Semmes Gallery
Semmes Gallery, located in the Kelso Art Center, is one of three gallery spaces at the University of the 
Incarnate Word. Frequently hosting students, guest artists, and solo and collective exhibitions, it is a dynamic gallery featuring works as diverse as the artists themselves. At any given time, guests may find paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, photography, digital art and more.
SUMMER 2025 Art Exhibitions:
Texas Watercolor Society 76th National Exhibition 2025
Exhibit on Display: Monday, June 9 – Thursday, July 31, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 7, 2025 3 - 5 p.m.
The Texas Watercolor Society was founded in March 1949. The society holds an annual exhibition featuring Texas and national watercolor artists. From the most novice budding artist, to the most experienced professional, the TWS has the opportunity to showcase the best of what the world of watercolor has to offer. Please join us for the Texas Watercolor Society's 76th annual exhibit at the Kelso Art Center.
This year's juror is Stephen Zhang, Mr. Zhang is an award-winning artist and designer. He is currently an assistant professor at the University of North Texas. His creative exploration has spanned across a broad range of projects and collaborations. His watercolor paintings have been exhibited internationally in shows such as the Chinese National Art Exhibition, Art Olympia in Japan, and the US Embassy in Equatorial Guinea. In workshops, Stephen works with artists on both fundamentals and creative expression through thoughtful process and insightful feedback.
Texas Watercolor Society
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
FALL 2025 Art Exhibitions:
From Word to World: An Alumni Exhibition
Exhibit on Display: Monday, Aug. 11 – Friday, Sept. 5, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, 6 - 8 p.m.
The University of the Incarnate Word's Department of Art is welcoming all alumni artists back to the nest to showcase some of their artwork they have created since crossing the stage. In an effort to reconnect with each other and inspire our current students we are hosting From Word to World: An Alumni Exhibition, refreshments will be provided. We ask all attendees RSVP, registration is coming soon.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
Cultural Threads Exhibition Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Exhibit on Display: Monday, Sept. 15 – Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, 6 - 8 p.m.
"Cultural Threads" celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by showcasing the diverse identities of the University. This exhibit celebrates the rich diversity within our community, highlighting how shared experiences at UIW weave us together, even beyond our cultural backgrounds.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
Fiber Artists of San Antonio Exhibition
Exhibit on Display: Monday, Oct. 13 – Friday, Nov. 14, 2025
Opening Reception: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, 3 - 5 p.m.
The Fiber Artists of San Antonio (FASA) organization owes its founding to Mary Heickman, who was originally from Houston. Mary was one of the original Texas fiber artists. She was also a teacher and taught fiber techniques to the wives of the Astronauts who were living in Houston at the time.
In 1971, she moved to San Antonio and began teaching fiber arts here at the Southwest School of Arts and Crafts. Mary’s work inspired the original San Antonio group, which came together in 1972 with eleven members. Two of those original eleven fiber artists - Jean Peffers and Barbara Friedson - are still active members in FASA today.
Fiber Artists of San Antonio (FASA)
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
In A Memory Place Exhibition
Exhibit on Display: Monday, Nov. 24 – Friday, Dec. 19, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, 6 - 8 p.m.
In a Memory Palace is a profound meditation on displacement: both the physical displacement of refugees, immigrants, and others who make new lives far from their original homes, and the temporal displacement of fragmented memories. In the shifting rooms of the Memory Palace, love and regret, fear and hope emerge and recede, driven by a single deep desire: to have one’s story heard.
Drawing on her own family history, playwright Edith Newton tells the story of Hedwig Müller, a couturier who catered to Viennese high society in the interwar period and who, with Hitler’s rise, fled to the United States with her Jewish husband. Comprised of two acts and an interlude, the work is set in interwar Vienna and a nursing home in the present-day US. It draws heavily on the literary form and otherworldly quality of noh, where characters can simultaneously exist in a real place and time and, sometimes even more intensely, in the phantom world of memory.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
SPRING 2026 Art Exhibitions:
Galactic Warriors Presented by Andy Villarreal
Exhibit on Display: Monday, Jan. 26 - Friday, Feb. 27, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, January 23, 2026, 6 - 8 p.m.
Andy Villarreal is a native of San Antonio, Texas. His experiences traveling in Mexico, especially the Yucatan, coupled with his passion for Mesoamerican indigenous cultures, add energy and intensity to his work. With vivid colors and various techniques, he transforms the cultures into a stylized original art form. Villarreal received his BA from Corpus Christi State University and his MFA from Arizona State University. He is a professor in art at the University of Incarnate Word. His work has been exhibited internationally in museums, universities, and galleries and is included in permanent collections across the country.
This exhibition is a collection of works with a nod to ancient Mayan culture through abstract images. These paintings are composed with oils on various textures including wood, paper and screen-printing screens.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
SAISD Campuses of Innovation Exhibition 2025
Exhibit on Display: Monday, April 13 - Friday, April 17, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, April 10, 2026, 5 - 8 p.m.
Each year UIW's Art department hosts San Antonio ISD's campuses for an art competition showcasing their best work in photography, drawing, painting, and ceramics for the school year. All campuses have the opportunity to participate ranging from elementary to high school with winners of the competition being announced during the opening reception.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public
Senior Capstone Exhibition 2026
Exhibit on Display: Monday, April 27 - Friday, May 22, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 23, 2026, 6 - 8 p.m.
In the spring semester of their senior year, Art students have the opportunity to display their work in an exhibit. The Senior Capstone exhibit showcases the art that students have been able to develop and hone during their time at UIW. The exhibit allows students the opportunity to have their work on display in a fully operating gallery before graduating. The experience prepares them for future exhibitions that may interest them to spread their work to a larger audience. The Capstone includes works in various mediums such as painting, drawing, photography and ceramics.
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Kelso Art Center / Semmes and Condos Galleries
(Broadway and Hildebrand on UIW campus)
Free and Open to the Public