Alamo Colleges District Hosts First Visual and Performing Arts Summit

A new chapter for arts and culture is unfolding at the Alamo Colleges District.

On Friday, April 11, the district hosted its first Visual and Performing Arts Summit at its ACCESS Building. The event – organized by the district’s Arts, Culture, and Community Impact team – united ACD faculty and staff and local and national partners to co-create a future of expanded arts access throughout the community.

ACD Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores opened the summit by reinforcing the district’s commitment to embedding the arts across the Alamo Colleges. 

“Our goal is to uplift and integrate the arts as a part of the colleges and the district—having the arts live at the heart of everything we do,” Flores said. “Creativity fuels innovation, not just in the arts but in science, engineering, and beyond. And as faculty, you play a critical and vibrant role in building those connections, individually as artists and collectively within the community.”

As an opportunity to highlight visual & performing arts, faculty at each of the five Alamo Colleges showcased their accomplishments during a college briefing. The briefings allowed attendees to learn from each other, including innovative projects, best practices, and campus improvements that create transformative opportunities for arts students. 

Attendees also heard from a national arts panel that included:

• Jenny Chowning, Arts and Culture Administrator, City of San Antonio
• Justin Witte, Curator and Director, Cleve Carney Museum of Art at College of DuPage
• Steven Y. Wong, Director, Vincent Price Art Museum and adjunct professor, East Los Angeles College

“The role of community colleges is to cultivate engaged citizens who commit to critical thinking and the arts. We need a generation of curious people who understand how the arts work,” Chowning said.

Dr. Eric Castillo, Associate Vice Chancellor of Arts, Culture, and Community Impact for the Alamo Colleges District, shared that the summit was a meaningful step forward in uniting the district's arts departments. 

The district’s Arts, Culture, and Community Impact team plans on reconvening the summit in the near future as part of its plan to ensure every student has access to high-quality arts experiences.