The Lincoln Park area is seeing new life as businesses unite to offer El Pasoans diverse entertainment options including art, beer, food, music and more.
Gabriel Marquez, owner of Mystic Desert Studio, 3900 Rosa Ave., Suite B, said the J&K Present concert Oct. 5 that featured Disclosure and Chanel Tres brought a new crowd to the neighborhood that probably was unfamiliar with it.
However, he said, “local businesses in the area are collaborating in creating events for people to come out and support on a monthly basis now as well.”
Marquez said monthly art markets and quarterly exhibitions at Mystic Desert Studio are helping draw people, adding that “collaborating with Amalur Kitchen & Bar with the night markets has helped immensely. Old Sheepdog Brewery usually has different events happening every so often, like Last Thursdays open mic and local nonprofit events.”
“The gallery across the street, Traffick Artspace, has been hosting solo exhibitions as well, which all help create the atmosphere we are trying to project.”
He said, “The markets are back on the monthly calendar as long as all the business and owners approve. It definitely helps everyone. People in El Paso are always looking for something new to do.”
Marquez, who formerly operated his gallery from an adobe building in Socorro, Texas, said he loves the current location. He said that while he wishes there were more foot traffic, “being next to the iconic Chicano Park has its perks. You are surrounded by art the moment you arrive; for visitors, that’s an iconic thing.”
He said: “The Mystic Desert Studio location creates more visibility to the Lincoln Park area. I think as long as we are able to create an eventful space for the public, we will all thrive.
He said his new space “is much larger in scale, so I am able to showcase larger works and host large group exhibitions. I am more focused on exhibiting emerging artists to give them a voice and established artists to hopefully create a substantial list of collectors in person and online. It is more centralized, so people from the West Side or East Side don’t have an excuse not to come.”
Laura Turón, owner of Paradox Immersive Art, 3915 Rosa Ave., agreed that activity in the area has increased, crediting all the venues coming together as a whole arts-community block.
Gus Delgado, co-owner of Old Sheepdog Brewery, 3900 Rosa Ave., said, “Activity has definitely increased, and I attribute it to more businesses opening in the vicinity and a strong collaboration amongst said businesses.”
The brewery recently expanded its hours “in order to align with other businesses that open early on our street, such as Synaxis Coffee, Soco Loco Cycles, and Fun Funky Fab (Vintage) and Pineapple Vintage stores. The change in hours has helped generate more foot traffic and business for us all.”
The brewery now opens at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday for breakfast, then at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Marquez said: “Synaxis has been posted up at Old Sheepdog Brewery for about a month now, so they have helped bring new visitors to the area. Traffick Artspace has a pretty strong presence, hosting art shows at what used to be Galeria Lincoln.”
Innovation also is fueling the increase in entertainment options in the area.
Turón said, “Paradox Immersive Art is undergoing a few changes because of our new partnership with a local music studio called Genuine Reference Studios, where we are working to set up a live music venue in the back courtyard to feature art installations, light shows, and live music. We are calling this partnership Paradox Live.
“Another venue, new to the space, is Traffick Artspace, which is renting the front section of the space. It is an independent art space, separate from Paradox Immersive Art and Paradox Live,” Turón said.
Visitors to Paradox Immersive Art will notice one of the city’s top Instagram spots is missing, albeit temporarily.
“We took down Paradox Pyramid to expand the courtyard area, plane and level it, and add turf,” Turón said. “I am also working on redesigning Paradox Pyramid. For now, what used to be the floor of Paradox Pyramid will be set up as a backdrop for the stage area on Nov. 14.
“Paradox Immersive Art is still open and sells tickets as usual,” Turón said, adding, “We have seven-plus art installations featuring my work,” including her LED light room collaboration with Genuine Reference Studios and art by Gitzel Moncivais, Ruben Reveles, Ulys Gold and AuraKool.
Turón said: “We are starting a new event series, free to the community. Visitors can come over and look at the courtyard area and take pictures in front of the murals. It is called Kickback Fridays.”
It will be from 6-9 p.m. on Fridays, starting Nov. 14.
She said: “These free event series and other free art workshop events we will be organizing are funded through a grant from the Carol J. McGuire Foundation. The stage was sponsored by the George and Bonnie Alvarado family.”
Turón said, “Also, any artist interested in doing live art during the event, painting a mural at the space, setting up as a vendor, or performing live can contact us via DM on our Instagram @paradoximmersiveart.”
She said art immersive tour experience tickets are sold separately at $15 each.
Being a part of the community and offering a variety of options is key to Old Sheepdog Brewery’s business plan.
Delgado said: “The brewery has always had unique special events. As a growing business community, we foresee more events taking place regularly.
“We have ongoing events such as charity/fundraising events in collaboration with nonprofits,” he said, adding, “We hold quarterly book festivals, monthly markets, and annual musical acts and art shows.”
Delgado urged El Pasoans to “follow the businesses at 3900 Rosa Ave. to see upcoming events in our community.”
Meanwhile, the Lincoln Park area continues to draw people who believe in the neighborhood.
Robert Estrada, owner of Joe Vinny & Bronson’s Bohemian Café, 824 N. Piedras St., is opening a new restaurant, Amalur Kitchen & Bar, across from Marquez’s Mystic Desert Studio.
Estrada said Amalur, which he hopes to open “as soon as possible,” will have an international menu with options including different cuts of meat, paella and some Mediterranean dishes.
As of now, “we’re doing private events,” Estrada said.
Estrada said the renovations have been going on for a year and a half.
He said “the beautiful building” was the factoring decision in choosing the area.
“We had been looking for a space, and this space became available,” he said. “It was brought to our attention, and the second that we walked in, we absolutely just fell in love.”
Estrada said, “The biggest challenge was trying to figure out a design for the space without taking away from what the building was.”
The enterprise has been a labor of love.
“We did a lot of the decorating and the furniture” that didn’t require permits, he said.
While the Lincoln Park area remains the heart of Marquez, Delgado and Turón’s endeavors, they are expanding their efforts to other areas and markets as well.
Marquez said, “I’m looking for walls with high visibility that I can paint murals on. I’ll do it for free as long as I can paint what I want in good taste.”
He said that while he plans to continue hosting events like the Central Market Night Market and group/solo exhibitions inside Mystic Desert Studio, “I plan to have employees run the shop, so I can go paint more murals around town in the coming months.”
Delgado said, “Our beer is currently available at all Union Draft House locations, East Side at Undisputed Craft House and St. Augustine Pizza, Northeast at Neep Collective, Downtown at Shifty’s and B-17 (Bombers Oyster Pub), West Side at Hoppy Monk and Hope and Anchor.”
Turón said her Paradox Traveling Art Bus “is available for rent to be exhibited at private events, parties, festivals, and schools. We sometimes take it on tour out of town as well to be presented at art festivals. Anyone interested in booking the bus can contact us at info@LT-artdesign.com, and we are also part of the Texas Touring Roster with Texas Commission on the Arts, if any nonprofit or school is seeking financial support to bring the bus over.”
Turón, who completed an art residency in Iceland, said: “I recently went to New York. I was part of a group show and showed my work at two different galleries, one in Manhattan at the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Gallery and the Bishop Gallery in Brooklyn. I am currently working on a project out of town in the south of Mexico, in Ixtapa, Guerrero, and also participating in a process of curatorial mentoring and portfolio review by olgaMargarita dávila, the curator in chief of Lagos CDMX.”
She added: “I am also getting ready to show an art piece for ‘Emerging and Beyond,’ an exhibition organized by Bishop Gallery in New York. The exhibition will feature a range of artists, from rising talents to more established artists. It will be held in the gallery at The Moore Miami during Art Basel Miami 2025 and should be on view throughout the month of December.”
However, Turón said: “I plan to continue showing my work through Paradox Immersive Art and Paradox Live. We plan to invite local musicians to participate, and I will collaborate with Genuine Reference Studios to use lights and projections to incorporate an immersive art aspect to the performances — all in the same spot where we are located, 3915 Rosa Ave. near Lincoln Park.
She said: “I will also continue to add new art installation designs in the space. Any artist interested in submitting an art installation proposal that they would like to showcase can apply by sending an email to info@LT-artdesign.com”
She urged “all community members to support local art, visit the new art spaces and shops in the area, and shop for local art for the upcoming holidays.”
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Businesses in Lincoln Park neighborhood find success in cooperation, innovation
Reporting by Samuel Gaytan / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
