NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program Round 2

NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program Round 2

Jan 26–Jul 3, 2022

January 26 – July 3, 2022 | Wednesday – Friday: 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday & Sunday: Noon – 5 p.m

Centro de Artes, 101 S. Santa Rosa Ave. San Antonio, TX 78207 

The City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture Centro de Artes Gallery in Historic Market Square reopens with a group exhibition featuring artist mentors and artist mentees who participated in Round 2 of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program in San Antonio. Blue Star Contemporary was a NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program partner and host organization. Alongside the artist mentor and mentees in the NYFA Round 2 exhibition, Contemporary at Blue Star presents the work of Contemporary at Blue Star’s MOSAIC Student Artists. Artworks from MOSAIC’s Posterworks exhibition are included in the Centro de Artes NYFA presentation.

The NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program Exhibition – Round 2 is a continuation of the first round of the program and capstone exhibition held at Centro de Artes in 2019. Guest curators and San Antonio-based artists Richard “Ricky” Armendariz, Kim Bishop, Luis Valderas, and Guillermina Zabala organized the exhibition, with the 34 participating artists representing 12 different countries from across the globe, including Argentina, Chile, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, Kenya, and Venezuela, as well as the Mexico-United States border.

Artists participating in the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program Exhibition – Round 2 include Fernando Andrade, Ricky Armendariz, Jose Balli, Kim Bishop, Hayfer Brea, Francisco Cortes, Juan de Dios Mora, Anna De Luna, Juan C. Escobedo, Anel Flores, Juan Flores, Sergio Flores, Brandy González, Beatriz Guzman Velasquez, Ernesto Ibanez, Julya Jara, Sergio Mata, Barbara Miñarro, Yoko Misu, Merle Mory, Anastassia Rabajille, Andrea V Rivas, Caroline Royall, Jesse Ruiz, Gloria Sánchez Hart, Sabine Senft, Hiromi Stringer, Luis Valderas, Jorge Villarreal, Anne Wallace, Naomi Wanjiku, Anahita Younesi, Guillermina Zabala and Claudia Zapata.

NYFA’s Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program paired immigrant artists working in all disciplines with artist mentors who provided individualized support for their mentees, guiding them to achieve specific goals and providing them with broader access to urban cultural centers through an exchange of ideas, resources and experiences. Discussions covered grant proposal ideas; how to approach curators, galleries, and presenting opportunities; social media best practices; networking and funding opportunities through arts institutions; and other local resources. Mentors also met regularly with mentees one-on-one to provide the artists with portfolio feedback, advice on studio and presentation techniques, and to help write and edit artist statements.