JoAnn Evans wrapped up a teaching and education administration career 20 years ago and retired to South Padre Island.

In retirement, Evans and her husband enjoyed the beauty and calm of Island life, including the fishing. It was a leisure activity her husband actively enjoyed. There was one big thing missing, however, and it harkened back to Evans’ background of teaching speech and theater.

“I was missing the performing arts,” she said.

From that longing, and getting to know other like-minded Island and Port Isabel residents, Evans and her fellow arts lovers began to build a framework toward creating “a critical mass of art.” It’s how Evans describes being part of a years-long effort to influence the city of South Padre Island towards building an arts community to bolster off-season tourism.

“If people were skeptical about it before, there’s acceptance today about its value and what the art and culture piece can mean for us,” Evans said. “Little by little, we’re trying to build toward having a critical mass of art so that we have plenty of things to do related to art.”

A breakthrough came in 2019 with the creation of the South Padre Island Art Business Incubator. The city’s economic development corporation was a key player financially and organizationally in getting the art incubator going. It nurtures and supports four to six artists yearly for a one-year residency. It’s not just art for art’s sake. The artists are tutored and mentored on how to turn their artistic talents into a business. Hopes are they will eventually open a gallery on the Island. 

Two artists who are products of the incubator’s residency have already done so. One opened up a gallery next door to the art business incubator on Padre Boulevard. 

“I’m witnessing this movement,” said Deanna Powell, the art incubator’s program director. “There’s no limits to how we want the arts community here to grow.”

Art Amazes & Surprises

Powell walks through the work stations of the incubator’s six current artists in residence. 

The majority of this year’s class are from Rio Grande Valley communities. Their talents are apparent and stunning in quality and diversity of styles. There’s surrealism, elaborate paper cut art, a muralist, fine art ceramics, and a metalsmith who makes jewelry and petite sculptures. Another artist is a shoe cobbler by training, whose expertise is working with leather.

Attracting artists with different backgrounds and styles is something the incubator seeks to bring together. Artists learn from each other, Powell said, collaborating and sharing their knowledge. It also makes for a fascinating array of artwork when a visitor walks into view – and possibly buys – the artwork on display. Powell spoke of beachgoers accustomed to SPI’s surf and sand. They walk into the incubator’s gallery and are surprised … at times amazed … that such a space of art exists on South Padre.

“It’s not something people expect to see here,” she said. “It’s like a really pleasant surprise for them. It affirms that we have a strong arts presence on the Island.”

Model Of Success

There is “no magic number,” Evans said, as to how many art galleries the Island needs to attract more tourists inclined to that quality of life. She counts six at the present time. 

“We hope to increase that to seven, eight, nine and get up around 10 galleries,” said Evans, who is a board member for the art business incubator and is also the director of El Paseo Arts of Port Isabel. “It’s that massing of art we want so if people want to take a vacation and are interested in art and culture, they can come here and do it in a very pleasant and beautiful environment, even when the sun isn’t shining.”

There is a key goal. It’s the oft-discussed topic of attracting tourists in the fall and winter when temperatures dip. 

“It’s about filling in the gaps in between at our Island,” Powell said of the months between the strong tourism peaks of spring and summer and the slower periods of fall and winter.

Right now, art and culture are an emerging choice to do just that. Galleries and art classes have a variety of things to do connected to art. 

“We’re seeing success with the model,” Evans said. “We’re seeing incremental growth. You can look around and see we have the resources to do it.”