Join us for the first ever dual exhibition featuring The Project: MASA Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection, the first exhibit to open in our new gallery space, Galería Expresión II, and Midsummer Solstice: A Celebration of Life, Balance and Renewal in Galería Expresión I. These two exhibits come together for a stellar experience commemorating cosmic events and exploring our collective cosmology.

Centro Cultural Aztlan is a galactic outpost of Project: MASA (MeChicano Alliance of Space Artists), an ongoing exhibition featuring Chicanx and Latinx artists from San Antonio and South Texas. Project: MASA’s mission is to establish an awareness of outer space as an integral part of the Chicana/o modern mythos, reality and iconography. Rasquachismo and Latinxfuturism energize this exhibition, inviting us to collectively imagine and enact alternative horizons of possibility in which we all thrive juntos. Attendees of prior iterations of this ongoing exhibit were invited to participate in “MASAporte Naturalization Stations” wearing an original cosmic outfit or space suit. The Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection features a series of portraits, or “MASAporte” photos, of attendees wearing their cosmic outfits from the exhibit’s duration.

The Mayans oriented their sacred sites, like Chichén Itzá, with the cycles of the Sun. Each year in June, the Summer Solstice marks the Northern Hemisphere’s longest day and shortest night of the year – Midsummer. This mid-point in the sun’s annual movement symbolizes transformation and renewal, or death and rebirth. Artwork in the Midsummer Solstice exhibit is inspired by these themes.

Participating artists include:
Lead artist in The Project: MASA Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection: Luis Valderas
Featured artists in Midsummer Solstice: Sergio Angel, Richard Arredondo, Rita Maria Contreras, Celeste De Luna, Mónica Estrada-Saldaña, Noe Garza, Dolores Jarvis, Debi Lively, Armando Martinez, Angelica Mayorga, Angel Moreno, Alexandra Nelipa, Adriana Netro, Denise Perez, Lenise Perez-Miller, Kathleen Baker Pittman, Angelina Pliego, Raul Servín, Sarah Shore, Anita Valencia, Michael Villanueva, Monica Walker, Robert Wilkens, Liliana Wilson, Theresa Ybáñez, and more.

The exhibition is free and open to the public and will be on view through Thursday, July 18, 2024 Monday-Thursday, 10:00am-4:00pm.