Immerse Yourself in San Antonio’s Hottest Art Gallery
San Antonio’s newest art gallery showcases unique interactive works of art that support local artists in the area
By Michael Montes
Photo by Michael Montes.
Hopscotch is an interactive art gallery where viewers can interact with featured artwork made by local artists. Founded in 2018 and originally based in Austin, TX, the gallery has made its way to San Antonio’s downtown district with striking distinction among common River City locales.
Although the gallery only features a few pieces, it makes up for quantity with quality. Immersive and insurgent could best be used to describe Hopscotch’s unique take on the everyday art gallery, where instead of being instructed to quietly observe pieces from a distance, guests are encouraged to interact with the artwork. Hopscotch employs modest rooms to display not-so modest artwork; each room showcases diverse works of art that use unconventional techniques and mediums such as artistic software, plastic bags, angled mirror boxes, and complex light arrangements.
The “Rainbow Cave” exhibition at Hopscotch. Photo courtesy of news4sanantonio.com.
Some of the exhibits include:
Symbiosis: A software that detects the motion of the viewer, creating and displaying a dynamic visual that changes shape, color, and speed according to the interactee’s motion.
Infinity Boxes: An exhibit that features several boxes lined with angled and organized mirrors where guests can poke their heads inside to create visual illusions of themselves.
Color Therapy: This mellow escape creates a dreamy getaway for guests. Visitors are sensually submerged in a room with cylindrical walls that gently change color as serene sounds ooze through them.
Secrets: Pushing the boundaries of artistic intuition, this exhibit relies on multiple guests to come to life. There are confession boxes where tellers can anonymously whisper their secrets into a telephone and phone booths where listeners can tune into a feed of these secrets. Hopscotch believes that releasing the burden of even the simplest secrets can be therapeutic.
Laser Graffiti: A truly interactive piece, the Laser Graffiti exhibit appears to be nothing but a room with brick walls cast onto it through a projector. However, these walls are only a canvas for guests to release their artistic desire on. Visitors are given cans of “laser spray paint”, objects shaped like cans of spray paint that beam a laser similar to a laser pointer, which when pointed at the projected brick walls, become a digital can of spray paint for guests to become indoor graffiti artists with.
Hopscotch is located in the Travis Park Plaza Building at 711 Navarro, Suite 100. Parking costs $4 per vehicle, and visitors should bring their parking ticket with them to show to Hopscotch staff for parking validation. On Monday through Thursday, Hopscotch is closed for private events, however the hours are as follows:
MONDAY-THURSDAY
FRIDAY
(Last ticket sold at 9:45pm)
SATURDAY
(Last ticket sold at 9:45pm)
SUNDAY
(Last ticket sold at 8:00pm)
Hopscotch recommends visitors purchase gallery tickets in advance, as walk up tickets are only available if the gallery isn’t at capacity. For adults, tickets are $24 in advance and $29 on site, and for students, seniors (65+), military, teachers, healthcare and first responder ID-holders, tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on site. Children’s tickets (Ages 4-13) cost $15 in advance and $20 on site, while children three and under are free.
While tickets are required to enter the gallery, they’re not needed to enjoy Hopscotch’s public spaces such as its drink lounge, gift shop, patio, and food truck. While Hopscotch is family-friendly, minors under 18 are restricted without the presence of a parent or guardian and children must be accompanied by an adult at all times during daytime hours. After 7:00 pm, Hopscotch is adult only, meaning that all evening guests must be above 18.
A visit to Hopscotch is a helping hand to local artists in the San Antonio community. These artists come together to create works that drive Hopscotch’s statement further into the community: “We believe art can be a vessel to tell stories and illuminate important messages of the past, present, and future. Hopscotch allows artists to showcase their works in sustainable and creative ways, encourages them to be inspired by new mediums and empowers them to reach new audiences (maybe that’s you). We strongly believe in cultivating lasting relationships and a synergy with our staff, artists and the local communities we are in.”
