The McNay Museum of Art hosted an event for local college students.
By Yessenia Arroyo
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The McNay Museum Of Art’s fifth Free College Night Nov. 18 attracted more than 500 college students who enjoyed free admission to the “Telling Tales” exhibit.
Students also enjoyed two live performances and activities such as DIY Instagram filters, an Instagram prop hunt, a photo booth and a six-word story.
Math sophomore Elizabeth Trevino said she enjoyed her first visit to the event and museum.
“It was so beautiful, I can only imagine how it looks during the day,” Trevino said of the museum.
“There were so many great photographs and stories. They really were more than 1,000 words. Being a photographer myself, I loved seeing all the work on a large display,” she said of the exhibit.
Security officer Morris Busby said 511 students visited that night.
The museum had a white board by the entrance that tallied how many students attended from the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Alamo Colleges, University of the Incarnate Word, Trinity University and other universities.
The band Sioux & Fox were the first to perform in the museum’s auditorium, followed by Harvey McLaughlin & the BottomFeeders.
The “Telling Tales” exhibit featured the work of 17 artists who recorded stories through pictures and six-word stories by the creative writing class of Trinity University.
The exhibit also included a quote by its entrance by artist Philip-Lorca diCorcia:
“The world is too elusive to pin down in a photograph. The image has to create its own world, hopefully self-contained, an analog of reality, not a mirror of it.”
A few of the photos that caught the most attention of the visitors were “Untitled #101 (A Short Happenstance)” by Anna Gaskell, ‘Time Out” and “Book Club” by Julie Blackmon.
Maritza Martinez, UTSA studio and art history junior, found a deeper message in “Untitled #101 (A Short Happenstance).”
“I feel like I can identify with it. I don’t know in what way. Maybe she’s trying to find herself,” Martinez said of the girl in the photo.
The photo showed a girl in a black dress and white band around her eyes with her arms straight out, walking in a heavily forested area.
The exhibit also had a station where students could write their own six-word stories on a sticky note and stick them to a stand.
A few of the stories on the stand were: “I might be lost, but I’m OK,” “So where are you really from” and “On time, waiting for no one.”
Other galleries open to students were the Tobin Exhibition Galleries, Sculpture Terrace and the Stieren Center for Exhibitions.
For more information on discounts and free admission for students and families, call the McNay Art Museum at 210-824-5368 or visit https://www.mcnayart.org.