Poetry and Public Art Combine to Create a New West Side Pocket Park

Published on June 07, 2023

Poet’s Pointe is a community space that features ceramic murals and poems by local artists which reflect on themes of the surrounding neighborhood.

SAN ANTONIO (June 7, 2023) — The City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture has announced the completion of Poet’s Pointe located at the intersection of West Magnolia Ave. and West Mistletoe Ave. (2509 W Mistletoe Ave.) in Council District 7. This new pocket park was designed by San Antonio artists Kim Bishop and Luis Valderas and is an inviting space that celebrates visual art and prose by artists who live in the neighborhood. The project also incorporates San Antonio Poet Laureate (2018-2020) Octavio Quintanilla’s signature initiative and features shade structures, seating, flora and meandering paths.

An official dedication ceremony and community event will take place on Saturday, June 10, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and will include a ribbon cutting ceremony with District 7 Councilwoman Rosie Castro, light refreshments and a poetry reading by Quintanilla.

“This project gave us an opportunity to create a place where the future of this community can gather, meditate and perform while they look up to the sky and contemplate the most important question —'What if?’,” said collaborative artists Bishop and Valderas.

Initiated as a portion of the Seeling Channel floodplain capital improvements project, the Department of Arts & Culture worked with the lead artists duo to create an opportunity for community connection, beautification and placemaking for the neighborhood.

“This is an example of how thoughtful and intentional public art design can be used to create a multi-use setting for enjoying the outdoors, socializing, reading and creating,” said Department of Arts & Culture Executive Director Krystal Jones. “Through this functional artwork we hope contribute to a healthy, connected community and creating memorable experiences for all.” 

Lead artists Bishop and Valderas invited seven multi-disciplinary artists from Council District 7 to participate in this project. Quintanilla invited four San Antonio Poets Laureate and two poets with ties to Council District 7. This collaboration resulted in the creation of original artworks and poetry inspired by natural elements, water, the sun and nearby street names Magnolia, Mistletoe, Morning Glory, Mulberry and Huisache. 

"Having a public space in this city that speaks to our love of art and poetry is special; not many exist in the United States,” said Quintanilla. “Now residents, and in particular the people who live in this neighborhood, can come and enjoy the art, the poems and maybe even be inspired to make their own. This is exactly what I envisioned for my Legacy Project as Poet Laureate: a space for us to come together and share our love for the arts, a space that would be accessible to our children so that they can grow up exposed to art and poetry and learn how enriching these can be to our collective and personal lives."

Poet’s Pointe features: 

• Lead Artists and Curators: Kim Bishop and Luis Valderas (Bishop & Valderas, LLC)
• Poems curated by Octavio Quintanilla and created by poets Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, Dr. Carmen Tafolla, Eddie Vega, Octavio Quintanilla, Jenny Browne, Joshua Robbins and Natalia Treviño 
• Artworks curated by Kim Bishop & Luis Valderas and created by artists Brandy Gonzalez, Cody Vance, Debora Kuetzpal Vasquez, David Zamora Casas, Jose Balli, Margaret Craig and Norma Jean Moore

Learn more about the Department of Arts & Culture’s Public Art Program at SanAntonio.gov/Arts and follow @GetCreativeSA.