SAN ANTONIO, TX. – December 15, 2020 – In celebration of Community First Health Plans 25th Anniversary, Community First has partnered with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative (SASAI) to paint a one-of-a-kind mural on the exterior wall of the EZ Wash Laundromat at 1519 W. Southcross San Antonio, TX 78215 in the Southside of San Antonio. Titled We Love Our Southside, it is the first mural of the Southside Mural Project to place unique and culturally relevant murals in high traffic, urban, areas and the SASAI mission to create The Largest Outdoor Gallery in Texas™.
“Because of Community First’s generous support, the Southside will now have its own mural representation of southside culture not currently represented in our part of town.” says Shek Vega, Founder & President of San Antonio Street Art Initiative, “All participating artists live or are from the Southside and we hope to incentivize more artists to participate in mural installations in the future. We love our Southside, and we get to celebrate the community one colorful mural at a time.”
SASAI and Community First solicited the help of 40 community leaders, business owners, influencers and longtime residents, via Zoom, to share why the Southside is so special to them and the imagery that best represented their experiences. Through the community feedback, SASAI’s President Shek Vega designed the mural, then invited four Southside artists to execute the initial mural design, each bringing in their own unique aesthetic. Eva Sanchez, Joe De La Cruz, Shek Vega and Nik Soup of Los Otros, joined forces to paint We Love Our Southside.
“Artists have the talent to inspire others to follow their dreams while sharing a vision that is amazingly colorful and full of life. It is a true gift and talent that only a few possess.” says, Theresa Scepanski, President and Chief Executive Officer Community First Health Plans, “This project is special, not only for the artists, but for the community as a whole. Growing up on the southside, I’m excited to see the continued development of the neighborhood, and I’m proud that Community First Health Plans can contribute to the success of this project.”
SASAI and Community First will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the We Love our Southside mural on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 10 AM. Members of the media are invited to attend the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony virtually or in-person (all in-person attendees must adhere to social distancing guidelines as outlined by the CDC). The We Love our Southside mural was completed on December 7, 2020.
SASAI hopes to have more murals designed and executed by early 2021. Artists who want to be considered to be a part of this incentive program should apply at sanantoniostreetart.org.
ABOUT COMMUNITY FIRST HEALTH PLANS
Community First Health Plans (CFHP) was established in 1995, by University Health, specifically to begin providing health care coverage to the citizens of Bexar and the surrounding seven counties. As the only locally owned and managed, non-profit health plan in the area, our commitment to our members is to provide great health care benefits backed by outstanding service, delivered by people who live right here in South Texas. Our goal is to make San Antonio have more successful health outcomes by putting the
community first. Learn more at communityfirsthealthplans.com.
ABOUT SAN ANTONIO STREET ART INITIATIVE
SASAI is a non-profit charity that supports artist development through educational and career development programming and economic development through community beautification projects. They manage a vibrant schedule of producing exciting mural art that represents unparalleled quality and memorable experiences. Its highly acclaimed projects have beautified neighborhoods, contributed to economic development, advocates for fair-pay jobs to local telnet, and continues to be some of the most celebrated contributions to the public art scene in recent years. In the past two years SASAI has completed over 40 murals and has advocated for the careers of over 30 artists and is known for its signature mission, to create “The Largest Outdoor Gallery in Texas™”. Learn more at sanantoniostreetart.org.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Uchennaya Ogba at 210-978-4637 or email at uche@ehcupr.com.