The city is commemorating 30 years since a key ordinance by making it easier for anyone to explore its public art collection.
SAN ANTONIO — A new tool introduced by the Department of Arts and Culture allows anyone with an Internet connection to browse San Antonio’s vast collection of public art—from its murals and sculptures to its installations and works of mixed media.
The online database allows the public to search through the city’s collection of 780 public works of art; users are able to filter by artist, art type or location. Each artwork contains detailed information about its influences and how it was created.
Click on the entry for Michael Menchaca’s “From Kelly Air Force to Port San Antonio,” for instance, and you’d learn about how Menchaca’s 4-foot-by-8-foot work found in Plaza de Armas reflects the community’s identity as Military City USA. Filter to Central Library and you’ll be able to make note of the 17 works on display for the next time you go rent a book.
The launch of the database was the city’s way of marking 30 years since the Public Art Ordinance went into effect; that ordinance ensures annual budget allocations to the creation of new public art in the Alamo City. Much of that art is easy to spot while driving around the city, from colors brightening up city underpasses and outsized depictions of childhood toys at certain intersections.
“Public art is not an add-on in San Antonio,” Krystal Jones, director of the Department of Arts and Culture, said in a release. “It’s part of our DNA. It tells our stories, shapes our identity and strengthens the path toward our future.”
According to the release, the city has 20 projects planned this year to help repair and conserve existing works of public art.