Kimberly Rene' Vanecek

Celebrating La Equis

Live art, great music, and gourmet food were the basis for The Art Avenue’s launch party held recently.  Bowie Feathers, located on 209 S. El Paso Street, hosted the event where Melissa Castro adorned live models with her intricate designs and artist Mitzu Overstreet joined in the session by completing his artistic impression onto the body of Jenny Tucker.

Music was spun by the creative talent of DJ Fresco from The Affiliated people while guest enjoyed the food offered by Tabla and Hello Day Café.

Texas Tech University School of Architecture recently hosted a Beaux Art Ball at The Plumb City Lounge.  Guests were asked to attend the event in costume with a contest held later in the evening.  The ball was an effort to raise money for the students AIAS Chapter.

 By Lorain Watters

As El Paso breaks out their summer shorts for the third annual Neon Desert Music Festival, the Splendid Sun Productions staff will continue to prep the streets until the day of the fest for an expected 13,000 people.

The roads will close on Friday, May 24 at 6 p.m., according to Zach Paul, producer with Splendid Sun Productions and director for NDMF. Mills Avenue, Santa Fe Street and parts of east Mesa will be closed off to thru traffic.

Fencing and the stages used for the bands will be brought out onto the streets after 6 p.m., commencing the start of a long night.

“We work around (the closure) and get into the areas we can work on and get the small details worked on,” Paul said. “We pay attention to small detail when we bring in all the fencing, tents, stages, tables, chairs and all other structure-related items building the entire festival out.”

Along with staff, volunteers and interns will also be helping with the set-up of the festival.

With Molotov and Wolfgang Gartner headlining for the fest, not only El Pasoans but music lovers from out of state will be at the fest. Hotels around the festival are still offering special deals on rooms and selling the last of the tickets in their possession.

Photographed by Aaron Montes

Efforts were underway last night to draw more people to downtown and to strengthen a connection with the art community. As part of the new “Last Thursday’s” hosted by MCAD; events were held at galleries, restaurants, and shops located in a centrally marked zone. The Station Urban offices, located at 500 W. Overland in Suite 250, sponsored a mix of music and visual art. Hope Wright belted out her sultry coffee house songs, while murals by Colectivo Jellyfish adorned the walls. The evening was complete with food donated by Valentine’s Kitchen and Bar.

Conductor Mariusz Smolij

Conductor Mariusz Smolij took the stage at the Plaza Theater on April 20th as the sixth and final candidate for the vacant Maestro position with The El Paso Symphony Orchestra.  Smolij is the most tenured of the contenders and auditioned to a packed house Saturday night with excerpts from Montagues and Capulets.  His goal was to astound the audience and win over the board members of EPSO.  Originally from Eastern Europe, he now resides in Houston, Texas where he leads the Acadia Symphony Orchestra of La Fayette, Louisiana.

Photos by Laura Bustillos

The Loft Lights played host to an art market yesterday where numerous artist displayed their work. Located in downtown El Paso on 315 S. El Paso Street, the venue is being known as a place where local artist can showcase their paintings, sculptures, photography, and jewelry to the public on the last Thursday of every month. Owner of the Loft Lights, Carlo Mendez, sponsors the event in an effort to provide an area for artist to gain greater attention to the art community.

By Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

Laura Caballero held her BFA Exhibition at the Glass Box Gallery yesterday where she presented a line of jewelry that reflected fun and happy images from her childhood.

She designed “Recollections” to include gummy bears as earrings and pendants, rings synonymous with the sweet hearts or conversation hearts, and dangle earrings that look like cotton candy, made of sterling silver and flocking powder.

She attempts to conjure up memories similar to those when you were little and you left the grocery store. As you leave there were, and still are, the machines that you would put a quarter into and out popped a toy or piece of candy.

Caballero said, “I want the audience to participate in the exhibition by purchasing a specially made translucent pink plastic token and placing that token in an oldfashion gumball machine. A small clear capsule dispenses a one of a kind hand made piece of jewelry.”

The exhibit runs at UTEP February 7 – February 15th

Photographed by Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

By Monique Oxford

More than 20,000 people joined in on the fun in downtown El Paso this weekend. KidsPalooza, in its 6th year, proved to be a huge draw for all ages. The all-day family event featured children’s concerts, games, painting, “Make & Take” craft workshops, tours plus free transportation to a variety of educational stops throughout the downtown area. The El Paso Exploreum and Museum of Art were also open with exhibits and assisted in keeping those in attendance cool and out of the weather. There were even monster trucks and a variety of food vendors on hand to round out the event.

Photographed by Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

By Monique Oxford

An organization that was created to bring awareness to the increase in violence and its effect on the youth in Juárez is now proving to be a platform for budding artists to exhibit their works and gain greater exposure in the community.

The 2nd Annual Amor por Juárez Art Auction brought more than 25 international artists together in an effort to not just raise money for the non-profit Amor por Juárez, but to also allow a broader introduction to hidden talent in the Border Region.

Artists and guests recently gathered for the silent auction at the Sotoa Gallery in downtown El Paso, which exhibited over 50 pieces of art. Supporters of the fundraiser could bid on abstract and contemporary paintings, sculptures, photography, and jewelry.

“It was really exciting to see so many people supporting this great cause. A few of the pieces which started a bidding war were a small 4 x 4 acrylic painting by Ricardo Chavarria, and a large 20 x 30 charcoal and acrylic on canvas by Gabriel Diaz,” explained Ricardo Fernandez, President of Amor por Juárez.

Amor por Juárez is a non-profit organization that began over four years ago in an effort to bring awareness to the increase in violence and its effect on youth during the drug wars. As a result, programs directed in the arts and culture were developed for at-risk youth. While the programs for children grew, so did the desire from artists in the region to assist in the awareness campaign.

“In our efforts to bring awareness to the youth, we stumbled upon artists that needed an outlet to show their works. We created the art auction as an avenue for artists,” noted Ricardo.

Fernandez says the auction is a way to help create exposure for the artists as well as facilitate the sale of their work. He mentioned that over half of the pieces sold during the auction and a portion from the art sale will go to the organization as well as to the artists.

Chicano artist, Gaspar Enriquez, provided a piece of his artwork and commented on his experience: “It’s the first time I have been involved with Amor por Juárez. This project is a great opportunity for everyone involved. It’s a good way to meet others and show off the many different techniques of art.”

Other artists who shared their work were Oswaldo Sagastegui, Salvador Flores, Elza Crespo, Alesksander Titovets, Rogelio Valenzuela, Erik Flores, Peter Svarzbein, Paola Rascon, Luz Galvan, Christian Nassri, Alejandra Coronado, Ivan Bautista, Ricardo Guevara, Monica Lozano, T. Vazquez, Patt Robles, Rodolfo Calva, Abel Saucedo, and Ramon and Christian Cardenas.

On hand to share in the evening were the musical talents of Latino pop singer Diana Gameros, whose songs were as diverse as the crowd, Hope Wright whose sultry sounds tantalized, and electronic music from DJ Hector Fierro rounded out the evening.

www.amorporjuarez.com