The Big Wave! & Merit Artist Show

November 24 - December 31

All Galleries

Reception Saturday, December 9, 2023


Running November 24, 2023, through January 7, 2024, the Big Wave! Annual All-Members Exhibition will feature works from nearly 200 of RCA’s talented member artists, along with Merit Artist, showcasing three juried member artists from last year’s Big Wave! exhibition.

Spanning the H-E-B, Mendez Family, and Jeanie and Bill Wyatt galleries, Big Wave! will include more than 200 original works, such as paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and pottery. This year’s Merit Artist exhibition will be displayed in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery with works by Al Kline, Emily McCauley, and the late Joyce Combs, selected by 2022 Big Wave jurors, sculptor Greg Reuter and RCA board members Lucy Nye and Kelly Schaub. 

This year’s Big Wave! guest juror will be Michelle Smythe, executive director of K-Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi, who will have the honor of selecting the three participants for next year’s Merit Artist show. The artists will be announced at a special reception on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 5–7 p.m., which is free and open to the public, and features work available for purchase from both exhibitions. The reception will be part of the final Austin Street Art Walk of the year, a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport.