Crushed glass, mirrors, jewels and pearls, dried flowers, seashells, lotería cards—these are just some of the myriad objects that multimedia artist Amalia Mesa-Bains incorporates into her immersive installations. This fall, the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) will host Mesa-Bain’s first retrospective, Archaeology of Memory, to celebrate her many valuable contributions to contemporary art over her 45-year career.

The influential Chicana artist and cultural critic is well-known for pioneering the genre of altar-installation. Using everyday objects instilled with meaning, Mesa-Bains creates room-size altares (home altars), ofrendas (offerings to the dead), descansos (roadside resting places), and capillas (home yard shrines) that honor Chicano culture and help bring Chicana art to the forefront of contemporary American art.

In addition to showing 40 works created from 1991 to 2024 across a variety of media, this exhibition will premiere a new large-scale sculpture that explores Cihuatlampa, a celestial space that represents the afterlife of women who died in childbirth.

As part of a full slate of thematic programming in conjunction with the exhibition, SAMA will also host a movie screening; art studios for kids and teens; and the unveiling of an ofrenda designed by Mesa-Bains in honor of Emma Tenayuca, a San Antonian labor and civil rights activist.

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Event details

When: Sept. 20, 2024 through Jan. 12, 2025

Where: San Antonio Museum of Art, Cowden Gallery

Tickets: $22 for adults, $17 for seniors and military members, and $12 for students; kids age 12 or younger are free