UTSA photo exhibit illustrates transnational research

(Sept. 2, 2003)--The University of Texas at San Antonio presents "Transnational Lives In San Antonio," an exhibit of photographs by Al Rendon and Bastienne Schmidt, through Sept. 30 at the UTSA Downtown Campus gallery, 501 West Durango Boulevard.

At left are photos from the exhibit by Schmidt (top) and Rendon (bottom).

Curated by Kathy Vargas, University of the Incarnate Word art department chair and UTSA alumna, and coordinated by Harriett Romo, associate professor of sociology, and Ellen Riojas Clark, associate professor of bicultural-bilingual studies, the exhibit is part of the research project "Knowledge, Culture and the Construction of Identity in a Transnational Community: San Antonio, Texas."

Participants in the research project were photographed to explore how lives are shaped in San Antonio, a multicultural city with many family, business, religious and political ties to Mexico.

According to Romo, principal investigator for the project, the use of photographs helps to convey concepts in research. Visual effects have a more personal effort on the viewer and make it "more real and human to the audience," she said.

The exhibit is part of Fotoseptiembre USA, a forum for the exhibition and celebration of photography and photography-based art forms. The forum is locally produced by the San Antonio Photography Festival (SAFOTO). Exhibit hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 10 a.m. to noon, Friday.

The exhibit is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation Creativity and Culture Fund. For more information, contact Carina Hurtado at 210-458-2849.