In a world that too often narrows opportunity, art is one of the few forces that insists on expansion. Demanding curiosity, discipline, and critical thinking, art asks us to observe closely, question assumptions, engage in dialogue, and have the courage to imagine beyond existing conditions.
When I returned to Laredo in 2017 after a decade away, I deeply missed the environment and community in which I had lived and studied art — longing for 10-hour days in a studio paired with meaningful dialogue and critique with other artists about our work.
As I reacquainted myself with Laredo, I quickly recognized the effects of long-term underinvestment and the absence of infrastructure that supports artists. I understood, too, that some artists did not have a platform on which to stand.
If the arts were to thrive here, it would not be because conditions were ideal, but because those conditions would have to be intentionally created. Creating the ecosystem in which art thrives calls for investing in artists and cultivating spaces for experimentation and critique in an environment in which artists’ work could be seen and valued, where they could grow their practice and be taken seriously.
These were some of the many considerations that began to form the plan for what the structure, work, and potential of Daphne Art Foundation could be.
DAPHNE ART FOUNDATION
Daphne Art Foundation was established as a hands-on non-profit entity in 2019, one that would direct itself to address needs, fill voids, and heighten awareness of the transformative importance of the arts and those who create it.
Our city sings praises of its geographical place in the world, but what of the people who make it extraordinary? What of their voices, their visions, their art?
There is a void here, one I deeply believe that only artists can fill. And for that to happen, artists must be valued — not as afterthoughts, but as essential shapers of culture, as keepers of memory, and as architects of possibility.
Even when it may appear that artists are invisible, they are here, they have always been here — asking questions that others might not dare, confronting truths that others may wish to ignore, and creating with courage so that others may find connection.
Through Daphne, our intention is to hold space for this necessary work, because in a city that often overlooks the very people who give it life, it is artists who remind us who we are, and who we might still become.
It is sometimes asked, “Why doesn’t this or that exist in Laredo?” The answer isn’t mystery — it’s a lack of will.
Possibility doesn’t always arrive on its own. We have to cultivate it. Daphne Art Foundation aims to create experiences that remind our City what is possible.
We work to connect our friends, our family, and our community with artists they might never have encountered otherwise.
In a community of contradictions — caught between two worlds, ni de aquí, ni de allá — Laredo carries a history that runs in our blood, a story so rich it shapes us daily, and much of it remains uncaptured, intangible, neither fleeting nor fully seen.
Our vision is to cultivate opportunity. On one side, we work to create experiences that awaken curiosity; on the other, we work towards building space and developing programs for artists to grow, experiment, and tell us their stories.
Where these paths converge, art and audience meet, and transformation takes root.
As we worked to build space for artists, another truth became clear: the arts also needed to be recognized and supported at the level of City policy. Alongside Regina Portillo, and in close collaboration with artists and advocates, we began advocating for the City to dedicate two percent of the Capital Improvement Project funds to a public arts program, a proposal that was unanimously approved by the Laredo City Council.
In parallel, and in partnership with Linda Lamantia and Telissa Molano, we worked to designate a Cultural District in downtown Laredo through the Texas Commission on the Arts. Around the same time, the Laredo Film Society was emerging, expanding the city’s creative capacity and deepening its narrative voice. Alongside these independent initiatives, a growing network of creatives have been reshaping the City’s cultural landscape, bringing new voices, renewed energy, and a shared sense of possibility for what Laredo could be.
Five to six years later, that intentionality has taken tangible form. Laredo now has a public arts plan and a public arts manager, firmly embedding the arts into the City’s civic framework. Downtown has been reactivated through the Laredo Cultural District’s sustained programming and creative engagement.
What has emerged from this collective effort is a moment of shared possibility. Through the support of the Mellon Foundation, funding has been awarded over the next three years collectively to the Laredo Cultural District, Daphne Art Foundation, Laredo Film Society, and Laredo Center for the Arts. Beyond its immediate impact on artists, this investment reshapes how downtown Laredo can grow, placing culture at the center of its future rather than at its edges.
To be present in Laredo at this moment is to see the arts unmistakably as a powerful, living force transforming community from the inside out. What lies ahead is not simply growth, but responsibility: to continue cultivating this ecosystem with care, alignment, and shared leadership, so that artists remain supported and the transformation we are witnessing across our community can deepen and endure.
CASA CULTIVARTE
919 HOUSTON STREET
At 919 Houston Street, Daphne Art Foundation is creating a dedicated place for artists in Laredo, one focused on sustained practice, shared resources, and serious exchange. The 5,000+ square-foot space is being developed as an incubator where artists can work consistently, access essential tools, and engage with one another in ways that are difficult to sustain without intentional infrastructure.
The building will provide studio space, exhibition opportunities, and shared equipment including a pottery and ceramics studio. Select studios and equipment will be available for rent, expanding access to professional-grade tools for artists working across disciplines.
With construction expected to conclude in late 2026, Casa Cultivarte is an investment in an arts ecosystem where artists can cultivate their practice without leaving the community. This effort reflects our long-term commitment to treating the arts as civic infrastructure and artists as essential contributors to Laredo’s future.
DAPHNE
The name Daphne comes from Greek mythology. Daphne was a nymph known for her freedom, independence, and deep connection to the natural world. When pursued by the god Apollo, she called out to the earth for protection and was transformed into a laurel tree. In that moment, she became more than herself: a living symbol of resilience, renewal, and transformation. The laurel would go on to represent honor, creativity, and triumph. Just as Daphne’s metamorphosis was both an act of survival and an act of transcendence, so, too, does art hold the power to transform.
