Urban Bird Project was honored to host San Antonio-based artist, and Associate Professor in the School of Art and Design at Texas State University, Mark Menjívar. Mark brought his decade of work on birds, migration, and social art practices to our classroom to demonstrate how he co-creates projects with communities through participatory photography, oral histories, community archives, and social action.
On the morning of Dia de los Muertos, Mark engaged UBP in an artist-led soundwalk at Woodlawn Park in San Antonio. Entangled with sonic tech like parabolic microphones and wired headphones, the group circled the park slowly, and listened deeply to the birds and landscape with the tech. Stopping often to tell stories about the layered histories of the park, Mark also invited us to share stories of the loved ones we were remembering that day. We deeply appreciate Mark for sharing his social art practices with us. The group left the class and the park with a new sense of purpose and connection when engaging with migration and birds through soundwalks.
