Glasstire, celebrating its 25th anniversary, revisits its archives to highlight a series of articles on artist-run spaces across Texas. The collection includes profiles of Hal Marcus, who ran a community-centered gallery in El Paso until his death in 2026; Sylvia Orozco, co-founder of the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin; the Flower Shop Residency in Brownsville, founded by artist Jesus Treviño; and a multi-part series on Sala Diaz, a longstanding artist-run space in San Antonio. These pieces, drawn from essays, reviews, and news published over the past 25 years, form the theme "Built, Not Bought: Artist-Run Spaces."
This retrospective matters because it documents the grassroots, community-driven art infrastructure that often operates outside the commercial gallery system. By spotlighting artist-run galleries and collectives in Texas, Glasstire underscores how these spaces foster local creativity, challenge perceptions of border communities, and preserve regional art histories. The feature also demonstrates the value of archival journalism in capturing the evolving landscape of alternative art spaces, which remain vital for artistic experimentation and community engagement.