With plenty of museums and other cultural and entertainment sights, San Antonio surely deserves its mass of annual sightseers.

ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS

• At the McNay Art Museum, visitors can view the art of 19th- and 20th-century greats such as Cezanne, O'Keefe, Matisse and Picasso. Housed in the former mansion of its namesake, and prompted by the donation of her art collection and home, the museum opened in 1954 as the first art museum in the state. Surrounding the house are 23 acres of landscaped gardens, fountains and a fishpond. Today, the collection has grown to more than 14,000 European and American art pieces, as well as a research library of over 30,000 documents.

• Located in downtown San Antonio, the San Antonio Museum of Art was established in 1981 and is home to a Americas-specific collection that includes folk art from Latin America, and the pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial periods, as well as 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century American and European paintings. The museum also features a large collection of Greek, Egyptian and Roman art, Chinese ceramics and other Asian artifacts. With the latter, the institution became the largest exhibitor of Asian art in the Southern states. In total, the over 30,000 objects span 5,000 years of human cultural history.

• The Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum began when contemporary art ceased to be shown at the San Antonio Museum of Art. The 20s-era building on the bank of the San Antonio River opened in 1986 and was originally organized by artists and volunteers. Today, the center is home to more than 20 exhibitions each year, and has shown the work of well-known modern artists such as Hiroshi Sugimoto, John Mata and Vincent Valdez. The complex in which the museum is housed includes loft apartments, retail and performance spaces, and galleries.

• Another contemporary art gallery, Artpace opened in 1995 and offers a much sought-after artist-in-residence program that invites nine artists a year to live and work at the building. With an exhibition space that is visible from the street, and another that houses the works of international artists, Artpace is diverse and accessible. In addition to regular exhibits, the gallery also offers youth art programs such as Chalk It Up, an annual event that fills the city with chalk drawings and encourages interaction between artists and the community.

• Preserving and exhibiting the art and history of western America, the Briscoe Western Art Museum offers educational programs and public events in addition to regular exhibits. Housed in the city's first library, the museum sits upon a campus that also includes a courtyard and sculpture garden. The museum features a large collection of sculpture, folk art and textiles as well as originals and replicas of significant historical artifacts.

• San Antonio Art League Museum
• San Antonio Central Library
• Witte Museum
• Nueva Street Gallery
• Parchman Stremmel
• REM Gallery
• Gallery Nord
• Texas Transporation Museum
• Museo Alameda
• Guenther House
• Institute of Texan Culture
• Ripley's Believe It Or Not
• San Antonio Children's Museum
• Buckhorn Museum, Texas Ranger Museum
• Texas Transportation Museum
• Texas Air Museum

San Antonio, Texas.

ARTISTIC INSTITIUTIONS

• The Southwest School of Art offers creative students a working space of 33,000 feet, and is known as one of the best art schools in the state. Students can choose from unique concentrations such as Sculpture and Integrated Media, Metals, Paper/Book Arts and Printmaking. In addition to BFA and certificate courses, the school also offers art classes to teens, adults and children. More than 200,000 people participate in a variety of annual events and artist talks held at or hosted by the school.

• Currently a part of Sanford-Brown college, the International Academy of Design and Technology gives students the chance to pursue an Associate of Applied Science or Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, Animation, Website Design, Fashion Design and more. Each choice offers a combination of traditional training, business and marketing and conceptual thinking practices to create a comprehensive program ideal for a career in the arts.

• At the San Antonio branch of Alamo College, artsy academics can follow their dreams with Associate of Arts degrees in Dance, Drama, Journalism, Art or Architecture. The institution is comprised of 5 campuses around the San Antonia area, and sees approximately 100,000 students through its doors each year. The second-largest college system in Texas, Alamo College offers more than 300 certificate and degree programs.

• Home to more than 150 degree programs, the University of Texas at San Antonio offers undergraduate and masters programs in Architecture, Art History, Music, and Art.

• San Antonio School for the Performing Arts
• Inspire Community Fine Art Center
• Young Rembrandts
• Artworks Art Studio
• The Royal Canvas Painting Parlor
• Whimsy Art Studio
• Painting With A Twist

NATIVE ARTISTS

There are plenty of artistic people originally from, or currently living in San Antonia, Texas!

• Landscape and portrait artist Verner Moore White was commissioned to paint The Alamo, which was presented to the president in 1901.

• Carl Hoppe was born and lived in San Antonio, and has had exhibits of his oil paintings shown at the Witte Museum.

• Porfirio Salinas has works displayed in the Texas State Capitol and the Texas Governor's Mansion. His paintings have also been exhibited at the Witte, and other Texas museums.

• Known as the Father of Texas painting, Impressionist Julian Onderdonk studied under another well-known Impressionist painter. He is best known for his landscape paintings of blue bonnet flowers.

• Famous film stars from San Antonio include Summer Glau, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert Rodriguez, and Joan Crawford.

ART AND CURLTURAL EVENTS

Annual Events

• Begun in the early 1970s, the Fiesta Arts Fair is an annual event hosted by the Southwest School of Art. Taking place along the popular River Walk, the festival features old and new crafts, art and folk art from more than 100 vendors, live music by regional talent, and great food. The event runs for two days each April and is book-ended by parades and receptions.

• Since 1972, the Texas Folklife Festival has been a staple event each year in San Antonio. Modelled after a similar festival held in Washington, the event is currently held in September, and features three days of arts and craft, food, dance, and music hosted by the various ethnic groups that immigrated to the area. Partial proceeds from the festival are given back to the communities involved, in order to help them carry on their cultural traditions through future generations.

• Contemporary Art Month is an annual event held since 1986. Begun by the director of the Southwestern School of Art and Craft in the current location of Blue Star Contemporary Art, the event organizes a calender of contemporary art exhibits and performances taking place throughout the month of March. This allows artists, performers and gallery curators a chance to show off the best the city has to offer. Each year, a curator from a partner city is selected to present an exhibit of local artists.

• Luminaria was established in 2008 by the mayor of San Antonio, to serve as an annual, one-night art event in the downtown area. Since that time, the event has drawn more than one million guests, and thousands of artists, performances and visual art installations. Recently extended to two nights, the event is now a registered non-profit organization.

Other Events and Sights to See

• SeaWorld
• Six Flags Fiesta Texas
• Natural Bridge Caverns
• Tower of the Americas
• Majestic Theatre
• San Pedro Springs Park
• Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower
• The Great White inverted rollercoaster

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