First Friday! More than Art!

Where’s the place to be in San Antonio on a Friday evening? Well, if it’s the first Friday of the month, it’s Southtown! That’s right! It’s not the movies and it’s not the ball game! First Friday is home of the art scene in San Antonio. When I say “the art scene,” I mean THE art scene. First Friday is quite remarkable. If you’re not into art, trust me, you will be. Basically, First Friday is a collaboration of artists, galleries, and the San Antonio Community to provide art exhibitions, music, food, and a party.

Every first Friday of each month galleries exhibit artists in the Southtown of San Antonio. Southtown has most of the familiar galleries and vendors for First Friday. The Southtown area includes the famous King William neighborhood and the Blue Star Art Complex. Southtown is known for its historical houses, abandoned warehouses (converted for art space), and artist lofts. What has been called a hotbed of contemporary art, the Blue Star Art Complex is home to dozens of art exhibitions during First Friday. However, it’s more than the art that attracts the community; it’s the music, bars, and restaurants, too. The perfect place to start your First Friday experience is at the well known La Tuna Ice House and Grill. The La Tuna Grill is right at the railroad track on South Alamo just before the Blue Star Art Complex. It is the perfect place to start with a couple of rounds of drinks and some delicious food. First Friday expands over the South Alamo and South Flores intersection and the Durango and South Flores intersection. From there, the Blue Star is just across the tracks and the sightseeing begins. In an interview with much respected Fl!ght Gallery manager Justin Parr, he stated, “San Antonio is broken up into several different art communities and each gallery can have its own view point.” Enticing as he makes it sound, the only true way to appreciate the diversity is to experience the exhibitions along with the crowds. He also helped me on to learn about these galleries day to day routines in preparation for shows. In general, the galleries have a featured artist for a month or so or there are times when several artists share the whole gallery. In the Fl!ght gallery, what they call their “dry goods room” holds works by more than forty different artists! Thankfully, Mr. Parr was glad to state that San Antonio “has a healthy community of artists that support each other’s work.” Many galleries come together to display this vast art show. The Robert Hughes Gallery features over thirty artists from San Antonio, Houston, Lubbock, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, Canada, Nigeria, and China. It was refreshing to see that this particular gallery was very diverse with many pieces from artists who live all over the world. Robert Hughes’ thoughts on First Friday were, “First Friday started as an art walk and has changed over the years. I’d like to see more art galleries and more artists that are not just from San Antonio but from other places. First Friday is an opportunity for people to come down and gain art exposure.” First Friday has changed. It was once a plain art walk and has now become several streets filled with all sorts of vendors and food booths. The houses in the King William district are not just galleries. There are dentist offices and law firms on the stretch. These businesses are closed during First Friday and clearly do not fit into the scheme of the artistic surroundings. One fact is certain, the gallery and community would like to see less of those businesses on South Flores Street and more of the art genre business.

One great point of First Friday is that many times it is the chance for an artist to come out of their shell and be known to the public. Ruth Marlisa Guajardo has been running El Sol Gallery for seven years now. She can say from firsthand experience, “I’ve seen a lot of artist grow because of First Friday; you could not get as much as exposure as you would with First Friday anywhere else in San Antonio.” This is exactly what the art community in San Antonio needs. First Friday is not the only day however, these galleries are open. Hopefully, First Friday is more of a stepping stone into what can grow to be a strong art district with plenty of support and recognition by San Antonio. Many of the gallery owners are the artist at the same time. Painting, drawing, photography, jewelry, and sculpture are just some of the ways the artist express themselves during the shows.

Bringing the crowds to First Friday, the Blue Star Brewery is known for its excellent beer. The brewery usually has a band on the deck during First Friday. Live music and art coincide together in this masterpiece of a gathering. Visitors stand and dance in front of the pub while art lovers travel the winding and narrow halls of the converted warehouse that is now the Blue Star. In the complex, artists are usually sitting in their exhibit room. A great advantage of this homely fair is to be able to see the genius behind the work. A most intriguing interview with a veteran visitor of First Friday, Benecia Flores, gave me an earful on how the average citizen experiences First Friday. Her experiences have been described as pleasant and intellectually satisfying. As many other citizens of San Antonio, she loves that the San Antonio community comes together for the purpose of art. That is a milestone in this fast pace life of technology with very little time to take a breath and look at the beauty or skill in the arts. When asked the mood of First Friday Ms. Flores shared, “It’s always a festive, happy mood when you go to First Friday. You go with people you love and you always enjoy it.” First Friday increases friendly and family bonding mixed with encouraging self expression and a general feeling of content. Visual stimulation is the key of course to the success of First Friday. With so many different types of interesting art and people, First Friday easily becomes number one to the art lover, music lover, and food lover. Not only is there art but well known restaurants. Rosario’s and La Focaccia Italian Grill are just two favorites to dine at before walking the streets. For the musician in you, almost every other gallery or vendor has some local band performing most of the night. It is the place for a well rounded individual; young or old, artist or not.

The first weekend of next month, make no plans to go to the lake; do not buy tickets to the ballet and the movie that just came out can wait. Instead, attend the ever growing First Friday of Southtown in San Antonio. Take your friends and bring your family because this is it. Dress up or dress down; stay for an hour or stay for five because this Friday will be yours to remember! Then you can say, “HeyI’ve been to First Friday.”