Second Saturday is so packed with events this month that it might require an itinerary.
Between A Day in Southtown and a veritable cornucopia of openings, Alamo City art lovers may have to do some serious wrestling with FOMO. Did we mention that Ruby City is also opening its doors this weekend?
A Day in Southtown is all about the best that the near South Side has to offer, and a major part of that is art. Highlights from the day include free admission to Blue Star Contemporary — which is also hosting an art scavenger hunt — a pop-up shop at Mercury Project featuring a variety of local artists and makers and a bevy of workshops that will satisfy crafters of all types, from sign-making at FL!GHT Gallery to shibori-inspired indigo dyeing, polymer clay earring-making and zine-crafting at 1906 S. Flores (free, times and locations vary, southtownsatx.com/southtown-festival).
Anyone bitten hard by the DIY bug can scoot on over to Black Dot Studio. For the fourth Print Eat Repeat, screenprinters Cassidy Fritts, Glenn Edinburgh, Mauro de la Tierra and Pray x Plot will put original designs onto any item of clothing for a mere $10 (free, 7 p.m.-midnight, Black Dot Studio, 1913 S. Flores, facebook.com/blackdotstudiosatx).
Cut to: the evening’s regularly scheduled exhibition openings. In addition to two shows titled in all all-caps — “FIVE X FIVE” at the Southwest School of Art and “COUNTDOWN CITY (a sweet group show)” at newly minted gallery SPACE C7 — the usual Second Saturday suspects are putting on the Ritz.
As if in complement to San Antonio’s recent cricket infestation, Dock Space Gallery is playing host to a series of odd organisms created by Ernesto Ibañez. In the Dock Space Gallery Annex, Augustine Chavez and Susie Monday present a kaleidoscopic duo exhibition that showcases the different ways the two artists use color in their work (free, 7-10 p.m., Dock Space Gallery, 107 Lone Star Blvd., dockspacegallery.com).
At S.M.A.R.T. projectspace, Michael Karshis’ sardonic sci fi-themed show “Echo-X61: How Robots, Monsters and Aliens Ruined My Vacation” will open with a bang. The multimedia exhibition will feature collage, found objects, large-scale photography, prints and audio experimentation, coalescing into “choreographed chaos” (free, 7-10 p.m., S.M.A.R.T. projectspace, 1906 S. Flores, smartsa.org).
Craving a more Canal Street atmosphere? Roving knockoff curatorial duo Mark Anthony Martinez and John Paul are back with their experimental pop-up Fake Gallery for what they’re calling “Super Official Round II.” Unburdened by pretensions to high-art glory, Martinez and Paul will take over Freight Gallery with another group show featuring artists of all levels of experience and training.
“Super Official Round II” includes work from Flora, Nicole Geary, Crystal Harmon, Michael Luna, Sealia Montalvo, Thomas Stokes III, Fred Wood and Kate Wood (free, 7-10 p.m., Freight Gallery and Studios, 1913 S. Flores, facebook.com/FAKE-Gallery-100418441338601).
But wait, there’s more!
Clamp Light resident artist Brittany Ham is giving an unwelcome intimate look at feminine leisure in “Uncharitable Spaces for Uncharitable People” (free, 7-10 p.m., Clamp Light Artist Studios and Gallery, 1704 Blanco Rd., clamplightsa.com). What’s more, recent San Anto transplant Charles Oisten is filling Studio 111 with mesmerizing lasercut geometric creations inspired by nature (free, 6-9 p.m., Studio 111, 111 Lone Star Blvd., instagram.com/karzdan), and the Esperanza Center is hosting a retrospective on Chicana scholar Gloria Anzaldúa (free, 7-9 p.m., Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave., esperanzacenter.org).
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This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 8, 2019.
