San Antonio ISD school groups contributed nearly a third of the 52 team murals at the 19th annual Artpace Chalk It Up festival on Houston Street Oct. 8. This year’s Chalk It Up theme was: The San Antonio River. It was a big day for the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, whose high school mural won the overall grand prize.
Art teacher Sharriah Martinez had a team of 18 students of all grade levels working on the chalk mural. After visiting with with local artist and art teacher Gabriel Morales at a National Art Honor Society meeting, the group began brainstorming.
“We spoke about the Native Americans who first settled here, and the animals who depended on the river, Yanaguana,” Martinez said. “We then started thinking about the four elements and how they exist in a harmonious balance. This is necessary for us and the planet to stay alive. Comparing the four elements to the river and understanding these waters served as a main source of life to the people and animals who lived off of it, we then chose animal figures to represent each element: a white-tailed deer who prances on the land, a possum to represent the fire it spread to humanity (and burned its tails in doing so), sunfish who navigate the waters, and last, a blue heron who graces our skies.”
Martinez said the group was overjoyed when they learned they had won.
“This was the first time any of my students had ever competed in Chalk it Up, and the first time we had experimented with that medium/detail on such a large scale,” Martinez said. “We learned so much from the experience and had an amazing time creating beautiful artwork with our San Antonio community.”
Congratulations to Ms. Martinez and her students, and to all of our student groups who participated in this beautiful public art festival. Here are some of their pieces. Click each one to enlarge. Did we miss your mural? Email your photos to the Insider editor.
Arnold Elementary School
CAST Tech High School
Cooper Academy at Navarro
Fenwick Academy
Hawthorne Academy
Highlands High School
J.T. Brackenridge Elementary
Storm Elementary
Travis Early College High School
Young Women's Leadership Academy High School
YWLA Middle School
YWLA Primary