San Antonio artists turn frustration into art at an art show and voter registration event on First Friday.
PROTEST: Creatives Display Their Dismay is a free voter registration event and art show at 108 Blue Star, running three nights: Thursday, September 24; Thursday, October 1; and Friday, October 2, 2026, from 6:30 to 10:00 PM. Everyone is welcome. It's free, no RSVP required. Bring a friend.
This is a collective exhibition that brings together the voices of artists who use visual expression to respond to the social, political, and cultural realities shaping our time. Through diverse perspectives, mediums, and lived experiences, this exhibition explores protest not as a single message, but as an enduring act of conscience, compassion, and civic participation.
In times of uncertainty, artists have always documented, challenged, and imagined what comes next. Creatives Display Their Dismay honors that tradition, affirming that creativity is not only an act of making. It is an act of witnessing, of courage, and of democratic participation.
Each night pairs the exhibition with on-site voter registration. Walk the show, meet the artists, hear live poetry and music, and register to vote or check your registration before you leave. Volunteers will be on hand with everything you need. If you would rather do it from your phone, the links below go straight to the Bexar County Elections Department.
Rachel Comminos, Wynn Doe, Michelle Wilby Friesenhahn, Rachel Kamata, Meg Langhorne, Elaine Lytle, Tracey Maurer, Ansen Seale, Doerte Weber, Jeff Wheeler and Vincent Valdez, with more to be announced.
Steven Lee Moya is the DJ all three nights, joined by other musical guests. Live poets and local performers take the floor each evening, including San Antonio Poet Laureate and singer Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson and Poet Laureate Eddie Vega, the "Taco Poet," with presented work from jazz musician, singer-songwriter and poet Bett Butler.
Register at the event or online, and check that your registration is current before the deadline.
This is the closing night of the series: Friday, October 2, 6:30 to 10:00 PM, and it lands on First Friday in Southtown. Expect heavier traffic and paid parking at the complex, so arrive early or consider rideshare, VIA Route 51 or walking. It is also the last chance to register at the event before the October 5 deadline.
Blue Star Arts Complex, Bexar Democrats, 108 Blue Star, Dixie Flag and Banner Company, Texas Together and the Voto Latino Foundation.
108 Blue Star is in the Blue Star Arts Complex in Southtown, San Antonio. See parking and directions and our accessibility statement for arrival details. The main entrance is ramped, and the main hall and restrooms are step-free.
