Juan de Ugalde

Juan de Ugalde later also (wrongly) known by American settlers as Juan de Uvalde (December 9, 1729 – 1816) was born in Cádiz, Spain. He joined the Spanish army in 1738. In 1787 he was promoted to commanding general of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Nuevo Santander. In 1790 he successfully led Spanish soldiers against Apache forces at Arroyo de la Soledad, which was renamed in his honor as Cañon de Ugalde. In the mid-19th Century American settlers altered this to Uvalde, which is the name of the present-day city there, where the Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey was born. After the Spanish government ordered him back to Spain, Ugalde continued in the service and was promoted to field marshal in 1797. In 1810 he was promoted to lieutenant general. Ugalde died in Cádiz in 1816.

See also http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fug01

Open Studio

A studio or workroom which is made accessible to allcomers, where artistic or creative work can be viewed and created collaboratively. An Open Studio is intended to foster creativity and encourage experimentation in an atmosphere of cultural exchange, conversation, encouragement, and freedom of expression.

History of Open Studios

In the modern era, Open Studios originated in the salons of 17th Century Paris, such as the Hôtel de Rambouillet and the gatherings of intellectuals and artists hosted by Madame de Scudéry. Much later, during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the concept of the Open Studio took the form of public poetry exchanges (most notably those of the Beat poets, events that were the forerunners of modern poetry slams), the ‘happenings’ of Andy Warhol’s The Factory (culminating in the multimedia open-floor parties known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable), and the experimental jamborees of the French literary group OuLiPo.

In the 21st Century, the Open Studio (often taking the form of a virtual or internet location) focuses on the creative act of making and sharing, in a flexible space equipped with a range of contemporary media and multimedia. Artists and non-artists come together in a social act of collaboration, the only entry requirements being an inquisitive nature, a curiosity about new and traditional media, and a lack of inhibition about creating in a semi-public space.