San Antonio Museum of Modern Art (SAMOMA)

The San Antonio Museum of Modern Art (SAMOMA) was started by Norman Avila, Don Evans (Trinity alumnus), and George Horner in 1976. While not a museum in the typical sense of maintaining and curating a permanent collection, Evans notes in a Trinitonian article from January 28, 1977 that they use the term “museum” because they have special access to the film collections of museums and do not advertise the prices of the works of art. SAMOMA was a for-profit establishment that was solely funded by Avila, Evans and Horner.

The idea for SAMOMA was formulated in December 1975 when Avila, Evans, and Horner submitted art to the Koehler Gallery on Ashby in San Antonio, and only Horner’s work was accepted. In protest of this decision, Avila and Evans, along with other local artists, participated in SAMOMA’s first exhibition: The Mutt Cubists Rejection Show on April 4, 1976.

The first gallery space was located on 531 Woodlawn Ave. in the Alta Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas. SAMOMA stayed at this location until October 1977 when they moved to a gallery space right down the road on 2214 McCullough Ave. In The History of S.A.M.O.M.A. and discussions, Avila has described the gallery’s existence in three phases: the first at the Woodlawn location, the second at McCullough, and the third being after SAMOMA’s closing in September 1979 with the Museum Without Walls concept.

During its three-year existence, SAMOMA served as a safe haven for local artists in San Antonio who were purposefully excluded by established galleries and museums. Exhibitions at SAMOMA ranged from showing of visual artwork, art performances, movie screenings, concerts, and more.

The following pages will discuss the first two phases of SAMOMA and highlight select exhibits that Chicanx and Latinx alumni participated in and other shows that are often remembered by alumni.