• Skip to main content

Austin Vida

You are here: Home / Archives for art

art

‘Creating La Muerte’: Jose Guadalupe Posada 100th Anniversary & Community Altars open at Mexic-Arte

September 19, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Jose Guadalupe Posada created legendary calaveras (skeleton) figures and the popular la catrina (elegant skeleton) image largely associated with the Latin American holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
Jose Guadalupe Posada created legendary calaveras (skeleton) figures and the popular la catrina (elegant skeleton) image largely associated with the Latin American holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Creating la Muerte in conjuction with community altars will be opening up Sept. 20 at Mexic-Arte Museum and lasting until Nov. 24. This is a commemorative exhibition which will be celebrating the 100 year anniversary of Jose Guadalupe Posada. The exhibition will be including original broadsides from the Mexic-Arte’s Museum permanent collection as well as video installations from Mexico’s Museo Nacional de Art. Accompanying the exhibition will be community altars from various members of the community including local artists. There will be a special altar to honor Posada.

Jose Guadalupe Posada was a Mexican political cartoonist and illustrator who was born in 1852 in Aguascalientes, Mexico and died in the year 1913. He had his works published in various newspapers. Some of his best known works are calaveras (skeletons) and la Calavera de la Catrina (elegant skeleton).

Originally his works works were to make religious or political points, but are now more closely associated with el Día de los Muertos. El Día de los Muertos, or Day of The Dead, is celebrated in Latin American countries on Nov. 1 and 2. Family members create altars with offerings for the return of loved ones. Offerings on the altar include things such as the dead’s favorite food and drinks as well as memorabilia. Traditionally the altars were private matters, but el Día de los Muertos has evolved into a celebrated holiday and one where the artistic expression through the altars has expanded to involve the larger community.

The opening reception of the exhibition will be on Sept. 20 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $10 per person and free for members. Regular admission is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and students, and $1 for children 12 and under. Admission is free on Sundays and for members. Since its inception in 1884, Mexic-Arte museum has produced and presented cultural and educational programs in Texas and has played an active part in cultural enrichment and education through the presentation of tradition contemporary Mexican, Latino and Latin American art and culture. The museum was declared the “Official Mexican and Mexican American Museum of Texas” in 2003 by the State of Texas. For more information visit their website for call 512-480-9373.

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: art, dia de los muertos, mexic-arte

[8/22] Preview: Puro Chingón Collective’s Mural Blast at Red 7

August 22, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Tonight the Puro Chingón Collective is celebrating the completion of a 96 ft. public mural on the alley entrance walls of popular Red River music venue Red 7 courtesy of Downtown Austin Alliance. The event will feature live music from Fernando Palomo, Kabombã, DJ Jus Alva and Flavor Raid (formerly End Wave). Complete information on the mural is available here.

The Puro Chingon Collective is an Austin-based art collective that works in specializing on zines, interactive theater and public art interactions. They’ve created a ChingoZine, which is an art zine that promotes and inspires aspiring Latino artists. The ChingoZine Booth at tonight’s event will have ChingoZine 3s, ChingoZine anniversary t-shirts, buttons, prints, and more.

Red 7 is located at 611 E. 7th Street. Doors open at 7 p.m. No cover for 21+ $5 cover for minors. Event will take place at outside stage. Visit the Facebook event page here. Listen to a track from Flavor Raid below.

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: art, Puro Chingón Collective, red 7

Q&A: Sam Coronado, Austin Visual Arts Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

November 14, 2012 By Eugenia Vela

Sam Coronado (courtesy photo)

The Austin Visual Arts Awards will host their third ceremony November 15 to recognize artists making an impact in the community. The Austin Visual Arts Association is one of the oldest visual arts organizations in the city, and chooses winners from different categories such as Early Career, Photography and New Media Arts. The Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Sam Coronado, who has been in the art business since the late ‘60s. You might have heard Coronado’s name thrown around town over the years, because if there’s something he enjoys, it’s being involved.

Coronado co-founded Mexic-Arte, the state’s official Mexican and Mexican-American art museum. He also founded the Serie Project, a nonprofit organization in Austin that strives to create and promote serigraph prints made by Latino artists and others in a workshop environment. Along with the Coronado Studio, a print shop that produces screen-prints, the Serie Project produces fine art prints that are exhibited around the world. To top it all off, Coronado has taught and lectured at different schools and universities in the U.S. and currently teaches at Austin Community College. The Lifetime Achievement Award winner took time from his hectic schedule to talk to me about his work, what it’s like to receive such recognition from the AVAA and share a few pointers on what he’s learned over the years.

What does it mean to you to get the Lifetime Achievement Award?

Sam Coronado: It’s very gratifying and I’m very honored that people recognize what I do. But it’s not just me, it’s a lot of the artists that have come together to help me achieve this goal.

When was the first time you knew you wanted to be an artist?

Coronado: As a kid, I had a cousin named Freddie and we would draw together and exchange drawings and encourage each other, that’s when I really started developing my skills.

How did creativity filter into your childhood and youth?

Coronado: Probably through my grandmother, my mother and most of my aunts, who would sew and knit. My grandmother, especially, did a lot of embroidery and that sort of thing. I imagine that’s where it began, and how it evolved, through my family.

What was your first job in the art business?

Coronado: My first professional job was working with Texas Instruments as a technical illustrator, back in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s. That’s how I supported myself out of school, how I made a living, through technical illustration. But on the side, I always painted and tried to sell my work, get it out there. Not so much for selling it, but just to get my work and name out there.

What would you tell young artists and students who are concerned about making money off of their art?

Coronado: To the fine artists, it’s true that it’s a hard life and it’s hard to make a living off of your art, but like anything else, if you’re persistent with it, you’ll succeed. There’s no real formula, it’s just persistance. Education is a big part of it now. If you go to school, study, learn about the background and learn about artists, that also helps. And it doesn’t hurt if you can lend your skills to graphic design or convert your skills into things that allow you to support yourself.

What do you see in the students taking your classes at ACC?

Coronado: Well, I see a lot of young minds, a lot of young artists that are trying their best to succeed. The advantage that most kids have in my department is that they’re in graphics, in graphic art. Graphic design and animation, those would suit someone with artistic skills that would allow them to support themselves. But I see a lot of art being created by the young folks all around the country, at different universities, at organizations that I’ve visited and museums, I see a lot of great new, young artists that are very inspired and very inspiring.

Sam Coronado mentors emerging artist Carlos Donjuan (courtesy photo)

You’re a huge part—a crucial part—of the local Latino art scene in Austin, through the Mexic-Arte museum and the Serie project. How has the Latino art world grown in Austin and where do you think it’s headed?

Coronado: The Latino art world here has grown quite a bit since I first got to Austin back in the early ‘70s. it was hard to get involved in the art world in those days, because we weren’t accepted the way we are now. Back then, the trick was to get into places, to find spaces that would allow us to exhibit, like in restaurants and community centers. Nowadays, right now we have an exhibition at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio and we just took down one at the Dallas Latino Cultural Center. So the work has been accepted a little bit more, plus, with the strides that we’ve made in Latino communities, we have taken the art world and made it more important within our culture. So the hardships that were there a long time ago, I think are becoming easier in terms of existence in exhibit venues.

What are some organizations in Austin that make it easy to collaborate in the Latino art world?

Coronado: I think the nice thing about Austin is that it’s very eclectic, so since recently, everybody kind of melts into the pot of the art world. Being Latino, I think, was very important when I first started out with the Serie Project because nobody else was doing it, making art with the intent of focusing in the Latino world. But now, you see a lot of folks doing what I was doing, or everybody’s involved in the arts in one way or the other, like the MACC, giving people an opportunity to exhibit and show the world their work.

Is there a particular project you’ve been especially proud of, or think represents you as a person and an artist better than any other?

Coronado: I’m involved with a group of printmakers called Consejo Gráfico, and I think this is big in the Latino printmaking world. It’s great that I can be a part of that, get together with other artists and talk about our state in terms of where we are as Latino artists and printmakers in general. The other thing would be the exhibits that the Serie Project has been able to participate in from Buenos Aires to all around the United States in different universities, different art centers, as well as now the latest one at the McNay Museum in San Antonio, which I think folks should go and see before the exhibit ends in January.

Do you see any particular different reaction to your artwork depending on what part of the world it’s being shown?

Coronado: I think outside of the U.S. and Mexico, Tejano work has been accepted quite a bit, like in Buenos Aires. Also, the Serie Project has traveled to Slovakia and it made some headway there, it’s been making its headway throughout the world. I think in other countries, they’re amazed at the iconography and the techniques that Latinos and Tejanos bring to the art world.

What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in all of your projects?

Coronado: That you have to be patient, roll with the punches and not give up. And money is great, but it’s not anything that you should focus on, a lot of it has to do with the spirit, the soul and the culture that we have in the community, in our Latino community and we each play a big part in it.

The Austin Visual Arts Awards will take place November 15. There will be a cocktail reception at 6:30 at the courtyard at the AT&T Executive Conference Center followed by the awards presentation in the ampitheater at 7:30.

Filed Under: City & Culture, Slider Tagged With: art, austin visual arts, sam coronado, serie project

Café Con Letras invites community to share their talents

October 19, 2012 By Austin Vida Staff

The Alianza Cultural is a community of artists and art lovers who promote Latin American cultural expressions entirely in Spanish in Austin. The organization seeks to promote Latin American art forms to the Hispanic community and to spread this knowledge with new generations through initiatives like Café Con Letras, their monthly showcase that brings different art forms to the Latino community in order to maintain cultural ties alive, vibrant and evolving.

This month’s Café Con Letras will feature the artistic community of Austin. Anyone is welcome to participate including poets, authors, dancers, painters and actors, but everyone is encouraged to share their talents to make this a night full of cultural expression.

The celebrations will be from 7-9 p.m. Sunday October 21 at Janitzio Mexican Restaurant located at 600 W. Martin Luther King Blvd. Admission is free. Follow Alianza Cultural on Facebook here.

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: alianza cultural, art, cafe con letras, culture

Serie Project to hold ‘Roots for a New Beginning’ fundraiser

October 16, 2012 By Austin Vida Staff

The Serie Project is a nonprofit organization that offers free printmaking facilities, training and housing for 8 to 15 artists per year through a one-week Artist In Residence program that was founded in 1993 by Austin artist Sam Coronado. It is devoted to the art of serigraphy—also known as screen printing—as well as promoting and exhibiting the work of Latino and other underrepresented artists, and making prints affordable to the community.

Throughout their residency, each artist produces an edition of 50 prints in a collaborative workshop setting with a Master Printer. They are actively searching for sponsors and silent auction donors who can help get to a new beginning in 2013 and continue the annual Artist in Residence program into its 20th series. Being a nonprofit organization, Serie Project relies on grants, donations, and sponsorships from businesses to continue operating.

A fundraiser, Roots for a New Beginning, will be held on November 17 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Culture Center located on 600 River Street. They will be having dance performances by Danza Azteca San Jose and Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folklorico de Texas, a silent auction with items ranging from framing to fine jewelry, handcrafted ale from Real Ale Brewing Company and more. For more information on how to help support the Serie Project or to take part in the fundraiser, contact [email protected]@serieproject.org or 512-385-3591. Visit the event post on Facebook here.

[Show as slideshow]
Sam Coronado mentors emerging artist Carlos Donjuan
serie-project19-adriana-coral
serie-project19-carlos-donjuan
serie-project19-george-rivera
serie-project19-jessica-hanolen

serie-project19-melanie-cervantes
Michael Menchaca, Imperial Construction, Serie XIX, 2012
serie-project19-osvaldo-ramirez-castillo
Paloma Mayorga, Señorita Juice, Serie XIX, 2012
serie-project19-poli-marichal

serie-project19-scherezade-garcia
serie-ruth-buentello-final

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: art, MACC, serie project

Artist in Residence serigraphy program open for applications

March 27, 2012 By Austin Vida Staff

Serie Print Project
Serie Print Project

Since 1993, the Serie Project has provided a space for artists to learn the art of serigraphy (silk screen printing) and has helped artists promote and exhibit their work. Since its inception, the organization has helped foster the work of more than 250 artists from different backgrounds. In collaboration with Mexic-Arte Museum, the organization also presents a yearly art exhibit.

The nonprofit organization’s Artist in Residence program is now accepting applications for artists 18 years or older who are not currently enrolled in an educational institution. The program will give artists one to two weeks to produce a design and create up to 50 serigraphs and additional proofs, half of which the artist gets to keep. Printing will take at the Coronado Studio in Austin. The project will provide accommodations for resident artists, but cannot pay for travel expenses. All prints must be completed by July.

The application should include an image proposal of the serigraph design the artist intends to make if accepted into the program, a resume, an artist statement, examples of recent work and an application fee.  Deadline to apply is July 15. Although the organization focuses on supporting Latino artists, it strives for diversity by also selecting a third of the artists from different ethnic backgrounds. For more details on the application process click here.

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: art, nonprofit

(1/15) Preview: First Café con Letras of the Year at Ruta Maya

January 15, 2012 By Austin Vida Staff

The Alianza Cultural Latinoamericana is a community of artists and art lovers who promote Latin American cultural expressions in Austin. The organization seeks to promote Latin American art forms to the Hispanic community in Austin and to spread this knowledge with new generations through initiatives like Café Con Letras,  their monthly showcase that brings different art forms to the Latino community to maintain cultural ties alive, vibrant and constantly evolving.

Café con Letras will start the new year off by featuring a variety of arts it is known for. There will a little bit of everything for everyone including poetry, dance, literature, film, music and folkloric arts.

It all starts tonight, December 15 from 7:00-10:00 p.m. at Ruta Maya located at 3601 S. Congress Ave. Admission is $5 and free for under 18. Parking is free. Follow Alianza Cultural Latinoamericano on Twitter here and on Facebook here. Contact Alianza Cultural Latinoamericano here.

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: art

Café Con Letras Kicks off Fourth Year with an Arts Showcase

November 20, 2011 By Austin Vida Staff

Café Con Letras November Showcase/ Alianza Cultural Latinoamericana

The Alianza Cultural Latinoamericana is a community of artists and art lovers who promote Latin American cultural expressions in Austin. The organization seeks to promote Latin American art forms to the Hispanic community in the city and to spread this knowledge with new generations through initiatives like Café Con Letras, their monthly showcase that brings together artists from different parts of Latin America who want to promote their art in this alternative space.

This month’s Café Con Letras is a special one. To kick off their fourth year, the organization will feature a little bit of everything that makes them unique. Aside from being the only completely Spanish event in the city, the organization will feature a wide variety of art forms to be enjoyed by all ages. Expect to see work from poets, musicians, painters and actors. As a special treat for children, marionette manipulators will showcase their talents as well.

Café Con Letras will take place from 7-10 p.m. today at Ruta Maya located at 3601 S. Congress Ave. Admission is $5 and free for children under 18. For more information call (512) 767-8135.

Filed Under: City & Culture Tagged With: art, preview

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Copyright © 2021 · Log in