How Does Community Loose Connection
San Marcos Studio Tour Kickoff Party, Mothership Studios
In San Marcos TX there’s an Art Gallery located on the side of Highway 80, going towards Martindale. Sandwiched in-between two auto repair shops (one for tires and one for motors). Opened and running (sounds & all) right next to a small female owned Art Gallery called Mothership Studios. It’s an uncommon space to display art. Which makes an intriguing space to observe art. Is being Intriguing enough when art dissipates from a gallery’s main attraction? First on the context in the importance of an alternative space for art like Mothership. Alternative galleries deviate from the all too common white walled neutral-floored display. White walls and empty space being a passed down tradition from late modern and early contemporary display. This concept of the clean background, so as to not distract from the art. Isn’t one that all artists fully give into. Sometimes a little deviation using another art form causes a higher immersive experience for an audience. The white wall standard does fit comfortably within Art Fairs, transactional spaces, and the art market. These places often must keep neutrality. Albeit sometimes too polished. The white cube keeps things upright, photographable, and consumable. As long as there has been an appropriate time and place for the white wall majority. The most common way professional art is to be displayed. There have been spaces created to push against everything the white walls represent. Often a push back against a not so overarching “standard”. Standards created by some academic authority over others, and an over-centering of one’s own beliefs. We are in an interesting time as the intrigue and need for alternative spaces is growing. In America many live in a climate of rising sociopolitical frustrations that has been on a steady incline. Masses have fully circled right back into a 1970s punk throttled belief. To be raw and unafraid. To push back the things that push you down. To help other alternatives believe in who they are despite the mainstream. The difference in the punk sentiment we have now is we are no longer living in a 1970s United States. With the internet, social media, and Post-Industrial Capitalism. Beginning in the 90s even the punks have claimed “punk is dead”. As commercialization sunk into punk culture. Alternative spaces fell into a weird gray space. Where nonprofits have become almost deficient. Putting money on the backs of their supporters. Almost punching each other in the face to donate. Everyone is on a grind to make being “alternative” work in this new climate. There isn’t, unlike the white cube, An alternative standard. Often, it’s keeping things public, affordable, and interesting. That’s Mothership studios. Located in central Texas on that little highway 80 I mentioned before. 8 studios and a 360ft main gallery space stand tall and proud. all hand built, and female owned. This art space takes up the main and only large gallery space for San Marcos based artists. The Texas art scene has empty boots to fill. Not much money coming to the south eager to explore art. As I Texan myself I’d say there’s not much of a widespread cultural foundation in knowing how to start. However, there is bursting at the seam’s potential in the rapid growth of artists in Texas. Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Marfa. All big hitters with museums well known across the state and the country. With TX so widespread that each city offers something new and exciting. More and more spaces for artists have been established and grow. Smaller TX towns are creating art roots. In central TX alone San Angelo, Lockheart, Wimberley, and San Marcos are placing down some local art and galleries that create so much buzz it reaches surrounding big cities to come and see. San Marcos, the location of Mothership studios, is really a lovely spot. With spring fed publicly accessible flowing water, a college that keeps the young people coming in, and personality that keeps the locals staying. San Marcos has all the art opportunity I’ve been talking about. Other than the San Marcos art league. A small quant gallery along the central square. The main gallery of San Marcos was created in 2020. An Alternative art space offering affordable artists space and community events. Hosting all types on the behalf of San Marcos art. Beginning in 2022 Mothership started a town wide event called The San Marcos Studio Tour. This year 2025 being their Third Annual. Alongside being the largest Tour yet! Largest, In the number of local artists featured, and the largest team involved in managing the whole event. More money, more talent, and more sponsors than the previous years too boot. To Kick off this self-guided tour. Where participants travel using a map created by mothership. To local artist’s own self-curated galleries In their personal studios, homes, and college classrooms. Practically everyone in and out of the arts participates in some shape or form. To kick off the whole two weekend wide event. Mothership hosts an appropriately titled ‘Kick Off Party’. Featuring local art, DJ sets, venders, sponsors, merch table, four sections of in-house artist and a main gallery full of all locally made art. Celebrating the success of the locals and event. The night of April 4th, 2025, The Event opened. Without even making it fully through to the front garage doors. I was kindly bombarded with all this energy. Everyone was working and running around, passer-byers, friends and unknown show-goers. All moving in a flow throughout the gallery. Through the doors with some free alcohol, and thoughts of a food truck I’ll go to later. I was inside Mothership. First while walking into this space, you think how incredible it is that everything fits. A straight large-scale garage with homemade walls and small rooms are put up. On one of the indoors roofs there were DJ sets circulating. Past the main gallery were smaller individual artists sections. One in particular was painted with a set up immersive picture cave. Like in a 90s Goth bedroom, hung colored lights and fabrics drabbed the black walls. A shrine participation piece to David Lynch honorably took up a corner. Twin Peaks plays on a loop on a small tv above the shrine. In the back there’s some “is it art or a pile of rocks?” stacked into a corner. On further inspection I found it to be both art and a pile of rusted steel. Without many indicators to it being art. As it sat on the same wall as the only bathroom. The back held the aforementioned pile, the bathroom, and the bar. Free drinks as the eye can see, and people do see. The line stands long and as the night goes on the laughter gets louder and the drinks keep coming. The last thing I want to do at a gallery with my art, is for it to be a glorified social event. Where people might easily spill their drink next to hundreds of hours of work. Which did happen, as I saw a man get his drink and instantly spill it in the gallery a few yards away. I cringed at the awkward clean up. As the man went right back to the bar and got another double pour. Nothing stopping anyone from indulging. On reflection on the gallery and the art itself inside Motherships space. Theres not much to say. I loved and liked most of everything (although I do just love local art at its core). The hanging was nice aside from a couple of pieces missing their labels completely. With everything in full swing around it. Sadly, the art didn’t stand a chance against the thick wall of energy surrounding the Kick Off. Maybe at cause is the curation. A rather random walk through. The hanging was well done, but what sat next to the other didn’t seem to have much forethought. Though I must think that is a fact dedicated to Motherships Fuck you I’m Art mentality. An emulation of that raw punk quality without the authenticity. I love the intent of Mother ship. But with donation signs littering every wall. The merch being uninspired and I hate to say boring. the same feeling I got from seeing this show. Was the feeling of watching your favorite Austin public space become a business. It’s the circle of community oriented marketing. What’s so bad about asking for money from your community when they know what it is going into? I completely understand that an organization needs to support their business aspects. You cannot, not think about profit. This is that alternative gray space that our modern world impacts on, and makes authenticity feel so off. Maybe I felt off because after my first drink I, and the people around me were already buzzed. Should I care about donating if it’s about getting free drinks at the next event. I understand the celebration. Theres a lot of excitement that happens when you do what Motherships done. We must celebrate joy and pride in building something from the ground up. Especially now when it is so rare and needed. Though, I find there to be loss of translation between Mothership and the community their reaching out to. Of course, just from the turnout alone this was a success. I’m just not quite buying what Mothership is selling. In all honesty I don’t want to be sold too. I can do that at an Art Market. I want to be talked to. I want to not only have conversations with the artists. I want to listen to art. Not see it be a selected background for a frat party. Which is, by the end of the night reminiscent of one. Motherships sloppy attempts to be socially hip. With free drinks and live music. Had me loosing connection to the art. I doubt that Mothership is attempting to alienate. They are all hard-working artists and organizers, strong needed forces in community. Though with this being the first large scale art gallery in San Marcos. I worry the pedestal is already being held too high for others not involved to reach. Where does it leave the supporters? Coming off motherships high, gaining nothing but a new tote bag and a hangover. Motherships speak about an importance of artists as a community on their website. Though, when your community has seemed to become an inner sanctum. We now have this cult like appreciation. Rather than being taken in by the curiosity of art. Being allured with free drinks, social banter, and their provided setting for it all to take place in. I see so much passion bubbling all around mothership. Talent that doesn’t quit. It hurts when I feel I’ve drifted away from my love for this gallery. With the whole event being disorganized and chocked up to another night of drinking. It took San Marcos a decade to dismantle Texas States “Party School” label in high school admissions. I don’t want the same for this town’s first alternative Gallery space. I hope the best for Mothership. I hope the best for the ones I know who also see flaws. Instead of letting cracks grow we must fill them. Make art the foreground not the background.