Artist Debbie Stevens returns to her childhood home of Corpus Christi to share artwork and tips with aspiring artists on how to submit a successful application for the ‘Birds In Art’ juried exhibition at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at the Art Museum of South Texas. Reduced admission of $1 per person for Dollar After Dark. Art reproduction courtesy of Art Museum of South Texas

Artist Debbie Stevens returns to her childhood home of Corpus Christi to share artwork and tips with aspiring artists on how to submit a successful application for the ‘Birds In Art’ juried exhibition at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, at the Art Museum of South Texas. Reduced admission of $1 per person for Dollar After Dark. Art reproduction courtesy of Art Museum of South Texas

Hurricane Harvey severely damaged the Rockport venue scheduled to house a nationally acclaimed avian art exhibit this fall, but these migrating birds of art quickly found a new nest in the Coastal Bend. “Birds in Art” is now on display through Nov. 19 at the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi.
A partnership between the Rockport Center for the Arts and the Art Museum made the exhibit possible. Originating from the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, the show made four additional stops at prestigious institutions before landing in Corpus Christi just after Hurricane Harvey.
“Our building may be damaged, but our spirit is not broken,” said Rockport Center for the Arts Executive Director Luis Purón. “It is actually stronger than ever.”
“Birds in Art” celebrates the timeless appeal of birds through fresh and contemporary artistic interpretations. Since 1976, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s annual “Birds in Art” exhibit has showcased the very best work interpreting birds from more than 1,000 artists from around the world.
Three artists who live and work in Texas will be featured in the exhibit: Kent Ullberg of Corpus Christi, Jim Offeman of Missouri City and Debbie Stevens of Cypress.
A total of 918 entries by 518 artists were submitted for “Birds in Art” from around the world. Three jurors chose 100 pieces for display at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. The traveling exhibit includes 50 paintings and works on paper as well as 10 sculptures.
Finding a new home for the exhibit was crucial to rebuilding the Rockport community, Purón said.
“Art has the power to heal a community, especially one like Rockport, where amazing creative forces are the very backbone of our artist colony and a huge portion of business enterprise and the economy,” he said. “The Art Center will continue to be a major force in Rockport, just like it has for almost 50 years.”
The Art Museum of South Texas was more than happy to help.
“The Art Museum of South Texas is here for our coastal communities, visitors and now, especially, for our colleagues in Rockport, whose lives and livelihoods have been interrupted,” said Deborah Fullerton, AMST curator of exhibitions. “We feel that bruise, and we are committed to be a part of the recovery. As Luis and others have said, art has the power to heal, and we all have the capacity to bring that recovery about.” 
A fully illustrated, color catalogue accompanies each “Birds in Art” exhibition. Catalogues are available for sale at the Art Museum of South Texas, 1902 North Shoreline Blvd. in Corpus Christi.
A PayPal account for donations to help restore the Rockport Center for the Arts has been set up at www.rockportartcenter. com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rockportartcenter.