SAN ANTONIO, TX.- The DoSeum announced San Antonio-based artists Amada Miller and Mark Menjivar as the institution’s 2019 Artists in Residence. Now in its third year, The DoSeum’s Artists in Residence program presents the work of professional artists who create socially engaged works of art that introduce children and their families to Contemporary Art in a kid-friendly environment. By interacting with Menjivar and Miller’s work, children will be introduced to both the artistic process and its products, connecting them through the intersection of the arts and sciences. The installations will be on view November 21, 2019 to January 12, 2020.

Menjivar and Miller were chosen by The DoSeum’s own art committee, which carefully reviewed and evaluated a wide number of applications by highly qualified artists who presented thought-provoking and creatively appealing proposals. Each artist will present a unique exhibition, and while both installations will be distinct from each other, they are both engaging works that allow the arts to embody action and reflection on our natural world.

For his presentation Mark Menjivar will bring the hobby of bird-watching to The DoSeum with his exhibition Birding The DoSeum. The bird wildlife autochthonous to South Texas will inhabit The DoSeum in the form of life-sized bird photographs printed on aluminum boxes that also serve to emit the sound of each bird. As families walk through The DoSeum, they will be invited to look, listen, and explore the lives of birds throughout The museum. This socially engaged, participatory project will invite visitors to explore not only The DoSeum but also the world around them through the act of birding.

Amada Miller, in turn, invites us to look outward into space and imagine what it smells like! With Making Scents of Outer Space Miller presents a multi-sensory experience that includes taking off from Earth and ending in a visit to a black hole. Each stop of the journey includes the smells one might encounter at those locations. This is achieved through Miller’s compilation of scientific research and interviews with astronauts who helped her determine a list of smells one might encounter while traveling through space. As families explore scent stations and sensory pods, they will learn more about the planets and stars that make up our solar system. Guests will also participate in hands-on activities that highlight scent as an art form and a link to memory and experience.

Previous AIR artists include Richard Armendariz, Calder Kamin, and Gregorio Mannino.
Armendariz inaugurated the program with his Dream Keeper exhibit. Kamin and Mannino created original installations that accompanied The DoSeum’s Dream Tomorrow Today Tricentennial exhibit.