Amado M. Peña Jr.

Current & Upcoming Exhibits, Library Art Gallery, Pecan Campus, Permanent Art Collection

STC acquires new works by prominent Laredo-born artist.

Exhibit opens January 21 | Reception and artist talk March 5

South Texas College celebrates a generous donation of nine artworks to its library’s permanent art collection. This donation was made by Dr. Ricardo J. Solis, the President of STC, from his personal art collection. It features works by Amado M. Peña Jr., a prestigious artist from Laredo, TX who now resides in Santa Fe, NM. There will be an exhibition of the artwork on the library’s second floor, along with an artist talk event and a reception to commemorate the occasion.

The exhibition “Desert Impressions: Amado M. Peña Jr.” will open on January 21 and run through May 23, 2025. Amado M. Peña Jr. will visit the college on March 5, 2025, for an artist talk with students and community members from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Additionally, there will be an exhibition reception with an open call for art, “Moon as Muse: A Love Letter in Art & Verse,” from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The exhibition will be on display at the Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery, located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd., Building F, in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.

Amado M. Peña Jr. was born in 1943 in Laredo, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M-Kingsville with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art and education. A celebrated artist, he is recognized as an Artisan of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona.

His artwork honors the resilience of Native Americans and reflects their harmonious relationship with the enduring landscapes of Arizona and New Mexico. Inspired by significant locations such as Canyon de Chelly, Spider Rock, and Monument Valley, Peña’s art is characterized by bold colors, dynamic compositions, and powerful storytelling.

Peña has dedicated his career to preserving and promoting the culture, art, and history of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe through his creative work. He has taught in his hometown of Laredo, as well as in Crystal City and Austin, Texas. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas. His paintings have been exhibited at the National Collection of Fine Arts at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he has been a presenter at numerous national education conferences, where he shares his expertise and passion for art and education.

STC’s Library Art Gallery Program organizes exhibitions and educational programs to engage students’ understanding of art and its role in culture, support the academic curriculum, and inspire continued education through direct engagement with artists, scholars, and original works of art.

For more information, please contact the gallery at (956) 872-3488, gotvos@southtexascollege.edu, or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.

The Moon as Muse: A Love Letter in Art & Verse

Call for Art, Current & Upcoming Exhibits, Library Art Gallery, Pecan Campus

The Moon as Muse blog banner with a yellow full moon. Deadline to submit artwork and poetry: February 17, 2025

The South Texas College Library Art Gallery is hosting a call for artists to submit artwork on the theme of the moon! The moon has long inspired artists across different fields. For painter Vincent van Gogh, it was a muse that illuminated his night scenes. Composer Claude Debussy captured its beauty in his piece Clair de Lune, translating moonlight into music. Meanwhile, Shakespeare used the moon as a recurring symbol in his works, representing themes of love, madness, and the passage of time.

The timeless allure of the moon has sparked creativity across generations, inspiring artists, musicians, and writers alike. Our ancestors looked to the moon to mark the passing of days and seasons, connecting daily rhythms to its cycles. They wove its phases into myths and legends, seeing it as a guiding light in the night sky and a symbol of constancy through change.

Today, we still stand under the same moon, inspired by its beauty, mystery, and even the possibilities of space travel. Share your unique perspective, whether inspired by ancient connections, everyday rhythms, or dreams of distant worlds. We invite artists to create and display work by submitting original art and poetry for an exhibition at the STC Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery March 5 – May 16, 2025. There will be an opening reception and awards on March 5, from 5 – 7 p.m. where participants will get a chance to win first, second, and third place. Participation is free and open to the public. All artwork must be ready to hang.

To participate, complete this entry form: THE MOON AS MUSE

The deadline to submit artwork or poetry is February 17, 2025 at 5 p.m. 

Artwork submissions can be dropped off to:

South Texas College Library
Gina Otvos, Bldg. F Rm. 235
3201 W Pecan Blvd.
McAllen, TX 78501

Poetry submissions can be emailed to: gotvos@southtexascollege.edu

Admission is free and open to the public.

The South Texas College Library Art Gallery Program organizes exhibitions and programs to engage students’ understanding of art and its role in culture, support the academic curriculum, and inspire continued education through direct engagement with artists, scholars, and original works of art.

For more information, contact 956-872-3488, gotvos@southtexascollege.edu or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryartgallery/.

Welcome to the Library

Current Announcements


Welcome to South Texas College Library! Join us as we highlight some of the services that we offer students, faculty, and the community in this short video.

Whether you need a quiet place to study, print out a research paper, or even find an ebook, the South Texas College Library is here to help. Come visit us!

 

Semester Loans

Current Announcements


The Semester Loan Programs provides academic support to students as they work to fulfill their educational goals by providing technology to access key tools and resources, including Library databases, eBooks, Blackboard, and other helpful online resources. Students wishing to receive one of these loans should review the eligibility requirements below before submitting an application.

There are limited hotspots and laptops available to any student enrolled in at least six hours of spring semester. When supplies are exhausted, eligible student names will be added to a wait list. When a resource becomes available, the student will be contacted.

Eligibility requirements

Available for students meeting the eligibility requirements.

 

Kim Phu and Jill Garcia: Muthagoose

Current & Upcoming Exhibits, Library Art Gallery, Mid-Valley Campus

Contemporary mixed-media artist duo from Austin to exhibit in Weslaco
Exhibit opens February 6th | Closing reception and artist talk April 3rd

South Texas College Mid-Valley Campus Library Art Gallery is proud to present a captivating mixed-media and installation exhibition by Kim Phu and Jill Garcia, the contemporary artist duo known as Muthagoose.

An artist talk and reception will take place on Thursday, April 3, 2025, from 10 to 11 a.m. During this event, Kim Phu and Jill Garcia will share their journey as artists, offering insights into their creative process and the inspiration behind their collaborative work.

The exhibit opens February 6th and will be on view until April 3, 2025 at the STC Mid-Valley Campus Library located at 400 N Border, Bldg. E, in Weslaco, TX. The exhibition and artist lecture are free and open to the public. For library hours and location, visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/aboutus/hourscontact/

Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with the artists and gain a deeper understanding of the themes and techniques featured in the exhibition.

Muthagoose is celebrated for their innovative and playful approach, creating large-scale murals, sculptural exhibits, and digital media installations. Their work explores themes such as societal norms, cultural traditions, mental health, and the complexities of modern life. They employ a variety of mediums, including found objects, sound frequencies, and interactive technologies, to craft unique and impactful art.

Their creative process starts with an open-minded commitment to “say yes” to ideas, allowing opportunities to flourish. Through extensive research and the blending of their distinct styles, they create structured, vintage-inspired pieces using diverse materials. This process results in works that are both thoughtful and engaging.

About the Artists

Kim Phu is an accomplished art director, interactive and web exhibit designer, and ceramist with a BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. She has collaborated with prestigious institutions and brands like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Nike, Nissan, Jimmy Dean, Sony PlayStation, and the National Historical Museum.

Jill Garcia is a versatile painter, sculptor, and mixed-media artist with a BA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her work blends iridescent cellophane with sculpture, installation, painting, needlework, and fiber art reflecting themes of nature, motherhood, and personal transformation. Inspired by her surroundings, she uses her art to explore the beauty and challenges of change.

Together, Muthagoose brings a dynamic, thought-provoking perspective to the art world, combining their unique talents to challenge conventions and spark meaningful conversations. This exhibition celebrates their collaborative vision and artistic innovation.

The STC Library Art Gallery curates exhibitions and educational programs to enhance student understanding of art, support academic curriculum and inspire continued education through direct engagement with artists, scholars and original works of art.

For more information, contact gotvos@southtexascollege.edu or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/muthagoose.

Liana V. Andreasen Author Reading

Author / Scholar Visit, Pecan Campus, Previous Events, Virtual Event

Author Talk Liana V. AndreasonSTC Faculty and author Liana V. Andreasen will read from her newly published book Whirl of Birds, a collection of short stories.

“The literary landscape of Whirl of Birds interlaces the spatial and temporal complexities of the mind, in narrative flickers and bursts. Whether we glimpse at the plight of Neanderthals in the depths of lost ages, or at the collapse of communism in the mirrors of a children’s theater, whether we’re uplifted by the triumph of friendship over poverty or watch the last cowboy in New York State struggle to save his business, we recognize how much we are driven by our passions. Strange, but all too human obsessions shape the characters: from rat hoarding to an infatuation with a sculpture, from lies we tell ourselves and others to encounters with the dead, readers are swept in whirls of time, chains of connectivity that can break like glass, the unseen that whispers in our ear. The twists and turns of these short stories create a restless world where self and other meet in glimpses. Each small moment becomes an earthquake that echoes through time, each life is wrestled out of its own darkness, to arrive at the one question that is worth asking.” — Finishing Line Press

Copies will be available for purchase courtesy of the STC Bookstore.

Join us in person at Pecan F102 or online through Zoom Webinar (registration link below).

Event Title: “Liana V. Andreasen Author Reading”
Speaker: Liana V. Andreasen
Date: Monday, November 18th 2024
Location: Pecan F102 and online through Zoom Webinar
Time: 2PM CST
Register for the online session: Link

Elephant eye

Visionaries: The Blind in Action

Pecan Campus, Previous Exhibits

Banner with painting of elephant
Exhibition Reception: Tues., Oct. 22 from 5 – 7 p.m. (Pecan Campus Library, 1st Floor)

The South Texas College Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery presents “Visionaries: The Blind in Action.” Visionaries is a nonprofit organization committed to bringing together the community through workshops and events that involve people who are blind and the wider community.

Macarena Peña, the exhibit’s organizer, began painting in 1997 and lost her sight two years later. In 2015, she co-founded the Visual Challenges Art Project in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind. This project enabled her to reignite her love for art and rediscover her artistic abilities. Peña will work with art students during a “Paint in the Dark” workshop where they will be blind folded and learn about the techniques she uses to paint.

On October 22, visitors can attend an artist reception from 5 to 7 p.m. to meet the artist, view their artworks, and enjoy light refreshments.

The exhibition will be available for viewing from October 22 to December 6, 2024 at the STC Pecan Campus Library, first floor.

For more information, call 956-872-3488, email gotvos@southtexascollege.edu, or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.