Virtual Art Exhibit for "Hidden Gems of the 956" coming soon
From July 31 to August 7, viewers will get to walk through the halls of an exhibit filled with artwork from Rio Grande Valley artists, all from their phone and computer screens. The project is run by Ramiro Gonzalez, who is known for his blog “OutInThe956.” He covers local creatives and activists through his stories and interviews. Like his blog, the goal of this virtual project is to showcase those who Gonzalez calls “the hidden gems of the 956.”
Gonzalez got his start in the local music and art community as a program director for UTRGV Radio. One of their programs was dedicated to local music where he invited bands and singers to be guests. He graduated in December but his network in the community continued to grow, eventually leading to him sharing his local discoveries in his blog. His exhibit is meant to address the indifference toward local art. “The theme is about showing people who say ‘there’s no talent in the valley, no creativity,” that there is great talent here,” Gonzalez says.
His progress with building the exhibit has been difficult. After getting passed the learning curve of using Kunstmatrix software, his house has been without electricity due to Hurricane Hanna. “I have to charge my laptop at my dad’s workplace for now. Thankfully my neighbors let me sit outside and use their wi-fi, but it’s made it harder to finish this,” Gonzalez says.
One of the virtual rooms of Gonzalez’s exhibit
The project was paid for out-of-pocket with no sponsors and there will be no fees for viewing the exhibit. Instead, there will be links to purchase the music and art or to commission the artist for work. There will also be a link to donate to the RGV Mutual Aid Hurricane Hanna Relief Fund.
Each participant contributed four or five works of their choosing. The list of artists and musicians were included on the flyer, and their Instagram tags were included in the comments of this post here for the audience to follow.
When the exhibit is available for viewing, a link will be posted on Gonzalez’s website and Instagram page. For those who do not get to see it in time, Gonzalez has plans to archive the project. He also would like to create another exhibit for artists he couldn’t include due to the limited virtual space. “I'll do another one some other time,” Gonzalez says. “I know how to use the software now, so it shouldn’t be as hard, but when this whole social isolation thing is over, I want people to keep going to art exhibits and to local concerts. Check out those $3 events at the local house shows. There’s so much to see around here.”
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