Social

The Art Avenue Art Market and Art Show was a huge success as local artist exhibited their work downtown at The Camino Real.  Paintings, drawings and jewelry were just a few of the item displayed as locals enjoyed in the various mediums as part of the Last Thursday Art Crawl.

The Art Avenue sponsored its first annual art show and art market in December.  Local artists Monica Lozano, Brian Wancho, Sammy Lopez,  Adriene PERALDI, Alejandro Lomeli, Cardio Cardona, Fran Santelli,  Mauricio Mora & Ricardo Garcia each displayed there work.   The Art Avenue Art Market presented art vendors who lined the halls of the Mezzanine of The Camino Real hotel in downtown El Paso displaying their items as last minute Christmas shoppers purchased one of a kind items.

The Art Avenue would like to offer many thanks to Karla Martinez and everyone at The El Paso Zoo who helped to provide the background for the November/December issue of The Art Avenue.  The theme for the magazine was “Going Green” so we enlisted the assistance of Hoy Fox Volkswagen to exhibit a Hybrid Jetta and showcased Miss Earth Texas Stephanie Granada, courtesy of Wilhelmina Bazaar.  Photographers Brian Wancho and Laura Bustillos captured images with hair and makeup artist Morgan Nicole Tirrel and stylist Edwardo Herrera.  Many thanks again to everyone that contributed to the project.

By Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

More than 70 vendors are lined up to display fruits, vegetables and local art at the weekly Downtown Artist and Farmers Market in Union Plaza. The market is a platform for local artist to exhibit their work and for farmers to showcase their locally-grown produce.

“This market is a destination for Saturday mornings…it brings traffic for us and other businesses around us and it is increasing the profile for the city. I really want members of the community to know that they can come and use this space for their artwork or produce so that the city can grow,” said Rebecca Munoz, event organizer.

The market runs year round every Saturday from 9am to 1pm in Union Plaza.

For further information: elpasotexas.gov/mcad/default.asp

Photographs by Brian Wancho & Omar Augustine Hernandez

The Art Avenue held its first annual Fashion Show in conjunction with El Paso Fashion Week.  Those attending the event at 301 LIVE were treated to a show with cutting edge fashions from OM, Manchot, and Nudha, all downtown boutiques located at The Mix.  The Art Avenue featured Zayra Estrada and Jose D’Saenz, two local designers with fashions inspired by artist Tom Lea.  D ‘ Ansa Jazz Stage provided Aerial Acrobats while Live Artist Melissa Castro, Jesus Monsivias and Alejandro Lomali painted designs on live models all while listening to music mixed by The Affiliated People.  Proceeds from the event benefited the American Cancer Society.

Photographed by Alejandro Cardona and Julio Cesar Chavez

James M. Shelton Jr.  Collection

More than 200 people gathered at The El Paso Museum of Art recently to explore the unique art collection of local El Pasoan James M. Shelton, Jr.

Important art collections that stand out are uncommon in most major cities around the world, and in El Paso such a collection is rare indeed and definitely the reason for a major celebration.  Gathered gradually over twenty years Shelton focused on late Modernist works and the responses to Modernism often referred to as Post-modernism.

The Shelton collection could serve as any museum’s foundation of this period, and includes paintings, sculptures and drawings by late modern giants such as Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Hans Hoffman and Willem De Kooning as well as the Abstract Expressionists Franz Kline, Morris Louis, Cy Twomby, Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell, the Pop artists Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Wayne Thiebaud, and the Minimalists Donald Judd, Sol Le Witt and Ellsworth Kelly.

In addition to masterworks by these artists the Shelton Collection also offers the opportunity to the public to learn about other more recent artists such as Fritz Scholder and Jean Michel Basquiat who responded to earlier modernist movements, but also represent a broadening of the once mostly Euro-centric art world. This exhibition is sponsored, in part, by the El Paso Museum of Art Foundation.

The Shelton collection may be viewed through February 2, 2014.

Photographed by Laura Bustillos

Ciudad Juarez was the recipient of the third largest children’s museum in Mexico.  With a staggering 25-million dollar price tag, La Rodadora (the tumbleweed) is currently the most innovative museum in the region, staging 120 interactive science, art, and technical exhibits.

Dignitaries from Mexico City, the Governor of Chihuahua, the Mayor of Cd. Juarez and El Paso Mayor, Oscar Leeser, were on hand last week to cut the ribbon on the ten year long project that expects to draw visitors from both sides of the border.

A 3-D movie theatre is housed within the museum that will show educational programming from an era when the Earth was surrounded by dinosaurs.  Beyond the permanent 120 displays, there will be a traveling exhibit that will rotate every three to four months exploring the similar concept of the current exhibits.

Board Members of the museum expect more than 200,000 visitors through the door in the first year.  La Rodadora will be open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.  The cost of admission is $65 Mexican pesos/around $5.00 American dollars.  There is an additional cost of $30 pesos/$2.50 American dollars, to view the 3-D movie.

Read more about La Rodadora in our September issue.

Photographed by Laura Bustillos

Thursday nights art crawl drew hundreds of enthusiast to downtown El Paso to explore the arts and eateries.  The Last Thursdays is moving through the midst of the summer months by starting two hours later to avoid the sweltering heat and humidity.  The crawl now begins at 8 p.m. for the remainder of the summer.

La Mujer Obrera brings Oaxaca to El Paso

By Victoria Molinar

Not everyone has the means to visit Oaxaca, Mexico, also known as the “Land of Seven Moles”—of course “mole” being the cherished sauce that in El Paso often consists of chocolate and is drizzled over chicken. That’s why the organization La Mujer Obrera is bringing a bit of Oaxaca to restaurant Café Mayapan during the Mole Festival on Saturday, July 20, from 6-10 p.m.

Only in this case, attendees won’t only be presented with one, but five different types of mole, including negro, rojo, coloradito, verde and the vegetarian mancha manteles.

“Mancha manteles, which literally translates to “table cloth stainer,” is a sort of spicy fruit sauce made with apple and banana slices,” said Blanca Castro, who helped put the “Mole Festival” together. “Instead of being served over meat, it is served over white rice with warm corn tortillas.”

Another unique item on the menu will be the tacos de chapulines—yes, cricket tacos.

“We’ve had people come in and ask about [the cricket tacos] and now we finally get to serve them,” said Athena Matyear, community outreach coordinator at Centro Mayapan, who also helped with the event. “Some people love them and other people see it as a challenge, daring each other to eat them, but most people are surprised to find that they taste good.”

While food will be a major cultural representation of Oaxaca, it won’t be the only one. Other highlights of the night will be the art and entertainment. Fair trade artistry from various parts of Mexico will be sold at Lum Metik, located right behind Café Mayapan. Oaxacan art will include traditional black clay pottery, clothing and alebrijes (those colorful folk art sculptures, usually of various animals and mythical creatures).

Oaxacan dance group, Huaxyacac (the original name given to what is now known as Oaxaca) will perform traditional dances of Guelaguetza, the state’s biggest festival held throughout July. The well-known local band Ceiba will also play pre-Hispanic Latin American music at the event.

Matyear said bout 4,000 people attended last year’s Mole Festival, which La Mujer Obrera started in 2005. The organization empowers women along the border by providing workshops and classes on citizenship, computer and Internet usage and earning a GED.

They also offer various cultural events to the public; prior to the mole festival, the group brough artisan women from Oaxaca to conduct workshops on their different types of traditional dances, music, artistry and cuisine. Putting a spotlight on various cultures throughout Mexico has been a main goal of La Mujer Obrera and Café Mayapan.

Last week, they launched their third season of their farmer’s market. Every Saturday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. local farmers will sell their freshly picked produce. Breakfast will be served until 11 a.m. The restaurant is also open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

For more information about Café Mayapan and La Mujer Obrera, call 915-217-1126 or visit MujerObrera.org and facebook.com/MujerObrera.