All Public Art Projects managed by the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture follow a comprehensive process. The Public Art Process includes six major checkpoints, in which we check in with the community and stakeholders for updates and feedback from beginning to end. Milestones with an asterisk indicate required approvals by our Public Art Committee and San Antonio Arts Commission. On average, a project can be completed in up to 24 months. 

Illustration of the major check points of the Public Art Process

Plaza de Armas is an area with a long history, as documented by the historic marker placed in 1972. The plaza is comprised of several buildings including the Spanish Governor’s Palace and Courthouse. Plaza de Armas or Military Plaza was the home of a famous Spanish fort called the San Antonio de Béxar Presidio. This fort was established in 1722 as a parade ground and market square for the Spanish soldiers stationed there and included nearby homes of these military settlers (Presidiales) and their families. The site remained an important military location for many years. After the 1850s, the plaza became a bustling civilian marketplace and the seat of government. This mural will be placed on the building connected to the Spanish Governor’s Palace is used as a gallery space and houses City departments including the Department of Arts & Culture.

Public Art Project locations must gain approval from the San Antonio Art’s Commission’s Public Art Committee before the project can continue. This project gained approval on from the Public Art Committee on October 5, 2021.

If a project is in a park or historic district/location it must gain approval from the City of San Antonio’s Office of Historic Preservation’s Historic Design Review Commission. This project gained approval from the Historic Design Review Commission on February 4, 2022. 

Project Location:

The mural will be located on the wall shown by the red square which faces San Pedro Creek along Dolorosa Street. 

Project location photo taken Summer 2022.

Backside of the Plaza de Armas building from Street view. A red square indicates the mural location.

 
  

 

Click here to watch a film documenting the mural’s installation and interview with artist Christopher Montoya.

Click here to watch the recording of the Community Conversation about the Plaza de Armas Mural which took place online on Feb. 8, 2022.