A Place to Belong: SAY Sí and the Artists It Raised
October 28, 2026 at 10:30pm
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When Ashley Perez walked into SAY Sí for the first time as a high school freshman, she thought she had arrived somewhere far bigger than San Antonio’s Southtown. The converted warehouse was divided into art studios by corrugated plastic room partitions, and to her, it looked like something in New York City. “So cool,” she remembers thinking. She was there because her high school teacher had noticed her doodles, and suggested she apply to the intensive after-school program. At the time, Ashley and her sister were staying at St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home (known locally as St. PJ’s) because their mother was unable to take care of them. SAY Sí provided Ashley with opportunities to learn about art, create it, and market her work at local events, but even more importantly, it provided a safe and welcoming community. The program allowed her to earn admittance to a workshop at the Rhode Island School of Design, which gave her the opportunity to leave the state of Texas for the first time, and fly on her first airplane flight! She described the friends she made at SAY Sí as “summer camp” type friends that are there for you for life.
From Student to Teacher
After graduating high school, and the SAY Sí program, Ashley went to college at UTSA to study painting, but remained involved with SAY Sí by working as an intern. With her degree secured, she was hired to be a visual arts instructor full-time—a role she filled for 15 years. Today Ashley works as the Arts Ambassador of the San Antonio River Foundation, coordinating events and arts explorations for the public. She also serves on the City of San Antonio’s Public Arts Commission, and in 2025, a massive sculpture she designed was unveiled near Mission San Jose, in the neighborhood where she grew up. In a serendipitous twist of fate, her current employer raises money for St. PJ’s every year.
A Singular Journey, a Collective Story
On Friday, September 25, 2026, dozens of guests flocked to the Westside of San Antonio for Small Scale, Big Impact, SAY Sí's annual fundraiser. The event featured over 100 works of art from dozens of local artists, available for purchase via an online auction. A number of the art pieces were created by SAY Sí alumni, including Ashley Perez. The event raised about $25,000. But what is SAY Si?
It Started With a Loss
In 1994, members of the King William Neighborhood Association, upset at the loss of arts classes at Brackenridge High School, formed an after-school arts program for affected students. They rented a space in the burgeoning Blue Star Art Space and art teacher Donna Simon instructed the first 12 students in visual arts. David Anthony Garcia was also one of the first teachers and program directors and recently said he was fortunate to work with some talented teens who grew up to be amazing artists, including Albert Alvarez, Ashley Perez, Gabe Garcia, Dave Cordero, and Zane Lewis.
Within a few years of their founding, SAY Sí expanded its programming to also teach Media Arts, using a lab of colorful, rounded iMacs to show teens how to do graphic arts, publishing, and more. SAY Sí soon outgrew its initial space at Blue Star and, in 2007, moved to its own building across S. Alamo: a funky space covering 26,000 square feet that formerly served as a brewery and a warehouse for office furniture. In the larger space, a brand new theater program was created, bringing the number of programs to three.
An Ambitious Mission
The mission of SAY Sí is to be an organization that “ignites the creative power of young people as forces of positive change,” and that will “value artists, empower marginalized communities and advance culture.” Jessica Beall is SAY Sí's current Community Engagement Manager and went through the program as a high schooler. She explained how her work as a student liaison gave her leadership opportunities and skills that are helpful in her current role. One project she remembers fondly was Stories Seldom Told, which asked students to consider taboo topics and choose a theme. One year the theme was body image. The students were randomly assigned to different studios; as a visual artist, she was placed in the theater group and was terrified, but ultimately empowered, by being pushed outside her comfort zone.
A Bigger Home, a Harder Start
SAY Sí was pushed outside its comfort zone as an organization when they decided to buy a new building. They moved to 1310 S. Brazos in 2021 with plans to expand. The new campus was four times as large as the old one: about 100,000 square feet. With the new space available, there was talk of new programs in culinary arts, music, and more. Unfortunately, the timing of the move coincided with the COVID pandemic. After-school programs were greatly affected by the times. Participation fell. SAY Sí is now in a rebuilding phase, watching its numbers expand year by year.
Today, students in the visual arts program learn to draw, paint, and sculpt. They learn how to create installations and how to make ceramics. They also learn to research topics, write artist statements, and improve their work through feedback and critique. They take field trips and learn from guest artists to expand their knowledge of art in the world around them. They have opportunities to showcase their artwork in professional-level shows to their families, friends, and communities. Each year, SAY Sí participants put on two shows per semester, and any visitor to the campus will see a great deal of it on display. Students collaborate with one another and with other arts agencies for creative endeavors; for example, in December of 2025, Visual Arts students collaborated with Agarita, a local chamber ensemble, to create over 500 drawings, showcased salon-style during a musical performance by Agarita at SAY Sí.
Today’s Media Arts Studio focuses on video and photography (with much more powerful computers at their fingertips). Students are encouraged to find their own voice and speak out about topics of concern by using technology to tell stories. Like the visual artists, media artists are often commissioned by community organizations to create works of art for specific purposes. During projects, students retain creative control from the initial concept to storyboarding, creating the material, editing the project, and creating materials to promote exhibitions of their work. They learn real-world entrepreneurial skills that will help them become working artists someday or contribute to society in other meaningful ways.
SAY Sí’s theater program is called ALAS, which stands for Activating Leadership, Art and Service. Together, the students in the program develop their own stories, write their own scripts, and then produce, act, direct, and promote their productions. Their work puts a spotlight on issues of diversity, prejudice, social injustice, and community problems from the perspective of the students’ own experiences. The theater is also used by other community groups. Collaboration with community groups is one of SAY Sí’s superpowers.
Wave of the Future
In the future, SAY Sí plans to renovate the remaining spaces in its building to expand programming or rent them to community agencies. They currently provide operational space for Students of Service and for Teatro Audaz. They also rent space for events such as this August’s Art Salon 2026 of the San Antonio Ethnic Art Society.
Earlier this summer, the back warehouse space was used for a giant art installation by alumnus Brian Gonzalez to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Kerrville floods. Brian designed and constructed a large wooden structure in the shape of a wave. SAY Sí students created ceramic sculptures that sat on the wave, and large light patterns were projected on it. Original compositions were created by the San Antonio Composers Alliance, and then performed by musicians and the San Antonio Children’s Choir. Several hundred people got to observe this very moving experience.
One of the most popular events at SAY Sí was Muertitos Fest. It was a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival that invited the public to create crafts and see artwork related to the popular Mexican holiday that has always been commemorated in San Antonio, but in recent years, celebratory events have become even bigger. SAY Sí plans to bring back Muertitos Fest this year on Friday, October 30, 2026, at its current location.
SAY Sí will continue to use the arts to change the lives of young people, and to enhance the culture of San Antonio. Executive Director Lindsay Byrne says,
“As SAY Sí looks ahead, we see that our future is bright! We will continue to expand the impact of our creative arts programming, and our community focused outreach.” She is excited to see where they are headed next.
