SAMA Receives Artwork Loans And $20,000 to Support Public Programming From Art Bridges Foundation
April 12 – April 12, 2021
April 12 – April 12, 2021
San Antonio, TX—April 14, 2021—The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) today announced that Art Bridges foundation has loaned the museum major paintings by Stuart Davis, Archibald Motley, and Max Weber from its collection and also awarded it $20,000 to develop artist and public programs inspired by the works. The funds will go toward the creation of three murals by three local artists as well as toward a three-part Jazz in Action program that will feature another local artist painting in response to a jazz playlist. The artists for both initiatives will be selected through an open call to the local community, whch is currently active. The programs offer an opportunity engage with important works of art by American modern masters and to experience them through the eyes of contemporary artists from San Antonio. More details on the artist opportunities are available on the SAMA website at samuseum.org/blog/call-artist-jazz-action/
The three loans from Art Bridges Foundation include Untitled (Black and White Variation on "Pochade") (ca. 1956–1958) by Davis; Bronzeville at Night (1949) by Motley; and Interior with Music (1915) by Weber. The works are currently on view at SAMA in the Contemporary gallery and bolster the museum’s narration of critical developments in 20th century American modernism. In particular, the paintings provide interesting connective threads between the burgeoning modernism of the Ashcan school and impressionists in SAMA’s American galleries, and the later developments in modernism and abstraction featured in the museum’s Modern and Contemporary collections.
To support understanding of the three artworks, which will remain at SAMA through August 2021, the museum’s Education department has developed two programmatic initiatives. In the first, SAMA will collaborate with San Anto Cultural Arts, the San Antonio African American Community Archive & Museum, and community members to commission three local artists to each create a mural. The murals will be installed in three locations, including on SAMA’s campus and within San Antonio’s East and West Side communities. Participating artists, who will be announced in May 2021 following an open call and jurying process, will each receive a $3,000 honorarium and an additional $2,000 for material costs. In the same way that Motley was inspired by the vibrancy of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, project leadership hope that local artsts will also capture the distinct experiences of their hometown histories, landscapes, and cultures and create new outdoor gathering spaces for the public. Learn more about this project here.
SAMA will also host Jazz in Action, a program that invites a local artist, to be selected through an open call process, to paint to jazz music in the museum’s galleries during three sessions on May 2, 8, and 15. The program is grounded in both Davis and Weber’s belief in the importance of music to the experience of visual art and the ways in which jazz served as a point of departure and inspiration for the artists. The galleries will also be open to the public, allowing audiences to connect with the artworks on the view and the participating artist’s process and painting. Attendees will also be able to pick up a small canvas with paints and a jazz playlist curated by the participating artist and writer Joyous Windrider Jiménez to support the creation of their own jazz paintings. The artist, who will receive a $1,000 honorarium, will also be invited to participate in a public talk on their practice on May 18.
“We are excited to introduce these three important American artists to San Antonio through collaborative and innovative programs for audiences of all ages,” said Bella Merriam, AT&T Director of Education, Diversity, and Inclusion. “It’s an opportunity to expand the museum experience into the community in new ways, and we look forward to developing new partnerships as part of the grant from Art Bridges Foundation.”
“Art Bridges is thrilled to support the San Antonio Museum of Art and its communities with the loan of these three works of art by great American modernists,” said Paul R. Provost, CEO, Art Bridges. “We are also inspired by the additional projects San Antonio has created such as “Jazz in Action” and murals project that feature local artists. These are impactful programs that will enhance the visitor experience with the paintings from the Art Bridges collection and will help make new connections with the museum.”
Art Bridges is a nonprofit arts foundation whose mission is to expand access to American art across the U.S. Founded by arts patron and philanthropist Alice Walton, Art Bridges has been creating and supporting programs that expand access to American art around the country by partnering with institutions of all sizes and in all regions on projects that deeply engage communities via thematic traveling exhibitions, long-term loan sharing collaborations, among additional initiatives.
About the San Antonio Museum of Art:
The San Antonio Museum of Art serves as a forum to explore and connect with art that spans the world’s geographies, artistic periods, genres, and cultures. Its collection contains nearly 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of history. Housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery on the Museum Reach of San Antonio’s River Walk, the San Antonio Museum of Art is committed to promoting the rich cultural heritage and life of the city. The Museum hosts hundreds of events and public programs each year, including concerts, performances, tours, lectures, symposia, and interactive experiences. As an active civic leader, the Museum is dedicated to enriching the cultural life of the city and the region, and to supporting its creative community.
