Juneteenth: An Artistic Celebration of Freedom

June brings summer vacations, longer daylight, and celebrations of both Pride and Juneteenth. Across San Antonio, galleries and businesses have marked the occasion throughout the month. At Artpace and Luminaria’s pop-up, their current exhibitions reflect on the legacy of Juneteenth through artworks that honor Black history, culture, and creativity.

Robert Hodge, Spaceships Don’t Come Equipped with Rearview Mirrors, 2021. Mixed media on reclaimed paper, acrylic, and cotton. Image courtesy of Madison Vrazel.

Though the 13^th Amendment officially abolished slavery in December 1865, Juneteenth commemorates the day freedom finally reached Texas – two months after the Civil War ended. Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, formally emancipating slaves in the state. This initiated a yearly celebration formed by prior enslaved individuals who would return to Galveston to celebrate the day they were informed about their freedom.

Futures Past: Reflections for Juneteenth at Artpace features past International Artist-In-Residence artists Robert Hodge, Isaac Julien, Cauleen Smith, and Wangechi Mutu. Robert Hodge’s Spaceships Don’t Come Equipped with Rearview Mirrors draws on African American history and culture, with the work’s title, carved directly into the paper, referencing lyrics from the UGK and Outkast song “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You).” Three cotton bolls are placed in the carved letters, a reminder of the intense field labor many slaves experienced. The burned, repurposed paper is stitched together with thread in several areas, as slaves would have done to continually patch up their own clothing. All a reference to a legacy of labor and survival under slavery.

Wangechi Mutu, Histology of the Different Classes of Uterine Tumors, 2005. Collaged digital prints. Image courtesy of Madison Vrazel.

Wangechi Mutu’s Histology of the Different Classes of Uterine Tumors consists of twelve collaged digital prints, mixing images from various medical diagrams and women’s magazines. Mutu’s collaged faces have exaggerated features that reflect racist cartoons used as propaganda during the Civil War and Jim Crow eras. Since slaves were seen as property, the legs and other various organs that encompass these faces insinuate the exploitation and dehumanization of Black bodies.

At the Luminaria pop-up at the Aiden Hotel, A Celebration of Culture features artists Kaldric Dow, Kwanzaa Edwards, Ohso Fabone, Barbara Felix, Deborah A. Harris, Josiah Harris, Theresa Newsome, Katlyn Powell, and Angela Weddle. Co-curated by Andrea V. Rivas and Dow, this exhibition invites the viewer to celebrate Black culture through stunning portraits, political themes, and allegorical works.

Barbara Felix, Bailando con Mi Misma - La Serenata (Dancing with My Self - The Serenade). Oil & watercolor monotype with acrylic. Image courtesy of Madison Vrazel.

Juneteenth is a celebration and Barbara Felix’s Bailando con Mi Misma - La Serenata (Dancing with My Self - The Serenade) channels joy and intimacy through two dancers in a passionate dip. The woman wears a red dress; a color often associated with Juneteenth to honor the bloodshed and resilience of enslaved ancestors. Red foods like watermelon and red velvet cake are common at Juneteenth gatherings, tying ritual to cultural memory.  

Juneteenth celebrations can also entail a variety of African customs. Ohso Fabone’s Scintillation highlights the vivacious colors of African textiles through her use of paint, fabric, and other mediums. Although her eyes are closed, the woman in the foreground commands attention. She adorns an elegant hairstyle and pigment-rich makeup and is placed in front of a psychedelic pattern of colors. Storytelling and other verbal narratives are shared during Juneteenth, to keep stories and traditions alive for generations to come. As if listening to these recollections, the woman possesses a meditative state, absorbing everything being told to her.

Ohso Fabone, Scintillation. Mixed media. Image courtesy of Madison Vrazel.

Juneteenth is not just a reminder of the atrocities the but also celebration of liberation. At The Aiden, I kept returning to Theresa Newsome’s Butcher Sisters. The framed archival pigment print shows two different hands laying over green vegetation. The hands in this piece made me reflect on what the hands of the enslaved endured every single day before (and after) they were freed. Hands carry a lot of meaning in Black culture: symbols of power, freedom, and resilience.

The incredible works at Artpace and the Luminaria Pop Up Art Gallery offer powerful meditations on these themes. Through personal and political works, they honor Juneteenth as both history and living tradition. It’s a moment to reflect on the past and imagine new futures.   

Luminaria Pop Up Art Gallery’s A Celebration of Culture at The Aiden San Antonio will be on view until July 11. Futures Past: Reflections for Juneteenth will be on view at Artpace through the summer.

This article was made possible by the generous support of Keeley Coker, a Viva Arte Art Advocate. Want to help us highlight more local stories? Learn how to support Viva Arte.