San Antonio’s Street Art Initiative transforms the city into a vibrant, colorful, and culturally-rich destination.
San Antonio’s Street Art Initiative (SASAI) unveils the first project in a series of beautification initiatives is AREA Real Estate’s Midtown Station parking lot, and the results are incredibly dope! Curated by artists Shek Vega and Nik Soupè of Los Otros Murals, SASAI’s goal is to establish a city where street art is abundant and local street artists can showcase their works. The Midtown Station parking lot, below Interstate 35, has brought together 16 artists to create 16 unique art pieces on the highway’s columns. Other artist collaborators include Robert Tatum, Angela Fox, Cruz Ortiz, Andy Benavides, and Paul Garson.
“It came out better than we ever could have hoped for. Taking a liability and making it into an asset. That’s the dream of a real estate developer.” David Adelman
The parking lot was recently built to support Midtown Station’s 17,000-square-foot-plus retail footprint. David Adelman, Principal of AREA Real Estate wanted to give the structure a boost of energy to break through the stale shades of concrete gray. Soon after, he and co-developer Barclay Anthony tapped into the creative energy of SASAI, and brought them to bring the structure to life. “One great example of using art to create a sense of place is Wynwood Walls in Miami. It used to be this beat up, run down industrial area until a developer came in, commissioned some street art and it became an attraction. It really helped out the neighborhood, which is what we want to do too,” Adelman said. “It came out better than we ever could have hoped for. Taking a liability and making it into an asset. That’s the dream of a real estate developer.”
For street artists like Vega, there is no better validation then to have your work featured on a public facade.
From the underground to above the surface
For street artists like Vega, the parking lot at the corner of East Quincy and North St. Mary’s streets and its columns provided a unique canvas to create upon and help turn an underutilized space into something more. There is no better validation for an artist than to have their work featured on a public facade.
“Most people drive under the highway and don’t think twice about it. Now, they’re passing a huge outdoor gallery for people to enjoy,” said Vega. “It’s a great space with many more columns that we could transform.” San Antonio continues to make it’s mark on street art and we look forward to seeing the cityscape transform.\
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