WELCOME TO
CHADACON
Article by Samuel Rocha
San Antonio’s historic arts and culture scene is driven by strong community efforts. A homegrown local seeks to lend a hand by providing a public event for others to express themselves artistically.
Chad Juniper, 23, is a content creator, videographer, musician, and husband who works for two companies providing services as a multimedia specialist. Juniper has recently been pondering closure within significant moments in his life. One of these moments includes flashbacks to about six years ago, back in high school.
Some think of high school and begin to cringe, but Juniper is reminiscing about his idea of organizing an event to unite a community.
This event was commonly known between him and his group of friends as CHADACON.
“The idea of CHADACON just came as a quick punchline to a joke,” Juniper said. “I was a part of a rap duo [Slick Fire], and we joked about how we wanted to go [perform] at Coachella, and I was like, did you guys hear CHADACON’s coming into town? We could just do it there.”
CHADACON would live on as a sarcastic reference that he and his friends would often “use for any idea they had,” Juniper laughingly said. His friends would repeatedly say, “I’m making a YouTube video, it'd be cool if they could premiere at CHADACON.”
A few more CHADACON jokes went by, and he asked himself, “Why don't we just actually do the event?”
Six years later, he’s striving to execute CHADACON but with a more powerful message rather than just a punchline.
“CHADACON is about a lot more than just me or my friend group. I want it to be a creative hub that [includes] every demographic with every type of art you could imagine,” Juniper said.
CHADACON stands for Creative Hub of Arts, Design and Audio- a multimedia Convention, and will take place at the Brick at The Blue Star Arts Complex on Aug. 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Juniper believes events like this help San Antonio and the local art community thrive. Blue Star has had success following this same ideology for almost 40 years. According to their website, Blue Star serves as the “anchor of San Antonio Art.”
Located adjacent to the San Antonio Riverwalk, its central area, residing near the historic King William neighborhood, was a huge reason for Juniper hosting CHADACON at Blue Star.
“It was important to me that if I was going to do this event, I would need a proper venue that a lot of people associate with San Antonio and the local art scene,” Juniper said. He adds that Blue Star has a great level of credibility running these types of events in San Antonio.
Juniper promises live music, short films, vendors, food and drinks to be present during the event. His reasoning for hosting a platform for multiple mediums of the arts is deeply connected with his passion for community bonding and creating.
“I think we live in a very scary time. Everything that is happening right now is made to divide people and work against us, telling us not to create art,” Juniper said. “Having an event like this can bring together people who are making art to a hub where you can centralize and see all of them at once.”
Juniper has been creating art for over a decade, with some presented in the form of video or music. Not alone, of course, but with his two best friends since childhood.
Zion Rangel, a creative in music and video, has been a great friend of Juniper since second grade. He credits Rangel’s “good eye” while helping him out with various projects.
“I feel like all my blind spots he can fill, and he knows what an audience will gravitate towards,” Juniper said.
Rangel’s hand in CHADACON will be primarily focused on visuals and music. Juniper states, “There are some things you can't articulate, [more of] a feeling, and he's very good at capturing that.”
*Photo of Zion and Chad, left to right
Juniper’s second partner in crime, Jay Houser, will help with the visual aspect, with more emphasis on the website and stage design, and lighting mechanics.
“Jay has helped me a lot with the aesthetic and color palette of [CHADACON],” Juniper said. “Both of them are helping me structurally with how the whole thing should look and feel.”
*Photo of Chad and Jay, left to right
In the end, Juniper wants visitors to enjoy supporting local artists and bring the attention they deserve.
“Whether people are buying the merch or not, I want to promise them that they will have a good night,” Juniper said.
He urges people to invite friends and family, for this is not exclusive; it’s an event for the community.
“I want CHADACON to be an event people wanna stay at from beginning to end,” Juniper said. “You’ll experience narratives at play throughout the show, and get to learn about different artists as the night goes on, similar to a concert rather than a market.”
CHADACON will be a free event showcasing small artists’ work in the mediums of film, music, clothing, and fine arts. The list of artists attending CHADACON will be announced as time moves closer to the Aug. 8 date.
Although there is no cost to attend, Juniper encourages people to consider buying or donating to support a local artist.