San Antonio: City of Art

(Video courtesy of the City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs)

San Antonio is our host city for in•ter•face: 17th International Surface Design Association Conference 2013.

Ever since its founding in the 18th century, it has been a city with a heart for the arts. As it grew from 5 Spanish missions along the San Antonio River to a metropolis of more than 1.5 million residents, San Antonio gained a reputation as one of America's 4 most unique cities via oft-quoted humorist Will Rogers (San Francisco, Boston, and New Orleans are the other 3). Rogers was most certainly referring to the natural beauty of the setting as well as to a mix of visual, literary, culinary, musical, and dramatic culture and art that have flourished in the region - from the indigenous mission builders to the plein air painters of the 19th century to the many contemporary artists whose work is woven into the city’s civic tapestry. 

Thus, San Antonio has a firmly established identity - both private and public - as an art-filled city. It has even committed funds to a 10-year plan called the “Cultural Collaborative” that supports the growth and recognition of San Antonio’s creative economy.

In this part of Texas you’ll find a highly-accessible mélange of Borderlands culture - with its European, American frontier and Mexican heritage - expressed in the food, images and stories of the city. Those stories, and the city itself, are connected physically by the River Walk, which has been recently expanded to reach both north and south of downtown with public art, restaurants and parks from Brackenridge Park to the missions.

Join us in San Antonio! Partake of this artful city - even if just for a long weekend. Experience its galleries, monumental and street-scale public art, major art institutions and Southwest School of Art (in its initial year as a degree-granting art college). Our host hotel, the Crown Plaza Riverwalk, is situated between the actual River Walk and the Southwest School (which is on the River Taxi route). It’s the perfect place to call home while you savor the unique character of this city and its people.