As I write this, Sabrina Zarco is preparing to pack up all the art quilts and mixed media paintings she’s been hard at work on for the past few months. She will be driving from her home in Pecos, New Mexico, to Little Rock, Arkansas, and on Friday she will hang her new creations on our gallery walls. We invite you to welcome Sabrina back to Arkansas by attending her opening of Chicana Goddess in the Bosque on Saturday, July 16th at 7 PM.
It was four years ago I first met Sabrina. We were setting up our very first gallery show on the theme of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. As the opening day approached, I was becoming increasingly concerned that 1.) we would not have enough art to fill the space, and 2.) what art we had was good, but it fell short on authenticity. Enter Sabrina. Her quilts were like honoring songs to her native Mexican family and community. They were about spirit and pride and justice and all that’s so full of life, death does not defeat. She constructed an altar and invited everyone to add a little something to it to honor those who had passed on. In short, Sabrina made our first show. We are so glad to have her back. (She informs us that, in light of the madness we’ve lately been experiencing, a community altar of healing may be constructed.)
Now, I messed up somewhat in scheduling the opening. I usually check to see what other art openings are happening that night and try to avoid having ours conflict with others. I forgot to do that this time and Lynn Frost informed me that Amy Eddington’s retrospective showing at Gallery 26 is happening the same night as Sabrina’s. Amy and Sabrina were friends and shared many friends between them, especially in the LGBT community, so I’d like to apologize to Lynn and Renee and everyone else for my double booking. I encourage folks to share rides in order to take in both these shows on Saturday night. If you can only attend one that night, make a point to see the other in the coming weeks, because both these women’s works are exceptional, full of joy and well worth seeing. And maybe even buying.
