2026 CAM Perennial Exhibition: the things we carry
San Antonio, TX
curated by:
leslie moody castro & casie lomeli
overview
Contemporary Art Month (CAM) is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting contemporary art in San Antonio through exhibitions, events, and public programs; yearly its curators select artists for its flagship CAM Perennial exhibition held each year in March.
Guest curators Leslie Moody Castro and Casie Lomeli selected eight artists for the March 2026 CAM Perennial: Eva Gabriella Flynn from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello from Fort Worth, Tina Linville from Waco, Adrienne Simmons from Houston, Jesselyn Gordon and Daniela Oliver de Portillo from San Antonio, and Austin artists Yuliya Lanina and Matt Rebholz.
2026 marked the 40th anniversary of Contemporary Art Month. With both guest curators rooted in the city and deeply engaged in the regional and national art scenes, the exhibitions honored CAM’s past while amplifying diverse voices and perspectives for the future.
curatorial statement
There is always a special moment in every studio visit where the conversation and ideas start to flow, where connectivity between curator and artist begins to feel more organic, less forced, and eventually the first ideas begin to glimmer. Where the creative chemistry comes naturally and the vulnerability dissipates. The same is true for the 2026 Contemporary Art Month (CAM) Perennial exhibition. The Things We Carry came together naturally and organically over a series of conversations between two curators and eight artists scattered across seven cities and even two countries. We encountered a group of creatives who are thinking about the physical, emotional, and even the metaphysical forces they carry through their lives and work.
This is also a milestone exhibition, marking the 40th year of CAM. The month-long celebration of contemporary art began in June 1986 alongside Contemporary at Blue Star's inaugural exhibition. In 2003, CAM became an independent project, and in 2012, CAM introduced the "Perennial" Exhibition, inviting a curator from outside San Antonio to work with the city's contemporary artists. Across its 40-year history, CAM has been organized by countless artists, curators, and supporters. It has held exhibitions in institutions across the city and worked with curators from around the world. The 2026 Perennial is not just a reflection of its exhibiting artists, but a testament to the grit and passion of San Antonio's art community, the same community that has carried this organization forward for four decades.
The Things We Carry embodies this through its very structure, placing artists from around Texas and the Southwest in artist-run spaces across San Antonio. It is a celebration of the act of sharing, of making space for difficult truths, and the resilience required to carry them. The eight exhibiting artists, Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello (Fort Worth), Daniela Oliver de Portillo (San Antonio), Eva Gabriella Flynn (Las Cruces, NM), Jesselyn Gordon (San Antonio), Yuliya Lanina (Austin), Tina Linville (Waco), Matt Rebholz (Austin), and Adrienne Simmons (Houston) are examining archives and histories, geographies and materiality, realities and fictions. What they carry—memories, traumas, places both real and imagined—becomes the material from which this exhibition is built.
press
“Trying to Be Un Solo Ser,” by Vincent Solis, Glasstire Magazine, April 27, 2026.
“Review: The Things We Carry at Un Grito Gallery,” by Vincent Solis, Glasstire Magazine, April 15, 2026.
Talking with Casie Lomeli about Community Through ‘The Things We Carry,’ by Vincent Solis, Glasstire Magazine, March 29, 2026.
“Top 5: March 5, 2026", Glasstire Magazine, March 5, 2026.
“CAM Perennial Artists Selected for 2026 Exhibition in San Antonio,” by Nicholas Frank, Glasstire Magazine, December 31, 2025.
The Things We Carry: Un Destino, Una Vida
2-person Exhibition: Daniela Oliver de Portillo & Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello at Casa Pink
Opening Reception | Saturday, March 14, 2026, from 9AM - 3PM
Closing Reception & Artist Talks | Saturday, May 30, 1 - 3PM
On View | March 14 - May 30, 2026
Casa pink is an independent artist-run art space founded by Cruz and Olivia Ortiz.
The Things We Carry
All CAM Perennial Artists at Un Grito Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Opening Reception | Thursday, March 5, 7 - 10PM & Friday, March 6, 7PM - 10PM
On View | March 5 - 18, 2026
Installation views at Un Grito Gallery
March 2026
podada (monstera deliciosa), 2026, photomontage on archival rag paper on panel, archival signed limited edition 1/10
overall dimensions 36 × 65 inches
also pictured:
work by Matt Rebholz, Tina Linville, Jesselyn Gordon
curator bios
Leslie Moody Castro is an independent curator and writer whose practice is based on itinerancy and collaboration. She has produced, organized, and collaborated on projects in Mexico and the United States for nearly two decades. She is committed to creating moments of exchange and dialogue within exhibitions, is a co-founder of Unlisted Projects Residency, and Co-Lab Projects, and in 2022 served as inaugural curatorial fellow and curator in residence at New Mexico State University and Casa Otro Residency, respectively. She has been awarded two grants from the National Endowment of the Arts for her curatorial projects and a fellowship from the Department of State for her research on borders. Moody Castro has participated in numerous residencies including the Narva Artist Residency, Estonia, The Galveston Artist Residency, Casa Lü Residency, Tepoztlán, MARSO CDMX, and Fountainhead, Miami. She has curated biennials including the Amarillo Museum of Art Biennial in 2021, The Texas Biennial in 2018, and co-curator of the Aurora Biennial in 2024. Moody Castro was guest editor of Glasstire Magazine from 2021—2024, is the founder of AtravesArte and believes Mariachis makes everything better.
Casie Lomeli’s practice is centered on creating meaningful conversations that explore the complexities of the human experience, particularly those that involve identity, society, and ancestry. At times her work is focused and centers on communications strategies for arts organizations, and other times it’s more poetic and curatorial, providing another avenue of storytelling. Originally from Kyle, Texas, Casie studied Art History and Business at Trinity University in San Antonio. Over the past decade, Casie has immersed herself in the Contemporary Art community in San Antonio. She has held positions at Ruiz-Healy Art gallery and Artpace San Antonio, and has collaborated with organizations such as Luminaria, Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery, Planned Parenthood South Texas, and more. She also serves as the Exhibitions Manager at Sala Diaz and is a dedicated Board Member and Co-Chair for Contemporary Art Month San Antonio. Currently, Lomeli is the New Media and Communications Coordinator at Contemporary at Blue Star.