Provided By COSA
Adriana M Garcia, an award winning artist, muralist, illustrator, scenic de- signer was born and raised in the west-side of San Antonio, Texas. Her debut picture book, All Around Us (written by Xelena González, Cinco Puntos Press), was awarded the
prestigious 2018 Pura Belpré Honor for Illustration and the 2018 Tomás Rivera Book Award in the picture book category among other honors.
Garcia just finished mural entitled Changing the World to be installed on the campus of Northwest Vista College this fall. The mural project that Adriana completed for the San Pedro Creek improvements project for the city of San Antonio’s third centennial celebration entitled De Todos Caminos Somos Todos Uno was selected and recognized as part of the Americans for the Arts 2019 Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review. Only 50 projects were selected out of 361. In collaboration with area nonprofit organizations Garcia has created many communit murals including SOMArts in California, South West Workers Union, Bill Haus Arts, San Anto Cultural Arts Center, and Casa de la Cultura in Del Rio, Texas. Her murals honor ancestors, speak to access to education as well as give voice to mental health and immigration issues.
Adriana has exhibited her artwork both locally and nationally and has been invited to present at conferences, schools and museums such as National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) and the McNay Art Museum. She has enjoyed working as an arts administrator and an art/ design instructor for both youth and adult learners.
Title: De Todos Caminos Somos Todos Uno (From All Roads, We Are All One)
Artist: Adriana M Gar- cia Dimensions: 11’H x 117’W
The composition tells the story of how San Pedro Springs brought forth life, growth, and diversity in the San Antonio community. The left represents the west; the right represents the east. They come together (figuratively and literally) in the center of the mural.
On either end we see the moment of contact when the Payaya people (members of the Coalhuitecan Nation) who were settled along the San Pedro Springs, encounter the settlers. These were Governor Don Martín de Alarcón, Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Oliva- res, Father Isidro Félix de Espinosa, and the Canary Islander families. Time gets closer to the present as we move toward the center of the piece, where the San Pedro Springs come forth. The mural is bookended by the telling of the story, our story, San Antonio’s story. The mother and father figures represent the passing down of our heritage from generation to generation and speaks to the cycle of life. The indigenous story of the Anhinga water bird gathering sustenance from the Blue Jaguar river spirit swirls from the storyteller’s lips.
