Showcase Artist preview: Rigoberto Luna

Excited about Chalk It Up this year? We are, too. And we don’t want to wait until October 13 to have all the fun, so we thought we’d share some sneak previews with you, beginning with one of our Showcase artists (who we encourage you to support on Kickstarter)…

Rigoberto Luna is a local designer and San Antonio native who grew up on the South Side, attended Southwest High School, then went to Pratt Institute (where he got his degree in graphic design), living in NYC for about six years before returning to San Antonio to—well, to oversimplify—to be one of our Showcase artists at Chalk It Up! Most recently, Luna has been curating at Studio One Zero Three in Southtown, where Personal Effects, a Fotoseptiembre photography exhibition, is currently on view. Less recently (in 2009), Luna was one of our Chalk It Up Feature artists.

Artpace: As a Chalk It Up alum, you know the event. Tell us what you like best about it.

Luna: I think that Chalk It Up does a great job of combining artists with kids and non-artists effectively. I especially like the variety of artists, artists who work in different mediums. It keeps it interesting.

Artpace: As a graphic designer, you work with digital media. Will you integrate that into your Chalk It Up piece?

Luna: Right now I’m actually working a lot with vinyl, so I’m going to apply some of those methods to my Chalk It Up mural. I don’t know if it’s gonna work, but I’m working on a couple of different methods of applying chalk.

Artpace: Biggest challenge at Chalk It Up…?

Luna: I think it’s a challenge to work with chalk, working with it the way we do at Chalk It Up, it’s challenging physically—moreso than people would think. And I’ve assembled a crew, for sure, because it’s a lot of work for one person to do. Adriana Garcia is going to assist me. (Shoutouts to her for winning the Jose Cuervo mural project, which will be installed in Chicago!)

Artpace: Adriana is a former Chalk It Up artist, as well. She’s awesome. Who are you most looking forward to sharing the sidewalk with on October 13, in terms of fellow Showcase and Featured artists?

Luna: Ed Saavedra, for sure, because I’ve known him forever and I’ve never seen him work with chalk. And Jeremiah Teutsch because I like his illustrations and we’ve talked about his idea and I’m really looking forward to seeing it.

Artpace’s 9th Annual Chalk It Up festival takes place on downtown Houston Street on Saturday, October 13, 2012. This free, family-friendly event that promotes the importance of art education and proudly exhibits San Antonio’s creative vivacity by providing hands-on activities led by professional art educators, as well as interactions with contemporary artists. Our Showcase and Feature artists are always selected locally—they’re some of the city’s best, and play a prominent role in the success and enjoyment of Chalk It Up. Artpace remains passionate about giving people an opportunity to explore their relationship with not only contemporary art, but their hometown community. Chalk It Up 2012 is made possible by presenting sponsor Argo Group.

Last year, more than 18,500 people joined us on Houston Street! We’re expecting even more this year, of course. And while the entire event is free and open to the public, Chalk It Up wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and volunteers. Please consider contributing to the honorarium fund we’ve set up on Kickstarter to support our contemporary artists’ chalky creations. We need your help to reach our $2,000 goal by September 28. Pledges begin at just $1, but backers who pledge $25 or more will receive some fun incentives.

Support Showcase Artist Rigo Luna and more! Here’s a quick clip of Luna at Chalk It Up in 2009.

Image credit: Rigo Luna at Chalk It Up in 2009. Photo courtesy of the artist

 

Chalk It Up is a free, family-friendly event that promotes the importance of art education and proudly exhibits San Antonio’s creative vivacity by providing hands-on activities led by professional art educators, as well as interactions with contemporary artists. Artpace remains passionate about giving people an opportunity to explore their relationship with not only contemporary art, but their hometown community. Chalk It Up 2012 is made possible by presenting sponsor Argo Group.