As construction teams broke ground last week on Yanaguana Garden, the first phase of Hemisfair’s redevelopment, eight local artists continued working on concepts for a series of art installations on the site. “PLAY,” the common theme of the artworks, will incorporate the history and culture of San Antonio while maximizing the potential for multigenerational engagement, socializing, creativity, and fun. The team of eight artists led by artist Stuart Allen has been approved by the City of San Antonio’s Public Art Board, and include Justin Boyd, Alejandro Diaz, Joey Fauerso, Jennifer Khoshbin, Karen Mahaffy, Alex Rubio and Chris Sauter. The PLAY artwork is being implemented by Public Art San Antonio (PASA), a division of the City of San Antonio’s Department for Culture and Creative Development (DCCD), and will be paid for by the art component of the 2012-17 Bond Program.
“Each of the PLAY artists bring a unique skillset to the group, such as sound, sculpture, or mural painting, so that each of the installations are different and complementary across the four-acre site,” stated DCCD Director, Felix Padrón.
In addition to the PLAY project, MIG, the firm designing Yanaguana Garden, has also brought local artist Oscar Alvarado on board to create a functional seating sculpture that interprets the native Payaya legend of the Yanaguana. “The integration of local artists further enhances the authenticity of this project to San Antonio and celebrates the talents and identity of our community,” says Andres Andujar, CEO of Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation.
The vision for Yanaguana Garden is an active play and recreational environment for all ages and abilities that will attract residents and strengthen the local community. Thoughtful integration of art, culture, history, and sustainability will make this environment the new world standard for innovative play.
To learn more about PLAY, the public art plan at Yanaguana Garden, and the eight local artists selected, scroll down. To learn more about Hemisfair’s transformation, visit www.hemisfair.org.
Hemisfair Contact:
Rachel Holland
Rachel.Holland@Hemisfair.org
210-260-5678
DCCD Contact:
Heather Eichling
Heather.Eichling@sanantonio.gov
210-207-6960
PLAY
A public art plan for Yanaguana Garden at Hemisfair
PLAY is a series of art installations for Hemisfair’s Yanaguana Garden created by a team of eight San Antonio artists. Led by artist Stuart Allen, the team is developing a collection of related, site responsive artworks throughout this park. The artists have been in steady communication since the concept was approved by the Public Art Board on January 22, 2014.
After multiple site visits and meetings off-site, a common thread emerged within the group that focuses on the idea of play. ‘Play’ is a multifaceted term and the artist team is considering the word from many perspectives: from the idea of imaginative children’s play, to a dramatic production, to the notion of playing with time. And while children are a primary audience, the installations that make up PLAY will possess a depth of meaning that will maximize the potential for intergenerational engagement, socializing, creativity, resourcefulness and fun.
The importance of play is well documented in the scientific community, with research indicating that humans who engage in regular playful acts demonstrate improved cognitive and creative abilities, greater emotional stability, and higher levels of reported happiness. This project aims to celebrate the concept of play through a sequence of surprising, contemplative, and lively art experiences.
The artist team has been assembled as a collective. Comprised entirely of local artists, the team brings a wealth of knowledge about San Antonio culture and history that will bring relevance and sensitivity to this place-making art project for Hemisfair. The team has shared ideas, critiqued works in progress, and suggested new directions for individual pieces. This dialogue will continue through design development, construction and installation.
Each of the PLAY artists brings a unique skill set to the group, and each has considered how their work will compliment and support the larger project. While each installation will stand on its own, the collective works can be read as variations on a complex theme. PLAY aims to supplement the already ambitious plans for Hemisfair with additional layers of meaning, new perspectives, and unique opportunities for community engagement.
PLAY ARTIST BIOS
Stuart Allen is an artist and arts consultant based in San Antonio, Texas. His artwork is found in dozens of public and private collections including four U.S. Embassies, UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the Tokyo Kite Museum, and multiple American museums. He has completed more than ten public art commissions in California, Texas, Kansas and Ontario, Canada. As an administrator, Stuart has curated exhibitions and programs for a variety of institutions including the LA County Museum of Art, the Weissman Art Museum, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and many universities and non-profit art centers. He has served on the board of several non-profit organizations including the Yolo County Arts Council in Northern California, the Drachen Foundation in Seattle, and the San Antonio River Foundation. Currently, Stuart is serving as the project manager for Confluence Park, a $10 million community park initiative on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River.
Justin Boyd is an artist and educator living in San Antonio. His work includes sculpture, performance, sound, and video, often taking the form of large-scale environments. Boyd received his BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his MFA from the California Institute of Arts. He is currently the Chair of the Sculpture and Integrated Media at the Southwest School of Art, and has been a recipient of an Artist Foundation Grant, an Artpace Travel Grant, was a finalist for the Arthouse Texas Prize, and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions.
Alejandro Diaz is from San Antonio, where he developed a provocative and pertinent body of work exemplifying the complex and visually rich cultural background of South Texas and Mexico. He has lived in Mexico City, and is currently based in New York City. Diaz is well-known for his conceptual, recurrent use of everyday materials; his humor infused politics; and his ongoing involvement with art as a form of entertainment, activism, public intervention, and free enterprise. Some of Diaz’ public art projects include a temporary installation of large-scale outdoor sculptures for the Public Art Fund (2005), and a city-wide public art exhibition for the Havana Biennial (2003). He has shown in exhibitions in Los Angeles, Mexico City, San Antonio, New York, and Houston. Works by Diaz are included in museum collections such as El Museo del Barrio, (NY) The Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Scottsdale Contemporary Art Museum, Fundación Jumex in Mexico City, the Linda Pace Foundation Collection, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Joey Fauerso is an artist and Associate Professor of Art at Texas State University. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, with recent shows at Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia, Amsterdam’s Grafisch Atelier, the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, and Western Exhibitions in Chicago. She has received grants from Artpace, the Golden Foundation, Texas State University, and the Dallas Museum of Art. In 2012, Joey completed a major public art commission for the City of New Braunfels, redesigning the children’s wing of the New Braunfels Public Library. Joey has collaborated with 04 Arts to produce a number of educational workbooks commissioned by the Edwards Aquifer. In 2013, Joey was named one of the ‘Open Sessions’ artists, a two-year exhibition and curatorial program at the Drawing Center in New York.
Jennifer Khoshbin, born in Philadelphia, studied Fine Arts and Sociology at UT Austin and the University of Kentucky. Now a mother of two with a professor husband, she currently lives and works in San Antonio. She has created work for galleries, museums, magazines, and collaborates with her husband on public works. Khoshbin’s work has been exhibited throughout the country, including Brenau University in Georgia, 360SEE Chicago, Untitled ArtSpace OKC, Eclipse Gallery WI, Tinlark Gallery LA, UPPERCASE Canada, Artstream Gallery NH, Bellevue Arts Museum WA, Rose and Radish Gallery SF, and in San Antonio at Joan Grona, Flight, Southwest School of Art & Craft, and 1906 Gallery. Her work has been published and written about widely including: Newsweek, Readymade, House Beautiful, Glamour, Spaces Magazine, and several arts and craft books, including: Green Guide For Artists, Illustration Play2, Jen11, Paper Cuts, Playing With Books, The Repurposed Library, Book Up, and Art Made From Books.
Karen Mahaffy has exhibited across Texas at such venues as Artpace, the San Antonio Museum of Art, Sala Diaz, Blue Star Center for Contemporary Art, the McNay Art Museum, the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (Dallas), and the Center for Contemporary Art (Dallas). She has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Locust Street Projects in Miami, SmackMellon in Brooklyn and the Instituto Cultural de León in Guanajuato, Mexico. Mahaffy was selected for a solo exhibition at Women & Their Work in Austin in 2009. She has been featured in programs such as “Artist Looking at Art” at the McNay Art Museum and “Two to Watch” at ArtPace. Mahaffy was the recipient of the Dozier Travel Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art, (2004); participated in a Fulbright-Hays Program to China (2004) and was awarded a Fulbright Scholars Grant to Estonia (2009). She was artist-in-residence at the Bei Gao Studios/ Red Gate Gallery in Beijing (2006) and at the Estonian Artists’ Association in Tallinn (2009). She was recently invited to be in residence at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin in April-July 2014. Karen currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Alex Rubio is currently the Artist-In-Residence for the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum. Rubio illustrates and describes past and present life in San Antonio, documenting both cultural and personal experiences in his drawings and paintings. His artworks have been exhibited locally in “Psychedelic” at the San Antonio Museum of Art, “Exodus” at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, and “Estampas de la Raza” at the McNay Museum of Art. Rubio has attained national recognition with art grants from the Joan Michel Foundation in New York, Vermont Studio Center Fellowship in Vermont, and ArtPace Foundation-Artist in Residence Grant in San Antonio. Rubio’s national touring exhibitions include, “Chicano Visions: Cheech Marin Collection” and “Selected works of the Joe A.Diaz Collection.”
Chris Sauter lives and works in San Antonio. He received a Master of Fine Arts from The University of Texas at San Antonio in 1996. Sauter exhibits nationally and internationally with exhibitions in Sheboygan, WI, New York, NY, Houston, TX, Dallas, TX, Paris, France, Miami, FL, Los Angeles, CA, and Limerick, Ireland. His works have been featured at many institutions such as the Musee d’Art Moderne Saint-Etienne, France, The Drawing Center, NY, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, the Dallas Museum of Art, and PS1, New York. In 2012 his public art projects, Core Samples and Foundations for the Mission Branch Library, were featured in the Public Art Network Year in Review. He designs and builds theatre sets in his spare time.