Throughout an entire decade, one of UTEP’s buildings has showcased an array of artwork, spread creativity and given students the opportunity to learn and express themselves through their art.
This year, the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, which has been the art mecca of the UTEP community, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The celebration will feature art galleries, exhibitions and even a gala that will take place at the Epic Railyard Center, located at 2201 E. Mills Ave.
The Rubin Center has been home to more than 100 exhibitions of contemporary art. Along with new exhibitions, the celebration will feature guest speakers.
“With each exhibition, we host a roster of visiting artists and curators, offering our geographically isolated community a direct experience with contemporary practitioners of international recognition and importance,” said Kerry Doyle, director of the Rubin Center. “Visiting artists create site-specific installations, give public lectures and conduct workshops for UTEP students, high school students and local artists.”
Some of the artwork showcased in this center comes from artists who come from the United States and Latin America. Artists from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East have also been showcased at the exhibits.
All of the art galleries at the center have been supported and recognized by various or-ganizations such as the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts,the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, the Lannan Foundation and the Leonard Nimoy Foundation.
According to Doyle, the Rubin Center has offered three shows that signify their best work; “Contra Fluj,” “Maximo Gonzalez: Magnificent Warning” and “CUADRO with Machine Project.”
“Contra Flujo” represented the relationship of contemporary art in Latin America, having a strong cross-border component in partnership with a Ciudad Juárez museum. “Maxi-mo Gonzalez: Magnificent Warning” was a visually strong exhibition that consisted of a light installation of 300 individual light elements. Finally, “CUADRO with Machine Project” was an exhibition that portrayed the work of students and emerging artists in the community.
All these exhibitions have represented an opportunity and a resource for art students and the general public to have more exposure to different artistic themes.
“The Rubin Center is a resource place for students, it has a great accessibility for all students, especially from the art department,” said Alonzo Martinez, senior art major at UTEP. “I include myself since they gave me the opportunity to be an intern through means of a class elective, and granted me with the opportunity to work closely with some of their events to come.”
From Nov. 5 through Nov. 8, the Rubin Center will offer a series of exhibitions and art presentations. Nov. 5 will open with an exhibition called “Territory of the Imagination,” a collective art project by Tomás Saracen. The Rubin Center Auditorium will hold a conference on Nov. 6 called “Space Without Rockets.” To close the celebration, on Nov. 8, the center will have the public unveiling of a sculpture called “Becoming Aerosolar” by Tomás Saracen.
The Rubin Center gala, which will take place at the Epic Railyard Center, took about 18 months to create, according to Doyle.
There will be live artistic performances by Knee Jerk and Xochitl Rodriguez, live screen printing by Jason Lucero, Zeke Pena and Los Dos.
“The gala promises to be a very exciting event. The location will be one of a kind,” Martinez said. “The Epic Railyard Center is an old factory of windows and doors built in 1917, which has been restored to be a chic rustic event venue. The place is stunning.”
Musical performances will include Grau Jazz, DJ Souldies, and a concert from The Chamanas.
“As we prepare to celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2015, we are reaffirming our commitment to bringing world-class contemporary art to our border community, and simulta-neously taking some important steps to expand the impact and resonance of that programming,” Doyle said. “We have tripled our audience in the last three years and have a great mix of students, faculty and community members at all of our events.”
Tickets for the gala cost $50 for the entire evening and $10 after 10 p.m. for UTEP students.
For more information about the Rubin Center gala and their 10th anniversary exhibitions, visit rubin.utep.edu or call at (915) 747-6151.
Fernanda Leon may be reached at [email protected]
