Local artist group “Visionaries” showcases artwork at STC’s Mid-Valley campus library
Exhibit Reception: April 9 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. at the STC Mid-Valley Campus Library

The South Texas College Mid-Valley Campus Library Art Gallery showcases a mixed-media exhibit of 13 artworks called, “Visions of the Heart” by local artist group Visionaries: The Blind in Action will be introduced in an exhibit reception on April 9.

Visionaries: The Blind in Action 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 Pena, 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.

This exhibit includes community artists Mary Rios, Samantha Lopez, Jesus Garza, Macarena Pena, Zorayda Pulido, Dali Cantu, Carolina Gonzalez, Alejandra Perez, Reyna Wadhawan, Juani Rodriguez and Gabriel Pinon.

The “Visions of the Heart” exhibit will be available for viewing at the STC Mid-Valley Campus Library, located at 400 N. Border in Weslaco. The exhibit will be open from March 1 to May 1, 2024.

On April 9, visitors can attend an artist reception from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. During this event, visitors can meet the artists, view their artworks, and enjoy light refreshments. The event and exhibit are free and open to the public.

The South Texas College Library Art Gallery curates exhibitions and educational programs to foster student understanding of art, support the academic curriculum and inspire engagement with artists, scholars and original works of art.

For more information, call 956-488-5820, email gotvos@southtexascollege.edu, or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.

visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.

Contemporary Ghanaian artist explores themes from traditional ceramic and mixed-media art at STC’s Mid-Valley Library Art Gallery.

South Texas College Library Art Gallery presents artist Japheth Asiedu-Kwarteng’s ceramic and mixed media exhibit. Asiedu-Kwarteng was born in Ghana and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Illinois State University. He was awarded a fellowship through the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and has exhibited on the east and west coast of the U.S. Asiedu-Kwarteng has previously served as a studio and lab Teaching Technician in ceramics for eight years at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He is now a Lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas.

“My work acknowledges the legacy of Ghanaian ceramics history and contemporary presence without restriction and often utilizes complex cultural symbols, such as those associated with Kente, the meanings of which are specific, layered, and nuanced. I make an imminently contemporary statement and exemplify an approach to my work which transcends form and questions the relationship between tradition and modernity, cultural exchange, and tension.”

There will be an artist talk and reception on March 6 from 10 to 11 a.m.

The exhibit opens on Wednesday, February 7, and will be on view until April 30, 2024. The display and event will be at the South Texas College Mid-Valley Library Art Gallery, E-1.210, located at 400 N. Border in Weslaco, TX.

The exhibition and reception are free of charge and open to everyone who wishes to attend.

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

For more information, call 956-447-6663, email gotvos@southtexascollege.edu, or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.