Border Arts Network Statement
-The Border Arts Network (B.A.N.) is a collective of all artists who engage in telling stories along the U.S./Mexico border. In our view, a small press is seen in the same light as an individual author writing the books published by a press. Similarly, an author is seen in the same light as a musician or an artist, or a photographer, all of whom are engaged in telling stories, for an image can say a thousand words, and a narrative can paint a dynamic picture.
Who is served:
Publishers
Authors
Spoken word/Poets
Musicians/Singers/Songwriters/Bands
Artists: painters/sculptors/muralists
Photographers
Filmmakers
Theater Companies
The General Public
And more...
The B.A.N. website will be like any other resource on the internet, with elements able to be shared on social media but not dependent on any one particular social media network. The main purpose of B.A.N. is to serve as a direct portal for artists to connect with other artists and develop contacts while sharing tips and information.
On the flip side, B.A.N. will serve institutions and organizations as a resource to find artists, authors, performers, speakers, musicians, and thought leaders when coordinating events or school-based or group-based presentations.
“We’re not just a group on a social media platform, we’re a collective of creators.”
--Gabriel H. Sanchez, B.A.N. Founder and Developer
Who is served:
Publishers
Authors
Spoken word/Poets
Musicians/Singers/Songwriters/Bands
Artists: painters/sculptors/muralists
Photographers
Filmmakers
Theater Companies
The General Public
And more...
The B.A.N. website will be like any other resource on the internet, with elements able to be shared on social media but not dependent on any one particular social media network. The main purpose of B.A.N. is to serve as a direct portal for artists to connect with other artists and develop contacts while sharing tips and information.
On the flip side, B.A.N. will serve institutions and organizations as a resource to find artists, authors, performers, speakers, musicians, and thought leaders when coordinating events or school-based or group-based presentations.
“We’re not just a group on a social media platform, we’re a collective of creators.”
--Gabriel H. Sanchez, B.A.N. Founder and Developer
About Gabriel H. Sanchez,
B.A.N. Developer & Founder
As founder and editor for The Raving Press, a Rio Grande Valley independent publishing company, I have been promoting the arts of the border for almost 25 years, having started publishing in 1998.
Since then, I have been actively expanding the efforts to elevate the arts of the border by publishing multiple art and literary anthologies and chapbooks; building a solid web presence through The Raving Press website and social media pages, as well as engaging readers and art enthusiasts via our engaging blog which occupies a page on theravingpress.com website and is called the “T.R.iP. Wire” (T.R.i.P. is an acronym for The Raving Press Information Wire).
Aside from these efforts, I have also embarked in promotional and marketing efforts headlining authors and artists by organizing and publicizing annual book fairs, book launch events, poetry readings, writing workshops, publishing seminars, and literary as well as art talks, and presentations.
Residing in Mission, Texas, I have been long dedicated to the vision of enhancing and promoting the arts and artists of the U.S./Mexico border, being myself not only a consumer of these arts but also an avid creator of artistic and literary works through the publication of books of poetry, short fiction, and historical fictional novellas. Aside from writing and publishing, I am also a musician and singer, having formed part of two touring bands throughout the 1990’s and recently resumed my musical odyssey by learning to play guitar in the past two years and planning to return to the stage wherever an open mic provides the opportunity. I’m also an actor with two feature films under my belt available for viewing on Amazon Prime, and one web series produced and directed by myself. I was also cast in the lead role of a play by the Pharr Community Theater playing President Lyndon B. Johnson in the play “Pat & Lyndon” by Archer Crosely in 2014 and have been a participant in multiple tv and web-based video productions and commercials over the years.
From my early days as a novice writer, I recall many people from the border region of the Rio Grande Valley declaring off-handedly that “there is nothing in the Valley” as a justification their decisions to ultimately move away from the border to other more populated regions of the U.S. I’ve always felt that part of the reason that the perception that “there is nothing in the Valley” was precisely because individuals of all backgrounds, skills, and talents made the unfortunate move away from the border instead of staying here and helping create and define the artistic and literary character of the border region.
I made the decision early on to remain on the border region and help cultivate the landscape for the border arts and help grow to its maximum fruitfulness the tremendous potential of border artists. For this reason, I have embarked on a new project that seeks to achieve these goals: the Border Arts Network (B.A.N.).
Since then, I have been actively expanding the efforts to elevate the arts of the border by publishing multiple art and literary anthologies and chapbooks; building a solid web presence through The Raving Press website and social media pages, as well as engaging readers and art enthusiasts via our engaging blog which occupies a page on theravingpress.com website and is called the “T.R.iP. Wire” (T.R.i.P. is an acronym for The Raving Press Information Wire).
Aside from these efforts, I have also embarked in promotional and marketing efforts headlining authors and artists by organizing and publicizing annual book fairs, book launch events, poetry readings, writing workshops, publishing seminars, and literary as well as art talks, and presentations.
Residing in Mission, Texas, I have been long dedicated to the vision of enhancing and promoting the arts and artists of the U.S./Mexico border, being myself not only a consumer of these arts but also an avid creator of artistic and literary works through the publication of books of poetry, short fiction, and historical fictional novellas. Aside from writing and publishing, I am also a musician and singer, having formed part of two touring bands throughout the 1990’s and recently resumed my musical odyssey by learning to play guitar in the past two years and planning to return to the stage wherever an open mic provides the opportunity. I’m also an actor with two feature films under my belt available for viewing on Amazon Prime, and one web series produced and directed by myself. I was also cast in the lead role of a play by the Pharr Community Theater playing President Lyndon B. Johnson in the play “Pat & Lyndon” by Archer Crosely in 2014 and have been a participant in multiple tv and web-based video productions and commercials over the years.
From my early days as a novice writer, I recall many people from the border region of the Rio Grande Valley declaring off-handedly that “there is nothing in the Valley” as a justification their decisions to ultimately move away from the border to other more populated regions of the U.S. I’ve always felt that part of the reason that the perception that “there is nothing in the Valley” was precisely because individuals of all backgrounds, skills, and talents made the unfortunate move away from the border instead of staying here and helping create and define the artistic and literary character of the border region.
I made the decision early on to remain on the border region and help cultivate the landscape for the border arts and help grow to its maximum fruitfulness the tremendous potential of border artists. For this reason, I have embarked on a new project that seeks to achieve these goals: the Border Arts Network (B.A.N.).
Spreading the B.A.N. Mission:
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