M!SA Art & Design After Dark
Join us for the first event in our M!SA Art & Design After Dark series, where we gather for drinks and light bites after work to discuss our projects, learn something new, expand your network, view art, purchase art, and consider joining as a M!SA Member!
This event will be in conjunction with our 2025 Member Drive and includes a speaker panel with creative professionals speaking on the topic of:
AI in Art & Design: Opportunity, Risk, or Both
Date
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Schedule
5:00 pm Doors open to M!SA Members
6:00 pm Doors open to all
6:30-7:30pm Panel Discussion
8:00pm- Wrap Up
Parking Information
We recommend taking a ride share. If ride-sharing is not an option, we have a small parking lot behind the gate, which is available until it is full. There is also parking available along the street on 6th and Avenue E. City meters along the roads will turn off after 6:00 pm.
Do not keep valuables in your car.
Speakers
Clay Hefty is an AI consultant, educator, and entrepreneur based in San Antonio, Texas. As the founder and operator of 500 Sixth, a coworking community on the doorstep of downtown San Antonio, Clay brings together technology, education, and small business development to help others harness the power of artificial intelligence.
Clay works with both small businesses and larger organizations to weave AI into their workflows and deploy AI across their organizations. He primarily uses OpenAI tools and helps teams unlock more value from platforms they already use.
As an AI coach and educator, Clay leads hands-on AI workshops at 500 Sixth, teaching professionals how to adopt lean, inexpensive AI solutions that are non-disruptive and easy to learn and deploy. His sessions are designed to help teams improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and uncover opportunities to increase sales.
Clay graduated from the postgraduate program in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the University of Texas at Austin, and holds a BBA in Quantitative Business Analysis from Baylor University. He moved to San Antonio in 2002, where he remains active in the city’s entrepreneurial and creative communities.
Cecilia Garcia-Hours is a Principal, Studio Leader, and Registered Landscape Architect at MP Studio. Cecilia’s background includes degrees in landscape architecture, international studies and a master’s in urban planning, and she has worked extensively with diverse communities in places like Los Angeles, Santa Monica and of course San Antonio. With each project Cecilia strives to create culturally inspired environments that respond to site context and the needs of all users. Cecilia is a Texas native and joined MP in 2018.
Mauricio Tafoya is the Founder and Creative Director of León Studio, a multidisciplinary practice working fluidly across the disciplines of spatial design at the scale of buildings, interiors, and objects. He approaches each project as a seamless conversation between form and feeling. His philosophy is rooted in the belief that design is not simply about form, but about atmosphere, the intangible quality that gives a space its soul. He pursues a language of quiet elegance, restraint, and simplicity, where emotion is as essential as proportion, and where beauty is measured by the way a space makes people feel. At the heart of his practice is a commitment to shaping lives through thoughtful experiential design.
Before founding León Studio, Mauricio honed his craft at Overland Partners, an acclaimed local firm, and at Gensler, a global powerhouse in design. His experience spans from intimate, high end residences to expansive master plans, giving him a breadth of perspective while remaining deeply committed to the human scale. Today, through León Studio, he continues to create work that is timeless, poetic, and profoundly connected to the way people live.
To better communicate design intent, León Studio continually rethinks the mediums through which stories are told. By using AI to animate renderings, layering light and sound, and crafting immersive narratives, the studio invites clients not only to observe but to truly inhabit a space before it is built. It is a practice rooted in tradition yet expressed through innovation, where enduring principles of design meet the possibilities of new technology.
Mauricio sees artificial intelligence as an opportunity to enrich, not replace, creativity. His approach bridges the values of craft and intuition with emerging tools, always with the aim of making a meaningful impact on people’s lives through thoughtful, human-centered design.
Violeta De Leon Davila (she/her/hers) is a contemporary dance artist and choreographer known for her versatile work in dance and artistic projects. Her latest creation, ‘Feathered Rhapsody’, explores the beauty of birds through three segments, with original choreography and a collaboration with composer Federico Chávez-Blanco and Malakita Productions. Violeta has premiered works like ‘Vision Fugitives’ at the University of the Incarnate Word and ‘Wander Dance: Beyond the Race’, showcased at University Health Hospital’s SaludArte Program and Hemisfair’s Art in the Park. She co-created ‘Welcome to Plant Dance’, presented at the Carver Community Cultural Center, and her dance film ‘They Taught You Wrong: Metanoia – A Transformative Change’ has gained recognition at multiple festivals.
She has received numerous grants, including the Individual Artists Project Grant for 2023 and 2025, as well as a Production Grant for Artists 2025 from the San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture. With over a decade of teaching experience, Violeta has introduced the Graham Technique to professional and pre-professional ballet organizations and offered workshops in Marfa, Texas.
Violeta serves as the Advocacy Co-chair on the board of the National Dance Society, Board Director at San Antonio Dance and is in her sixth year coordinating the San Antonio Dance Festival. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, she holds degrees in Contemporary Dance and International Relations and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Arts and Culture Administration.
Marcus Romero is Creative Director at Texas Creative. Family man, designer, maker — in that precise order. Raised on a steady diet of instant ramen noodles, vinyl records, and reruns, Marcus’s work captures the energy, vibrancy, and spirit of youth culture. Originally an undergrad in Computer Science, Marcus began his career 27 years ago as a promoter and event producer in the Texas electronic music scene, quickly gaining recognition as a prolific and sought-after poster designer. After several academic pursuits, he completed art school in San Antonio. Marcus's creative journey continued with a stint in the toy industry, where he worked in retail package design and product development, gaining invaluable experience in both the visual and technical aspects of design. This period helped him hone his ability to balance creativity with practical implementation. Transitioning into the agency world, Marcus refined his expertise, blending technical knowledge with creative vision. His work spans corporate branding and advertising, UI/UX design, animation & editing, sound design, color grading, and producing digital video campaigns strategically targeted across social platforms.