Just as the river flows through San Marcos, so does a wave of creativity. The San Marcos Arts Commission presented its annual SMarts Advocacy Awards to individuals and organizations who are making significant contributions to the San Marcos arts and cultural scene. This year two individuals were honored including local artist and educator Debangana Banerjee and filmmaker and “First Tuesday” film series founder Jeffrey Brown. Arts and event space MotherShip Studios and cafe and concert venue Tantra Coffee House were also honored. 2025 marks the 13th year of the SMarts awards with its mission to encourage and recognize outstanding support and enhancement of the arts and cultural life of San Marcos. It aims to recognize the important contributions of the arts and arts organizations to the quality of life and economic vitality of the community.
A ceremony honoring the awardees was held at the Price Center. The packed house enjoyed hors d’oeuvres from local baker and caterer Steger’s Chiffonade, before making their way into the 1910 Ballroom for the reception. Arts Coordinator Trey Hatt was the master of ceremonies for the evening, presenting not only the awardees but the nominees who made the awards possible.
The first award was presented to Debangana Baberjee who was nominated by her husband Suparno Banerjee. Born and raised in India she studied printmaking, published poetry and art books, and now teaches art classes as the ArtSpace Coordinator at Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos as well as teaching art at the Wonderland School in San Marcos.
“She dedicates a great amount of time and effort in cultivating children’s creativity and special education, both professionally and through voluntary work,” Suparno said. “I’m delighted that the city of San Marcos Arts Commission decided to recognize such a person.”
The next award was presented to MotherShip Studios by San Marcos Arts Committee member Jamey Poole. MotherShip Studios is a women-built, owned and operated art space co-founded by Jacqueline Overby in 2020. What was once an empty warehouse space has transformed into a functioning gallery and events space with multiple resident artists and an outdoor stage area which has hosted countless arts and music events over the past five years. In 2023 MotherShip Studios founded the San Marcos Studio Tour which provides local artists the opportunity to showcase not only their art but the space in which they create it. 2025 was the third year of the annual event and hosted over 100 local artists at 87 tour stops as well as 19 local business-sponsored stops. What was once a two-day event has grown into a two-weekend tour which not only allows San Marcos residents the ability to explore the local art scene but also brings in tourists interested in local art.
“A few years ago, when I attended the first San Marcos studio tour, I was blown away by the magnitude of the event, the successful new platform for our artists, and just the amazing energy of the whole weekend,” Poole said. In just a few years, [MotherShip Studios] has had a huge impact by bringing a creative community together and championing the unique artistic spirit of our city.”
After founder Jacqueline Overby accepted the award the MotherShip team joined her on stage for a group celebration.
“There’s a very large group of women who are putting their heart and soul with us and to see everybody here supporting us is just further proof that we are doing what we’re supposed to do,” Overby said.
Filmmaker Paul Collins nominated fellow filmmaker Jeffrey Brown who organized the “First Tuesday SMTX Film Series” hosted at The Price Center. Brown runs Big Day Pictures who has made award-winning features and documentaries that have reached international audiences. His work has been featured at prestigious festivals such as Sundance and Cannes but his work in San Marcos has transformed the city’s access to thought provoking film. Every month San Marcos residents have the opportunity to not only watch emerging independent film documentaries but often get the ability to hear directly from filmmakers after the screening.
“Jeffrey is one of the unique individuals that has a real passion for cinema in our community,” Collins said. “Jeffrey’s really been a local hero to cinema here, not just me, but a lot of other independent filmmakers. ... Our film culture here in San Marcos is growing, and Jeffrey’s been a great advocate to helping young people and also people that don’t have access to go to film school.” Since founding the “First Tuesday” film series, Brown has brought 32 independent films and filmmakers to the San Marcos community.
The final award was presented to Tantra Coffee House by Arts Commissioner Jason Weems. Present to accept the award was local musician and Tantra employee Ez Maldonado.
“I just want to say what an honor it is to celebrate the arts and the artists and those who bring it all together here in San Marcos, the people in this room breathe life and relevancy and legitimacy to our town and our art scene,” Weems said.
Tantra is more than just a place to grab a coffee and a sandwich, its outdoor stage provides a platform for musicians of all kinds to showcase their talents to the community.
“Coffee shops are often unsung heroes in this tapestry of community ... but Tantra is far more than just a coffee shop. It’s a true creative cornerstone of San Marcos. It’s where songwriters first share songs and where artists hang their first shows, where ideas get passed around like cups of coffee and where bands drop their new album,” Weems said.
For more information on the SMarts awards, including a list of past winners, explore the website at visitsanmarcos. com/arts/commission/smartsawards/.
