CONTEMPORARY ART
MONTH CELEBRATES
10 YEARS
Plays, concerts, musicals
round out schedule

By LEIGH BALDWIN

The opening of the historic Museum Reach extension of the River Walk heralds an invigorated city arts and cultural scene, with many local San Antonians planning downtown summer activities on an even larger scale than ever before. Attractions like the River Walk, La Villita, the Institute of Texan Cultures and the Alamo may have once been seen as a great playground for tourists, but there is a renewed energy and authenticity in the city’s heart and soul this summer, welcoming locals back.

After viewing the spectacular new public art pieces along the river, we should all be in the mood to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Contemporary Art Month. Luckily, this year marks the final CAM in July, as the festival moves to March next year to coincide with the similarly successful Luminaria arts night. It would be impossible to list all the events and exhibitions, but a few highlights really stand out.

The elegant McNay, reinvigorated with the addition of the new Stieren Center for Exhibitions, will host two exhibitions of contemporary prints. In Their Own Right — Contemporary Women Printmakers showcases four decades of women’s art from the McNay’s collection, and The 30 x 30 cm Project: A Contemporary Print Collaboration, the work of seven artists-in-residence at the famed Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. The Southwest School of Art and Craft hosts a solo exhibition of new drawings by studio manager Gregory Alan Johnson, as well as the first of a new biennial, Texas Draws. Texas Draws will focus (naturally) on selected drawings by Texas artists, including this year local stars Katie Pella, Jayne Lawrence and Regis Shepard. No CAM is complete without a trip to the Blue Star Contemporary Art Complex as well for a leisurely gallery stroll.

Summer in San Antonio also means magical musical concerts in many enchanting venues. For jazz and Latin lovers, the San Antonio Botanical Garden will host its annual Concert Under the Stars series on June 25, July 9 and a big finish with Henry Brun and the Latin Playerz on July 23. The Cactus Pear Music Festival, founded more than a dozen years ago by San Antonio Symphony’s Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, returns to play small group classical performances July 9 through 19. Pieces by Beethoven, Hayden, Bach and Brahms will be performed at Travis Park United Methodist Church in San Antonio as well as New Braunfels and Boerne locations. Want something more down home? Sunset Station is launching its first-ever annual summer music contest. Aspiring musicians will compete over a range of concert dates throughout the summer for a $2,500 cash prize and a full production concert on stage August 28. Come out and support your local music scene, or take the chance to become a star yourself!

For families, the most dramatic event of the summer takes place on stage July 24 through 26 — Dora the Explorer is coming to the Majestic Theatre! In a live adventure musical, Dora and all of her friends sing, play, explore and interact with the audience as they search for The City of Lost Toys. In a more family-friendly theatre, the Russell Hill Rodgers Theatre at the San Pedro Playhouse will be staging the immortal classic, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, from July 17 through Aug. 23. Introduce a new generation to this beloved story of a free-spirited orphan who becomes the governess of seven motherless children, falls in love and escapes from the Nazis on the eve of Word War II. For more serious theatre lovers — and grown-ups only — the highly touted Attic Rep at Trinity University will stage the San Antonio premiere of David Harrower’s Blackbird, July 8 through 26. Directed by Stacey Connelly, Blackbird is a tightrope walk of a play about two people, a middle-aged man and a much younger woman, confronting their past.

Whether on stage, under the stars or hanging on a white gallery wall, July and August are full of artistic endeavors everyone can enjoy. Get in the groove now, since September brings the city’s famous fall festivals: FotoSeptiembre and Jazz’sAlive are just around the corner, and the International Accordion Festival and New World Wine and Food Festival will be here before you know it.

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