MEDIA CONTACT:

Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Manager

(361) 729-5519 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com

ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS FEATURES MEMBER ARTISTS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Annual all-members exhibition features hundreds of original works; merit artist show celebrates 40 years

ROCKPORT, Texas (Oct. 24, 2024) — Running Nov. 22, 2024, through Jan. 23, 2025, The Big Wave! Annual All-Members Exhibition will feature works from more than 200 of RCA’s talented member artists, along with the popular Standing Out: 2024 Merit Artists show, Nov. 1 through Jan. 5, 2025, showcasing three juried member artists from The Big Wave! 2023 exhibition.

Now in its 40th year, Standing Out will be showcased in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery featuring paintings by Abbagail Medrano of Calallen, photography by John Morris of Padre Island, and painting and collage work from Natasha Bajema of Rockport. All were selected for inclusion from the The Big Wave! 2023 show by guest juror, Michelle Smythe, executive director of K-Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi.

The opening reception celebrating the 2024 Merit Artists and featuring their work for purchase will be held in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 5-7 p.m. The reception, which is free and open to the public, is part of the monthly Austin Street Artwalk, a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport.

Spanning the H-E-B, Mendez Family, and Jeanie and Bill Wyatt galleries, The Big Wave! once again includes more than 200 original works, including paintings, sculptures, photography, and more. This year’s guest juror for The Big Wave! will be Joe Schenk, the former director of the Art Museum of South Texas (AMST) who retired in 2019. During his career, he worked at eight museums in six states, serving as a museum director for 42 years, juried dozens of shows, and curated numerous exhibitions, some of which toured nationally and internationally.

Schenk will have the honor of selecting three artists to be recognized as Merit Artists in next year’s Standing Out exhibition, the announcement of which will come during The Big Wave! artist reception,  Saturday, Dec. 14, from 5–7 p.m. All displayed art featured in The Big Wave! will be available for purchase during the reception, a free event that is part of the final Austin Street Art Walk of the year.

“The annual all-member show is a favorite for many, myself included, as it highlights an incredible variety of art from our family of amazing artists and provides an opportunity for an elite group to stand out as Merit Artists the following year,” said Luis Purón, executive director of RCA. “We are so pleased to have Joe Schenk serve as our guest juror this year. His years of expertise make him the perfect choice as he brings a keen eye and understanding of art in all forms to the process of choosing three worthy representatives for next year’s Standing Out event.”

For more information on the The Big Wave! Annual All-Members Exhibition and Standing Out: 2024 Merit Artists, visit rockportartcenter.com follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.

About Rockport Center for the Arts

The new 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts, the Coastal Bend’s first multidisciplinary arts organization, is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); The Rockport Conference Center, a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. The hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For information on event space, or to book an event, call (361) 450-8033. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.

About Austin Street Art Walk

Austin Street Art Walk is a collective effort of the Rockport Center for the Arts and Moon Over Water Gallery in partnership with Rockport galleries, restaurants, and businesses located along Austin Street in the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Scheduled the second Saturday of each month, April through December, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Art Walk is a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring an ever-changing mix of participants and art mediums such as paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, textiles, as well as live music, artist demonstrations, food and more. Follow us on Facebook for more information.

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