Day-long event to reveal mural art while bringing families together to go “up” in history
SAN ANTONIO – Sept. 13, 2021 – Travis Park Church has received authorization from the Office of Historic Preservation to move forward with its All Are Welcome, Love Conquers Hate mural project. The Certificate of Appropriateness was issued on August 6th, giving the greenlight to the installation of the almost 3500 sq. ft. original artwork that will overlook the Travis Park Church parking lot on Travis Street. The mural will be a monument to Travis Park Church’s 175th Anniversary, and the Raising Hope, Anchored in Faith fundraising effort.
The process to launch the Travis Park Church mural project began in May 2021 by enlisting local artists to consider merging aesthetics and styles while spotlighting social issues, diversity, and inclusivity. Artists were selected according to their willingness to complete a work that cultivated conversations surrounding acceptance, justice, and love. In all, six artists were chosen to work together:
- Albert Gonzalez
- Hailey Marmolejo
- Raisa Melendez
- Scotch Willington
- Rhys Munro
- Victor Zarazua*
*Sadly, before approval was received the project’s unofficial lead artist, Victor Zarazua, suffered a debilitating hemorrhage and is currently being hospitalized in South Carolina. Victor, who served as the Community Mural Coordinator at San Anto Cultural Arts is a mentor to a number of street artists. Despite this unfortunate situation the Travis Park Church mural project welcomes three additional artists, who will remain unnamed, that have stepped up to complete the installation of Victor’s design. The Zarzazua family will receive 100% of the original artist stipend awarded by Travis Park Church. To support Victor’s recovery visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/funds-4-supher
Travis Park Church is looking forward to the Installation of the mural to begin after a special day-long press conference/kick-off event on Tuesday, September 21, at Travis Park Church, 230 E. Travis Street and is currently seeking additional support from their downtown neighbors. The day’s festivities will center on family, local artists, music and food.
The day will kick-off with the special sneak reveal followed by an artist market where artists will present their work. In addition, the Community Prime & Paint Party will invite downtown neighbors to get hands-on with this new monument by picking up a paint brush and helping to fill in a 100 x 20-foot area with primer.
Event Details
11 AM – 12 Noon: Press Conference and Artwork Reveal
1 PM – 4 PM: Lunch with Mural Artists, featured Food Trucks x Art Sale
6 PM – 8 PM: Community Prime and Paint Party
To learn more about Travis Park Church 175th Anniversary and Fundraiser please visit https://raisinghope.travispark.org/
ABOUT TRAVIS PARK CHURCH
Established in 1846, Travis Park Church is grounded in history and vision. Founded by the Rev. John Wesley DeVilbiss, missionary to The Republic of Texas, who in 1844 preached the first protestant sermon ever heard in San Antonio and in 1946 organized the congregation in the courthouse. Today, the people of Travis Park Church continue seeking to make the world a better place through “unconditional love and action”. Travis Park Church is affiliated with the Reconciling Ministries Network, a group of congregations and groups worldwide which have adopted statements welcoming people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. In 2019, Travis Park Church hosted and sheltered over 23,000 asylum seekers coming through San Antonio to travel to their designated host homes. Each and every week Travis Park Church, alongside Corazon Ministries, serves over 800 homeless individuals with warm meals, medical care, and supportive services. To learn more visit https://travispark.org/.
