Last Updated on January 30, 2024
Welcome to the quarterly Creative Currents series! Public art, cultural programming, and artistic design enhancements express what is authentic about today’s culture and explore the historical significance of area waterways through a contemporary art lens. This series provides an inside look at the many ways artists are incorporated into the San Antonio River Authority (River Authority) projects, including the growing San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
De Todos Caminos Somos Todos Uno by local artist Adriana Garcia is one of the many completed works in Phase 1 of San Pedro Creek Culture Park (SPCCP).
The River Authority is excited to announce that three new public art projects are coming to SPCCP in 2022! The completion of Phase 1 (from the San Pedro Creek flood tunnel inlet to Cesar Chavez Blvd.) and the unveiling of these public art projects will be formally celebrated this Fall 2022.
Installation of the mirrored panels on the underside of the canopy for Creek Lines at SPCCP.
In Phase 1, Segment 1, a large-scale steel and aluminum sculpture by local firm Bridge Projects titled Creek Lines was recently installed at the Plaza de Fundación, where N. Santa Rosa St. crosses over the creek. This sculpture is a special commission to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bexar County and will be officially dedicated this spring. Inspired by the topography and shape of the creek itself, this artwork includes historical plaques that mark significant events in Bexar County history on each of 30 poles (one to celebrate each decade of Bexar County’s history). The artists also designed a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) curriculum to accompany this artwork adapted for elementary, middle, and high school students.
An artist’s rendering of the completed Creek Lines artwork at SPCCP.
Phase 1, Segment 2 will soon include a new ceramic tile mural by artists Kathy and Lionel Sosa. The mural, titled Historia de San Pedro Creek on My Mind: A Story in Five Panels, will be the park’s largest artwork by square footage, covering approximately 1,800 sq. ft. of wall space behind the Spanish Governors Palace. Visible from the lower paseo, the murals tell the story of San Pedro Creek, from the indigenous Coahuiltecans to modern modern-day San Antonians, using the Tree of Life form as a visual storytelling tool. In each panel, a central foreground figure(s) is animated by a mobile app providing added detail about the stories depicted.
Panel 1 of the artwork by Kathy and Lionel Sosa is complete. The painted canvas shown here is approximately 1/3 the size of the panel that will be installed as ceramic tiles.
Kathy Sosa works on Panel 2 of the mural Historia de San Pedro Creek on My Mind: A Story in Five Panels in her studio.
The second project in Phase 1, Segment 2, will be the park’s first interactive sculpture by Brooklyn-based artist Adam Frank. Cleverly titled STREAM, the artwork consists of a cast bronze 1950s style microphone located across the creek from a 250-foot-long waterfall just north of Commerce Street. Inside the sculpture is a live microphone connected to a custom software system designed by Frank. The software system converts the sound captured by the microphone into a visual light display along the waterfall, giving visitors the ability to change the light patterns in real-time. The artwork was inspired by San Antonio’s robust musical history.
Attention Artists
We are excited to announce that three new Calls to Artists have been posted! These are opportunities for permanent artwork in Phases 2, 3, and 4 at San Pedro Creek Culture Park. To read the full project descriptions, and to apply, visit the Calls to Artists.
Stay tuned for the next issue of our quarterly Creative Currents series!
The words of John Phillip Santos, a San Antonio native and distinguished scholar in Mestizo studies, are etched into limestone throughout Phase 1 at SPCCP.
