Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah Keller-Rihn.
Hi Deborah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Deborah Keller Rihn is a San Antonio based artist, photographer, educator, curator, and cultural organizer whose creative pursuits have shaped the city’s vibrant arts landscape for over four decades.
• Artistic Vision & Practice
Keller Rihn’s work merges photography with spirituality, myth, ritual, and Eastern philosophy—particularly Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu symbolism. A defining exhibition, The Evolution of a Feminine Mythology, traced her journey through 30 years of exploring femininity, divine archetypes, and personal myth through staged photographic tableaux.
• Academic Credentials
She holds a BA in Humanities (UTSA), teaching certifications in art and communication (UT Austin), and an MA in Art (Texas A&M–Kingsville). She is currently pursuing studies in Art as a Spiritual Practice at the Sri Aurobindo Center of Advanced Research in Pondicherry, India.
• A core figure in San Antonio’s creative community, Keller Rihn co founded the Blue Star Arts Collective in 2021, fostering collaboration among local artists and supporting monthly exhibitions. She has also contributed to San Antonio’s annual Luminaria arts festival, creating performative altars and symbolic installations. She co-founded and organizes the annual Lighten Up festival at Woodlawn Lake.
• Recognition & Collections
Her work is included in permanent collections at UTSA and the Texas Blood & Tissue Center, and her photographs have featured in prestigious regional platforms like FOTOSEPTIEMBRE and the St. Mary’s University Blume Gallery.
• Besides teaching Art and Humanities for many years, Keller-Rihn has also worked in art-related jobs such as the Fine Arts Facilitator at the Edgewood Fine Arts Academy, Assistant Curator of Education at the San Antonio Museum of Art, Program Coordinator at Centro Cultural Aztlan and Exhibit Coordinator at Bihl Haus Arts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an artist and single mother was not an easy road because I always had to have a regular job as well as working on my art. This actually made me branch out into the community and meet lots of people and develop many skills as an arts organizer, curator, teacher and so on. Actually, my struggles have been mostly financial since art is an many ways a luxury even though it is absolutely essential to the community.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am known for my photography, especially how I mix it with painting, drawing, printmaking and installations.
I am very proud of the installation I did at Highwire Arts called Namaste and for the installation of floating photographs I did at Luminaria. I am currently working on a series of cyanotypes for Fotoseptiembre 2025 that will be shown at Casa Arte del Sol and at the Central Library in a show called Being-and-Becoming: Spiritual Evolution through Art. Cyanotypes are a beautiful blue color and made through a historical process where a photo-sensitive emulsion is brushed onto watercolor paper and exposed in sunlight.
I am proud that my work shows continuing growth and a focus on my intellectual and spiritual concerns and that my artwork has led me to go to India 4 times to take pictures and to study and learn about Indian culture and spirituality.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I run the Blue Star Arts Collective in the Upstairs Studios at Blue Star Arts Complex. I have been here for over 20 years. We are open every First Thursday, First Friday and Third Thursday of the month, 6-10 pm, Our openings are free and open to the public so feel free to visit anytime. I am also open by appointment. Text me at 21d0.800.5441 and I can meet you. On Third Thursdays, we have a poetry reading along with art activities such as collage making. We also have art classes on First Tuesdays from 1-3 pm and Third Wednesdays from 7-9 pm.
We have an annual Lighen Up Festival in March that is produced in collaboration with Bliss House Meditation Center that features free vegetarian food, yoga, dance, art installations, poetry and music. This is held at the Woodlawn Lake Casting Pond across from the main lake, In 2026, the festival will take place March 21 from 4-10 pm.
The Blue Star Arts Collective is not a non-profit but an independently run artist space. All members contribute $50 a month to help cover expenses so we have a place to exhibit and sell our work as well a place to create events, teach classes and meet the our clients. The studio also functions as a photography studio.
We are always open to donations to keep our programs going and our doors open.
We also need donations for our Lighten Up Festival.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.deborahkellerrihn.com/
- Instagram: bluestar_artscollective
- Facebook: Deborah Keller-Rihn
