Community Calendar

Hispanic Heroes 2026 is a Hispanic Heritage Month cultural exhibition celebrating six influential Hispanic community leaders and changemakers connected to San Antonio and its music scene. Featured individuals are selected by UTSA Libraries from The Sounds of San Anto digital exhibit and brought to life through original artwork commissioned through San Anto Cultural Arts.

Each Hero will be featured at a participating River Walk/Downtown hotel through a large-format lightbox display and accompanying digital screen. The exhibition will be supported by hotel activations, live music programming, and sponsor engagement opportunities.

Hotel Contessa - Hispanic Hero: Alyson Alonzo

URBAN-15's 16 de Septiembre celebrations return once again with “From SA to DC & Back,” a special conversation between former U.S. Congressmen Charlie Gonzalez and Ciro Rodrguez. These unfiltered and wide-ranging recollections will be live-streamed Wednesday, September 16 through Wednesday, September 23, 2026 beginning at 7 P.M. CST at urban15.org/live-stream .

Recorded in March 2025, this conversation provides an in-depth insight at the careers of San Antonio-native Charlie Gonzalez, who served in office representing Texas’ 20th congressional district from January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2013, and Mexican-born Ciro Rodriguez, who represented Texas 28th congressional district from 1997 – 2005, and the 23rd District from 2007 – 2011. They faced tumultuous challenges in congress throughout their time in office, butting heads with stubborn congressional contemporaries from the likes of Duke Cunningham, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Backman, Tom DeLay and beyond. Both men focused primarily on serving their constituencies from a humanitarian standpoint, advocating for them regardless of their legal status, political affiliations, voter record or housing situation.

URBAN-15's George Cisneros moderated the conversation which focused on their accomplishments throughout their time in office, a period when San Antonio saw dramatic transformations. These reflections will mirror the growing relations between the United States and Mexico throughout their time in office, with a unique vantage point from the United States’ 250th anniversary in tandem with the 216th anniversary of Mexico’s struggle for independence from Spain on September 16, 1810.

Hispanic Heroes 2026 is a Hispanic Heritage Month cultural exhibition celebrating six influential Hispanic community leaders and changemakers connected to San Antonio and its music scene. Featured individuals are selected by UTSA Libraries from The Sounds of San Anto digital exhibit and brought to life through original artwork commissioned through San Anto Cultural Arts.

Each Hero will be featured at a participating River Walk/Downtown hotel through a large-format lightbox display and accompanying digital screen. The exhibition will be supported by hotel activations, live music programming, and sponsor engagement opportunities.

Hotel Contessa - Hispanic Hero: Alyson Alonzo

Each year, San Antonio Junior Forum distributes grants to nonprofits in the San Antonio region for specific projects that benefit economically, and/or physically disadvantaged individuals. In 2025-2026, we distributed $75,000 to 15 nonprofits in our community!

We are pleased to announce that we will again be accepting applications for grants of $20,000 or less. Grant applications may be submitted by organizations recognized as tax exempt under internal revenue code 501(c)(3). Now is the time to get started! Grant applications are due November 1, 2026.

Grant application and guidelines are available on the SAJF website at www.sajuniorforum.org. Questions? Email VP Grants at grants@sajuniorforum.org.

Presenting the Artwork of Blanquita Sullivan “Night Breezes” Exhibit in the Molly Shafer Gallery at King William Assoc Office. MEET THE ARTIST Thursday, September 17, 2026, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

FREE and Open to the Public of all ages. On view Sep 8 through Oct 29, 2026 Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Blanquita is an interdisciplinary artist and business leader from San Antonio, Texas. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and studied painting at The Art Students League and the New York Studio School.

“Puro Conjunto: Border(less) Sound” celebrates how this uniquely Texan genre continues to thrive in San Antonio, the region, and beyond. The exhibit will highlight the people, places, and traditions at the heart of conjunto. Museum visitors will see conjunto pioneer Bruno Villarreal’s accordion, along with artifacts central to the genre—some of which will be on display for the first time--along with loans from the community and other organizations. Additionally, visitors are invited to get hands-on with a selection of musical instruments at an interactive station on the exhibit floor.

Adult $10, youth (5-17), senior (65+) and military with ID $5, UT San Antonio students, faculty and staff – Free

Cashless facility – purchase tickets online at https://texancultures.universitytickets.com/

Selena Forever | Siempre Selena is a photographic exhibition featuring images by Texas photographer John Dyer, capturing Selena at a pivotal moment in her rise to stardom.
On View: June 4, 2026 – January 4, 2027

This exhibition features intimate and striking photographs captured during Selena’s rise to international stardom in the early 1990s. The exhibition offers an intimate look at an artist whose talent, charisma and determination transformed Tejano music and helped redefine representation for Mexican American women in popular culture. The featured images have never been displayed together, giving new context to Dyer’s work with Selena.

More than a music icon, Selena was a groundbreaking Tejana whose story reflected the spirit of the American West itself: bold, resilient, entrepreneurial and deeply connected to culture and community. Like generations of Tejanos who helped shape Texas through perseverance, innovation and cultural pride, Selena forged her own path while carrying the traditions of her community forward. Her legacy continues to inspire new generations, embodying the pioneering spirit, creativity and determination that remain central to the story of the West.

“Selena’s story is deeply connected to the cultural pride and artistic expression that define Tejano identity,” said Jackson. “Her influence transcends music and continues to inspire audiences across generations, making her an important part of this broader cultural conversation. The exhibition shares an icon who demonstrates the lasting influence of Tejanos – and Tejanas – in Texas and beyond.

𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧 is a group exhibition that reexamines video art at Artpace through the work of four alumni artists. Each artist investigates the complexities of identity through self-portraits, projections of the self, and the body as a means of self-representation. This exhibition explores both how individuals perceive themselves and how others might view them.

While each artist employs distinct strategies—whether through video performance, observation, reflection on physical change, or narrative experimentation—they are united in their examination of selfhood. Together, these works offer a multifaceted exploration of identity, inviting viewers to consider the many ways it is constructed, performed, and perceived.

Featured alumni artists include Alex Bag, Paul Pfieffer, Kang Seung Lee, and Anne Wallace.

Opening Reception: September 3, 10am - 1 pm
Artist Talks: September 12, 10am - 1pm

Antithesis in Contemporary Collage is an exhibition emphasizing high contrasts in paper collage, bricolage, and assemblage. Collage is an inherently versatile creative method, often using old and new source materials, with the ability to posture surreal environments by interruptions of scales, figures, spaces, and perspectives. In this exhibition, more intense contrasts are highlighted to elicit something even further, in the way of opposites, or relative extremes– aesthetically, conceptually, and curatorially. Sixteen local, regional, and national artists present antithetical notions of nostalgia, identity, comfort, chaos, destruction, sociology, beauty, and nature.

Curated by Vikky Jones

Exhibiting artists: Todd Brandt, Tink Castillo, Kristen Elzey, Rafael Fernando Gutierrez Jr., Leticia Huerta, Myriam Lanau, Marcy McChesney, Tim Olson, Chloe Poeme, Octavio Quintanilla, Linda Sandoval, Courtney Wynn Sheets, Jennifer Sperry Steinorth, Oscar Tirado, Jeff Wheeler, Donna Zinck

This exhibit features 13 original artworks inspired by the theme “Peace Begins Within.” The gallery invites visitors to pause, reflect, and explore how inner stillness contributes to harmony in daily life and the wider world. Presented in honor of the International Day of Peace, the display is open to all library visitors and runs for five weeks until September 29,2026.