most comprehensive and his first major museum presentation in the United States. The illustrated catalogue, with essays by the artist, co-curators Gannit Ankori and Dabney Hailey, and Samir Srouji, a Boston architect and artist, will be available for sale at Artpace following the lecture.

Guez was selected for Artpace’s 2012 International Artist-in-Residence program by guest curator Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Chief Curator at the Aspen Art Museum. Through installations that incorporate diverse media such as video, photographs, archives, and scanograms, Guez focuses on issues of cultural identity surrounding his homeland by training the lens on his immediate environment. Drawing heavily on personal experiences and family history, his work provokes questions about the larger sociopolitical climate in the Middle East and the lives of marginalized groups in conflict areas.

Guez was born in Jerusalem currently lives and works in Tel Aviv. His work has been featured in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Petach Tikva Museum of Art in Israel, KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the 12th Istanbul Biennale, the 17th Videobrasil in São Paolo, the Jewish Museum in New York, and the 3rd Moscow International Biennale. Guez is a lecturer in the History and Theory Department at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, and a researcher affiliated with Tel Aviv University. In 2009 he established the Christian Palestinian Archive, which forms the basis of much of his work and is the first archive devoted to this minority across the Middle East.

Artist Appreciation Celebration

Every year, Artpace throws a special party just for our artist community. Of course we’ll have food, drinks, and open exhibitions for our friends and neighbors to enjoy on November 9. But this year is exceptional for three reasons: Erik Sanden, Joe Reyes, and Odie, who will be performing as Grand Marais—first with a full, interactive set at 9:30pm, then with exclusive music-as-therapy sessions in their van for an audience of one. The band will invite individuals (one at a time) into their vehicle for a brief interview, then will prescribe “the perfect song for that person at that moment,” before delivering just the right dose of music. Serenades include more than 200 original songs, as well as some covers.

Artpace has been an integral part of San Antonio for nearly 18 years now, and while we serve as an international laboratory for the creation and advancement of contemporary art, homebase is always here in our city—no matter how far-reaching our residencies and exhibitions may be. “Artpace is fortunate to be a part of a strong community of artists,” says Artpace Deputy Director Mary Heathcott. “Artists and their ideas have always been at the foundation of everything we do, and we thrive on their inspiration and support. It’s an honor for us to host this annual party to recognize their many important contributions.”

So let us show you our appreciation with the most artful thank you we could come up with: an intensely entertaining evening with Grand Marais.

ABOUT GRAND MARAIS
Grand Marais is a new musical project formed by Erik Sanden, Joe Reyes, and Odie. After years of sowing psychedelic-pop strains with their band Buttercup, these three friends are exploring new territory. The musical bed is at times hyperminimal—two acoustic guitars and an electric bass—but the singing is elaborate, full of harmonies. Grand Marais blends punk, dance, and acoustic folk music in a natural way. The songs are catchy and tell vivid stories, from a picture of a man crying accurately into the neckhole of his beer bottle to the image of a fan inviting Morrissey into their apartment, like a vampire. On stage the band augments these stories with performance art drama—writing on chalkboards, singing into telephones, and executing pratfalls.

Go ahead, have a little laugh with the band…

Join us this Thursday June 7 (6 – 8 pm) for the Community Potluck Dinner welcoming the 12.2 International Artist-In Residents to San Antonio. Meet Jacco Olivier (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Leslie Hewitt (New York, New York), and Mike Osborne (Austin, TX). Bring your favorite “App” to share at the potluck dinner before the main course: the artists speak  at 7 pm. Need ideas for what to bring? In addition to the giant vat of cheese we’ll provide (and beverages), everyone loves salad, bread, pigs in a blanket, fruits and veggies. There’s the right app for everything.

Artpace is always free, AND there’s FREE PARKING – bring your friends. Questions? call 212.4900 or email education@artpace.org.

Top Image from The Homesick Texan.

On Thursday, April 5, we will walk After Hours guests through new works by International Artists-in-Residence Adam Pendleton, James Sham, and Florian Slotawa.

Happy hour kicks off at 5pm, and drinks are on us. But space is limited, so make your reservations early. Call 210.212.4900 or email education@artpace.org.

Our After Hours program is great for the uninitiated, and if this is your first time at Artpace, don’t worry… we’ll be gentle.

We expect high attendance numbers, so we are looking for enthusiastic and helpful volunteers to make this a truly spectacular event! We look forward to your support and involvement.