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Art Walk From SAMA To Southtown Showcases New Murals

Los Otros Mural
Shek Vega
Los Otros Mural

If you’re ready for a little walk and a lot of art, there’s an event you should hear about. It’s called the Pabst Blue Ribbon Mural Connection. Why is PBR sponsoring this walk?

“Because (Pabst has) moved our headquarters from California to San Antonio, we wanted to invest and promote and uplift the artist communities in the city,” Moima Chowoe, who works for Pabst, explained.

The walk starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Angela Fox works on her mural
Shek Vega
Angela Fox works on her mural

“And it leads down from the downtown river area down to the Southtown Area. It's just a collection of art pieces and murals that connect these to creative communities,” she said.

The less than 2-mile walk will take in eight murals and two art installations, with a break in the middle. The art pieces will remain along the stretch between downtown and Southtown after the Saturday event.

“There's going to be a hot stop at Hopscotch where there'll be time for people to rest, rejuvenate and get rehydrated, listen to some music, get some refreshments and food as well,” Chowoe said. “And that's going to be from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.”

Hopscotch is a gallery on Travis Street downtown. The murals on display are Phase III of the San Antonio Street Art Initiative’s efforts to elevate mural art in the city, which began in late 2018. Phase II was the dozens of murals on North St. Mary’s Street. The walk will continue after Hopscotch through downtown, to Southtown.

Gary Sweeney's piece at SAMA
Gary Sweeney
Gary Sweeney's piece at SAMA

“It's going to end with an artist's reception installation of Curated by Gravelmouth Galleryowner Shek Vega,” she said.

Vega co-created the San Antonio Street Art Initiative and will be there to talk to those interested at the closing reception.

“Also at the end of everything, we're going to have the city sightseeing buses to take people back to their parking at San Antonio Museum of Art,” she said.

The whole event is free, though parking at SAMA will cost. If you prefer not to pay, free parking is available under I-35 where you can see 16 muraled pillars, which make up Phase I of the Street Art Initiative’s work. The walk has limited capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions and attendees must register here.

James Medrano working on his mural
Shek Vega
James Medrano working on his mural

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Jack Morgan can be reached at jack@tpr.org and on Twitter at @JackMorganii