New Art Exhibition Tells the Cultural Story of San Antonio
Published on February 13, 2025
Culture Commons Gallery features works by 20 San Antonio artists who explore the merging of cultures that have made their home and shaped their people.
SAN ANTONIO (February 13, 2025) – The City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture, in partnership with the World Heritage Office, has curated a new exhibition Confluence of Cultures: Nuestra Gente, Cultura y Comida, centered around the convergence of cultures that created San Antonio.
“For more than 300 years, cultures have converged in San Antonio to create who we are as a city and people,” said Department of Arts & Culture Director, Krystal Jones. “To tell this story, we brought together 20 San Antonio artists who each have their own unique perspective shaped by the many cultures of San Antonio and how they have united.”
Archeological evidence has shown that for over 12,000 years, the first people of Texas lived on these lands. In the 1700s, the arrival of the Spanish created an interweaving of cultures whose tangible remnants can still be seen today and are evident in the art, architecture, and archeology. As a result of this remarkable heritage, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the five San Antonio Missions as a World Heritage Site in 2015.
These Spanish colonists, Canary Islanders, and later European settlers brought with them new flavors, spices, and ingredients from Asia and Africa, along with new cooking and food preservation techniques. This complex cultural fusion combined with the unique flavor characteristics of San Antonio’s location and terroir, created a cuisine that is distinct to San Antonio and is why our city was accepted into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in gastronomy.
"San Antonio is the only City in the United States that is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site and named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy," said World Heritage Office Director, Colleen Swain. "In honor of the upcoming 10th anniversary of San Antonio's World Heritage designation, we are excited to showcase our city’s dynamic, diverse, and vibrant cultural heritage through the lens of local artistry."
The diverse group of local artists created pieces based on the UNESCO designations as well as themes of sustainable development, culture as a global public good, and contemporary food connections. This series of paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and installation pieces celebrates a variety of communities and invites participants to reflect and have ownership over their cultural heritage.
Confluence of Cultures: Nuestra Gente, Cultura y Comida features works by Abel Aguirre, Kat Cadena, Manuel Davila, Douglas Galloway, Adriana Garcia, Doroteo Garza, Michelle Hernandez, Soomin Jung, Nishima Kaplan, Blas Lopez, Marcos Medellin, Cruz Ortiz, Ashley Perez, Crystal Rocha, Eva M. Sanchez, Jose Sotelo Yamasaki, Ronney Stevens, Daniela P. T. Martinez, Bria Woods and Ursula Zavala.
The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge starting February 13, 2025 and on display to January 16, 2026 at the Culture Commons Gallery located at 115 Plaza de Armas. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
About Culture Commons Gallery: Located in the Plaza de Armas Building, Culture Commons consists of a storefront gallery that features visual art exhibits, performances, invited speakers and workshops. The vision for Culture Commons is to serve as the City of San Antonio's cultural space that integrates the arts into our civic conversation by encouraging creativity, supporting local culture and engaging our community in transforming the future. More information is available at SA.gov/Arts and on social media @getcreativesa.