San Antonio’s Paper Trail printmaking show holding its 10th annual exhibition
By Sanford Nowlin,
2024-07-17
Visitors to a past Paper Trail event browse prints, stickers and other work. San Antonio’s Paper Trail, an annual gathering and exhibition for designers and printmakers, is hitting its 10th anniversary.
As with previous installments, the free, Sunday, July 21, gathering at east-of-downtown music venue The Rock Box will allow visitors to browse works of contemporary art and design on paper, most with affordable price tags. Some 55 artists and vendors will show off screen prints, hand-lettered typography, lithographs, etchings, relief prints, digital prints, stickers, zines and more.
Over its decade-long run, Paper Trail has also helped connect creators — most of whom reside in San Antonio — and foster the development of a larger print-art scene. The show’s curation approach has also helped blur the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow art.
The Current spent time chatting with Paper Trail co-founder Zane Thomas, an Austin-transplant who works in graphic design and printmaking, about the significance of the event’s 10-year anniversary, its lasting impact and the importance of creating affordable art.
This is the 10th Paper Trail. Does it feel like a milestone?
It does. It happened seemingly quickly and slowly at the same time. Time is kind of a construct that can be both long and short simultaneously. So, yeah, it’s a milestone but it also seems like it happened overnight … almost.
This year you’ve got 55 artists, which is a little more than the first Paper Trail but not a lot more. Have you deliberately tried to keep the event from getting too big and unwieldy?
Yeah, I’ve kept it around 45 or 50 pretty much for the entire time. Initially, that was more due to space, and it still kind of comes down to space, but I also have a vision of the type of art that I want to put in the event, and that just seems to be what I can offer and not have to [compromise]. If I jumped up and doubled it, I feel like I would have to have four times as many applicants to fill it out.
Work by Irving Herrera, one of the artists displaying at this year's Paper Trail.
So, there’s some serious curation involved then?
Absolutely, yeah. This year we had 170 people apply and only had 55 spots. So, yeah, unfortunately we don’t accept everybody that applies.
From the beginning, Paper Trail’s been a mix of highbrow and lowbrow art. Has that changed at all, or has that mix been pretty constant?
That’s pretty much been the consistent thing. It reflects a type of work that I don’t necessarily see represented regularly in San Antonio. Some friends of mine have galleries, and that seems to be the kind of art that’s in there. But other than that, it doesn’t really get represented as much as I would like. So, that’s the theme that I try to keep within — to maintain some representation of a wide variety of work being made here.
Is that one of the reasons that you have tended to have these in music or mixed-use venues rather than conventional art galleries?
It just worked out that way. We started at Brick [at Blue Star] back in 2015. We were there for four years. We had friends that had galleries and everything else at Blue Star Arts Complex too, and I had a gallery [Black Moon Print] over there.
But cost is a factor, and it kept increasing … at Brick, and it was going to be cost prohibitive if we continued to have it there. We were offered a better price at The Rock Box, so we’ve moved over there. It’s been a good partnership for the last four years.
Work by Connie Chapa, one of the artists displaying at this year's Paper Trail.
The work at Paper Trail is known for being approachable from a price standpoint. How important is that to you?
I’d say very. My background is in screen printing and graphic design, so I’ve always leaned towards limited-edition art prints, or open edition … . I like the idea that if somebody wants to buy something from you or whoever, that they can get it. I feel like, for San Antonio, if you want to spend a lot of money on art, there’s plenty of places to do it, but there’s not necessarily a huge collection of affordable art out there. There are some things once a year — things at museums like the McNay, I believe — but other than that, there’s not really the ability to have people look at a large selection of affordable prints.
What percentage of the show is San Antonio artists?
Probably about 75%, I’d say.
When you’re doing the curation, is there a deliberate attempt to keep San Antonio artists the dominant flavor?
Yes and no. I guess, at the end of the day, it’s the merit of the work. I do like other people from other cities coming in and seeing what the town’s about, because I feel like those relationships are going to grow and give local people opportunities outside of San Antonio. But [San Antonio artists] have always been the majority, and the intent is to try to represent a scene here.
Has Paper Trail served as a springboard for artists?
I find that what ends up happening a lot is that people find other like-minded artists and they pair up. There’s some people from Austin that have met through Paper Trail, and they collaborate a lot more. It’s almost like a convention, to a certain extent, for the artists themselves.
Has this show brought more awareness to people who are creating in San Antonio?
Absolutely. Yeah. Like, I know that there were certainly people doing [art prints] before I moved here, but through Paper Trail, I’ve seen a big increase in printmakers making stuff, showing stuff, selling stuff, having shows. I like to think that Paper Trail gave them an opportunity to do so and more confidence to do so. I think just seeing other people do something is confidence-building. Basically, people recognize the possibility.
Is that one of the reasons that keeps you moving forward and keeps you doing this thing? Because I’m sure it’s not easy.
Putting a yearly event together definitely has its hurdles. But, yeah, that’s it. That’s always been my interest. I got into it when I was probably 22 — screen printing, street art, that kind of stuff. And I’m 40 now, and it’s still a big part of my life. And the more attention I can bring to that kind of art in San Antonio, the better.
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