Annual Exhibits
A Continuing Tradition
"A Hidden Gem of San Antonio" by Lynn Lehenbauer
VISIT US
130 King William Street
San Antonio, TX 78204
Tuesday – Saturday: 10am – 3pm
Sunday: Closed
Monday: Closed
Admission is always free!
The Art League + Museum has a long tradition of exhibits that recur annually. Together, these exhibits are intended to recognize and encourage both new and experienced artists.
Artist of the Year Exhibition
Established in 1945, the Artist of the Year award is one of the Art League's most storied honors, recognizing a single artist for a body of work that reflects sustained excellence and creative vision. Each year, a national panel of jurors selects an honoree from among San Antonio-based artists, and the Museum hosts a solo exhibition celebrating their career, and publishes an accompanying catalogue. The exhibition offers visitors an in-depth look at the honoree's creative journey, often spanning decades of work and multiple media. Past honorees have included painters, sculptors, photographers, and fiber artists, each bringing a distinct perspective shaped by San Antonio and the surrounding region. The show typically opens with a preview celebration and public reception, followed by several weeks on view, giving visitors ample opportunity to explore the artist's evolving vision in depth. It's a chance to encounter not just a single artwork, but an artist's full creative arc — a rare and rewarding way to experience the depth of San Antonio’s contemporary art scene.
Annual Juried Exhibition
Since 1927, the Annual Juried Exhibition has stood as Texas's oldest and longest-running statewide art competition. Each spring, the San Antonio Art League + Museum invites artists from across the state to submit their finest work, offering artists a unique opportunity to showcase their art in one of Texas’s most respected venues. A distinguished juror — often a curator from a major museum — selects a compelling cross-section for the exhibition. Each year, there are several hundred submissions that are narrowed down to roughly 65 pieces chosen for the show. Visitors can expect a dynamic cross-section of contemporary practice, with painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, and photography converging in a show that feels both cohesive and daringly varied. The exhibition's opening reception is a highlight of the Museum's calendar, where more than $14,000 in awards is presented to outstanding artists across a range of categories, including the coveted Onderdonk Purchase Prize, awarded for a single piece of art that joins the Museum's permanent collection. Free and open to the public, the reception offers visitors a rare chance to meet exhibiting artists, browse an exhibition catalog, and celebrate nearly a century of Texas artistic achievement — all in the historic surroundings of the King William Arts District.
Collegiate Exhibition
Each spring, the Museum turns its galleries over to the region's next generation of artists for the Collegiate Exhibition, a showcase of work by students from San Antonio-area colleges and universities, with participating art departments selecting the pieces that best represent their students' talent and ambition. The result is a lively, wide-ranging show — more than 60 works across all media, including clay, painting, video, photography, and printmaking — that captures the energy and experimentation of emerging artists. These students push the limits and help narrate the future of fine arts through their concepts and expressive skill. For visitors, it's an opportunity to discover fresh voices before they make their mark on the broader art world, and to see firsthand the creative talent flourishing in San Antonio's own backyard. Like all Art League exhibitions, the Collegiate Exhibition is free and open to the public during regular Museum hours.
Member Artist Invitational
Each fall, the San Antonio Art League + Museum turns the spotlight on a small, hand-selected group of its own member artists for the Member Artist Invitational. Rather than a juried, open-call competition, this exhibition is built around invitation — Art League leadership selects a handful of accomplished member artists, often just two or three, and gives each of them generous wall space to present a substantial body of work side by side. Recent invitationals have paired painters, photographers, and mixed-media artists whose distinct styles create a rich dialogue across the gallery, with roughly fifty works on display from the participating artists at any given time. The exhibition typically opens in November and remains on view through the Art League's Holiday Party in December, making it a festive centerpiece of the Museum's fall and winter season. It's an intimate counterpart to the sprawling Annual Juried Exhibition — rather than surveying the breadth of Texas art, the Invitational lets visitors sit with a small number of artists and get to know their work in real depth. For anyone who wants to see what the Art League's own membership is capable of at its finest, this show is not to be missed, and it makes an especially memorable stop for holiday visitors exploring the King William Arts District.
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San Antonio Art League and the Onderdonk Purchase Prize
In 1946, the Art League honored Julian Onderdonk -- San Antonio resident, artist, and art community supporter -- making the top cash prize in its annual juried exhibition his namesake. Every year since, the piece winning the Onderdonk prize has become a part of the Art League's permanent collection.