Category: Visual arts

Thousands of rare photos from Prairie View A&M will be digitized as part of a Getty Images HBCU grant

Photo of the Grandchildren’s Club from the 1943 Panther yearbook / Courtesy of Prairie View A&M University

A new Getty Images Photo Archives Grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities aims to honor and amplify the legacy, stories, and contributions of HBCUs to American history.

Prairie View A&M University is one of four inaugural recipients selected to receive a combined $500,000 to support the digitization of up to 200,000 archival images this year.

Other grant winners are Jackson State University (Jackson, Mississippi), North Carolina Central University (Durham, North Carolina), and Claflin University (Orangeburg, South Carolina).

Roughly 50,000 rarely seen photographs from Prairie View A&M’s library will be preserved, restored, and digitized with funding from the grant. Photo subjects include stories of migration movements, voting rights, housing displacement, injustices, Black women in politics, and Black family life within Texas communities, according to a press release.

The collection also preserves the legacy of Elnora Teal and the Teal Portrait Studio, an influential African-American photography studio established in 1919 in Houston. It operated for decades in the city’s Third, Fourth, and Fifth Wards. Elnora Teal was one of only 100 Black female photographers in the country at the time, as documented by the 1920 U.S. Census.

Science class, undated photo / Courtesy of Prairie View A&M University

“Getty Images is proud to partner with archivists at each of the four HBCUs to uncover rarely seen photographs of Black culture and ensure these historical artifacts are preserved and accessible to storytellers around the world,” said Cassandra Illidge, VP of Partnerships at Getty Images, in a statement.

“This year’s Grant is just the beginning of our work helping to preserve HBCUs history and our commitment to the HBCU community,” Illidge said.

The HBCU Photo Collection is now online and available for licensing, with thousands of images to be added throughout 2022.

Other aspects of the grant:

  • Prairie View A&M archivists and librarians (and each of the respective HBCU recipients) will work alongside Getty Images and the post-production agency Adnet Global in the digitization of its collection.
  • HBCUs will retain copyright of their photos. 
  • Getty Images will provide funding and mentoring to support HBCU students interested in becoming involved in the digitization process.  
  • Revenue from the photos will be distributed to HBCUs: 50% will go to Grant recipients; 30% will go to a Scholarship Fund for HBCU students, with scholarships becoming available in 2022; and the remaining 20% will be reinvested to fund the Getty Images Photo Archive Grants for HBCUs each year.

Read more on the subject of African American photography in Texas:

Did you know there is a Texas African American Photography Archive?

Houston’s new BIPOC Arts Network and Fund awards $2 million to 120 local arts groups serving communities of color

TEATRX, a Latinx theater company and BANF grantee [pictured from left to right: Fabiola Andujar, Michael Sifuentes, Matthew Ruiz and Matthew Martinez] / photo by Melissa Taylor

In its first round of funding, the BIPOC Arts Network and Fund (BANF) has announced that it is awarding a combined $2 million to 120 Houston-area arts groups serving Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and other communities of color.

The grants range from $5,000 to $50,000 for 59 artist collectives and 61 arts organizations – with support from the Ford Foundation, Houston Endowment, The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Cullen Foundation, Kinder Foundation, and The Powell Foundation.

“This is a moving moment because there are many grantees who are being funded for the first time, despite having a strong and lengthy track record of work in their communities,” said Marissa Castillo, co-founder of TEATRX, in a press release. The Latinx theater company is the recipient of a $7,500 BANF grant.

“This grant helps TEATRX advance our mission of making Latinx performance arts a vital and prominent part of the artistic identity of Houston by representing and supporting the Latinx community, its artists, and its stories,” Castillo said.

While Houston is the most racially and ethnically diverse city in an increasingly diverse country, 90% of local arts philanthropy goes to 27 mostly white-led organizations, according to a 2017 study by Houston Endowment.

Only about 7% of local public funding goes to Latinx organizations, per a Houston report that was released in 2018 by the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.

Nationally, the 20 largest mainstream arts organizations have a median budget of $61 million – 16 times the median budget of the 20 largest organizations of color at $3.8 million, according to a 2015 Diversity in the Arts study by the DeVos Institute.

BANF was launched in September 2021 to address these inequities locally. The multi-year initiative aims to support BIPOC-led nonprofits that provide arts and culture programming, as well as fiscally-sponsored artist collectives, across the nine counties of Greater Houston (Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller counties).

The groundwork for the effort was laid by the Ford Foundation’s America’s Cultural Treasures initiative, which in September 2020 committed an unprecedented $156 million to support BIPOC arts communities nationwide in response to the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that amount, $5 million was invested in the Greater Houston region and combined with contributions from local foundations to create BANF.

Alief Art House, a BANF grantee, was founded and organized by Houston Filipinx artist Matt Manalo. A shipping container that houses free art exhibits and events, it brings art into the one of the most diverse neighborhoods within Greater Houston and serves as an outlet to showcase Alief artists. The collective is in the process of expanding to two shipping containers to house offices and workshops. / courtesy of Alief Art House

Of the 155 grant applicants in this inaugural round, 77% were funded after going through a review process by a panel of creatives, arts administrators, and arts and community leaders from Houston’s BIPOC communities.

“We took the opportunity to prioritize learning and abundance and to de-emphasize competition in our grantmaking process,” said Sixto Wagan, BANF Project Director, in a statement.

“We saw this as an opportunity to learn from the written and spoken words of applicants what our communities’ strengths and challenges are as they face the current economic, social, and health realities of today,” Wagan said.

Organizers say that this community-learning approach that centers BIPOC voices will continue to guide BANF as it develops ways to assist artists beyond financial investment – such as by “broadening networks or expanding development opportunities.”

In this coming year, the initiative will host a series of information sessions with grantees and the arts community at large to identify how BIPOC arts organizations and artists want to be supported specifically to meet challenges and needs.

A full list of grantees can be found here.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, ROCO adjust schedules and events because of COVID safety concerns

Calder Kamin, “Plastic Planet Stag,” 2018. Plastic bags, steel, foam, wood, glass eyes. Featured in the exhibition “Nothing Goes to Waste” at the Houston Center for Contemporary Arts / photo by Philip Rogers

Houston Arts Journal continues to follow the impact of the omicron-related COVID-19 surge on local arts groups, including closures, cancelations, and rescheduling of events.

This week, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft announced that it will be closed (as of January 19) through January 28:

This temporary closure affects one current exhibition, Limitless: The 2021 Recipients of Clay Houston’s Award for Texas BIPOC Ceramic Artists, which had recently opened on January 15. It will now resume on January 29 and run through March 5. In the meantime, a virtual tour of Limitless, along with a conversation with the artists, can be found on the center’s Facebook page.

Biba Schutz, “Sparkiln Ring,” 2010. Sterling silver, fine silver, 18k gold. Featured in the exhibition “Rings! 1968- 2021” at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft / Photo by Ron Boszko

Upcoming exhibitions are still on schedule, including Rings! 1968- 2021 (January 29 – March 12), which explores avant-garde notions of contemporary jewelry through the form of the ring, and Nothing Goes to Waste (February 5 – May 7), a survey of artists who use salvaged materials.

The center’s COVID safety protocol and visitor guidelines can be found here.

This week, the chamber ensemble ROCO also announced the cancelation of its next two concerts:

Now postponed to next season, ROCO Connections: A House of My Own (originally planned for January 22) was a salon concert featuring World Premiere songs by Grammy-nominated composer Derek Bermel and American Book Award-winning author Sandra Cisneros. A conversation with Bermel and Cisneros remains available on ROCO’s Facebook page.

ROCO Unchambered: Ties That Bind (originally planned for February 5), an intimate and interactive program about the violin, was impacted by COVID travel restrictions and will also be rescheduled for next season.

ROCO In Concert at The Church of St. John the Divine / photo by Joel Luks

The rest of ROCO’s season currently remains in place.

The season resumes with Pictures at an Exhibition: A ROCO Musical Promenade, a free concert on February 17 at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Pianist Mei Rui will perform experts from Mussorgsky’s original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition, paired with artworks from the MFAH.

Also coming up next month is ROCO In Concert: Canvasing the Earth on February 26 at the Church of St. John the Divine, in-person and live-streamed. That concert will feature conductor Sarah Hicks, tenor Nicholas Phan, and the orchestra in World Premieres by Aaron Jay Kernis, Leanna Primiani, and Jonathan Leshnoff.

ROCO’s health and safety protocols can be found here.

The number of local arts events postponed by the current COVID-19 wave is growing

Jay Sullivan as “Puck” and James Black as “Bottom” in a 2016 Alley Theatre production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The company is postponing a new production, which would have premiered this month, to 2023 / photo by Lynn Lane

Since December, the U.S. has faced a wave of COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant, impacting Houston arts groups during the holiday season and leading some to update their safety protocol.

As of this week, COVID-19 cases in Greater Houston reached a record high, with Harris County’s positivity rate surpassing 34%, and on Monday Judge Lina Hidalgo raised the county’s COVID threat level to “red” (severe).

According to reporting by Houston Public Media, hospital officials say that omicron leads to infections that are generally less severe than those of the delta variant. However, it is highly transmissible, and hospitalizations have surged: “Daily COVID hospitalizations at Texas Medical Center hospitals also saw record numbers last week, with an average of 497 a day. That’s up from an average of 68 daily COVID hospitalizations in December 2021.”

Under these current circumstances, some Houston arts organizations – or their partners – have decided to cancel, reschedule, or reimagine upcoming performances and events.

Here is a list of recent announcements, compiled by Houston Arts Journal:

ALLEY THEATRE

While its on-stage season is currently unaffected, the company is postponing its new touring series, Alley Transported, to 2023 “due to ongoing challenges with COVID-19 and in order to keep the cast, creative team, and community safe,” according to a press release.

Originally set to begin this month with a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alley Transported is part of an NEA-funded initiative that aims to bring free, intimate performances of Shakespeare and other plays to neighborhood settings, community centers, and schools in order to foster a shared sense of community and a “transporting experience” of live theatre.

“I appreciate everyone’s understanding in this tough decision as well as all the hard work so many have already put toward making this a great show.  It will still be great – a year from now,” said Rob Melrose, Alley Theatre Artistic Director, in a statement.

BROADWAY AT THE HOBBY CENTER

When the January 4th opening night of Hadestown was canceled because of both COVID and non-COVID-related illnesses, the company was hopeful that the rest of the run through January 9th would resume. However, all remaining performances were eventually canceled because of breakthrough positive COVID cases within the show’s company. Hadestown has now been rescheduled for October 4 – 9, 2022.

CATASTROPHIC THEATRE

Catastrophic Theatre is postponing its production of Brian Jucha’s They Do Not Move to next season. The company released the following statement on January 4th:

We regret to inform you that Catastrophic’s upcoming production of Brian Jucha’s They Do Not Move, scheduled to perform February 11 through March 6, has been postponed until next season. 

They Do Not Move is an original work created entirely during the rehearsal process by the Catastrophic ensemble and Brian Jucha. With Covid-19 rapidly spreading across our city, we cannot safely and successfully create, rehearse, and perform this physically intimate piece of work. There is a strong likelihood that we will each come into contact with the Covid-19 virus in the weeks ahead. We don’t want our rehearsal process or production to become a super spreader event.

Thank you for your understanding. It breaks our hearts that we cannot bring They Do Not Move to you at this time. We are moving forward with the rest of our season, with the assumption that we will be in a better place in the spring.

The Catastrophic Theatre

FRESH ARTS

Fresh Arts, a nonprofit that provides resources and support to artists, announced this week that it has canceled its gala, The Unbelieve-A-Ball, originally scheduled for January 22nd.

While we were excited to be back together for the Unbelieve-a-Ball this month, our concerns for the safety and health of our community have to take precedence.

It is disappointing to announce that we will forgo the gala scheduled for Jan. 22 due to the recent Omicron spike.

Fresh Arts

In place of this year’s gala, Fresh Arts will now hold a reimagined Gala Auction, January 22 – 29.

“The Girl” by Tony Paraná, one of the artworks that will be featured in Fresh Arts’ 2022 Gala Auction / image courtesy of Fresh Arts

According to Fresh Arts’ public relations partner Like Minds: “Galas account for a crucial 15-20% of the nonprofit’s revenue,” which is why the organization is moving forward with its fundraising through the auction –whose proceeds will support Fresh Arts and local artists.

In an email with Houston Arts Journal, Like Minds shared more about the Gala Auction:

“A So Unbelievable Auction Pop Up” will be a hybrid fundraiser where art aficionados can browse and bid on 50+ works of art and one-of-a-kind experience packages in all price ranges.

Those who wish to bid on the auction items can do so either online or in-person at participating exhibit spaces around the city, such as Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company, MKT Bar at Phoenicia Downtown, and the Arts District Houston Welcome Center at Winter Street Studios. More locations to be announced soon!

Art from local artists such as Outspoken Bean, Tony Paraná, Renee Victor, and more will be featured in the auction.

Founded in 2001, Fresh Arts also plans to host a 20th Birthday Party later this year “when it is safe to do so,” according to its website.

HOUSTON EARLY MUSIC

Houston Early Music, a presenter of historically informed performances of music from the Medieval through Classical periods, is postponing its January 22nd concert by Sante Fe-based Severall Friends to next season. The organization released the following statement this week:

Houston Early Music regrets to announce the cancelation of its Jan. 22 concert, The Shadow of Night: Mysticism and Magic in Renaissance Music, by Severall Friends. While Severall Friends was forced to cancel their performance because of COVID-19, the early music consortium is working with HEM to reschedule the concert for the 2022-2023 season. For information about ticket refunds, email info@houstonarlymusic.org, or call 713-325-5377.

Houston Early Music

ROCO

ROCO canceled its concert, Beer and Brass, on January 13th and has since rescheduled it to April 6th.

The annual family-friendly event features the ROCO Brass Quintet at Saint Arnold Brewing Company, with performances of traditional beer hall music and brass arrangements, along with craft beer, root beer, and food.

You can find COVID safety protocol for each arts organization on their respective websites.

NEA announces over $33 million in project funding nationally, including $1.7 million for Texas arts

Photo credit: Young Audiences of Houston / Facebook

The National Endowment for the Arts is awarding 1,498 grants totaling nearly $33.2 million for its first round of funding for fiscal year 2022.

Of that amount, $1,746,000 is going to 77 institutions in Texas, with 22 Houston arts organizations receiving $632,000.

The overall funding spans every state, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The types of grants awarded include Grants for Arts Projects, which represent 15 artistic disciplines; Challenge America grants, “for projects that extend the reach of the arts to populations that have limited access to the arts due to geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability”; Literature Fellowships in creative writing and translation; and Arts Research grants.

“These National Endowment for the Arts grants underscore the resilience of our nation’s artists and arts organizations, will support efforts to provide access to the arts, and rebuild the creative economy,” said Ann Eilers, NEA Acting Chair, in a press release.

“The supported projects demonstrate how the arts are a source of strength and well-being for communities and individuals, and can open doors to conversations that address complex issues of our time,” Eilers said.

Among local grantees, Young Audiences of Houston will receive $50,000 for its Neighborhoods, Identity, and Diversity Project, which aims to increase arts access and equity. By providing free programs across 10 communities, the project works to amplify youth voices, infuse local cultures and traditions into arts-based learning, and collaborate with teaching artists and schools.

“We look forward to sharing over the next year the progress of this exciting project, unique to Houston and the communities that create our region’s vibrancy,” said Mary Mettenbrink, Young Audiences of Houston’s Executive Director, in a statement. “This project will support Acres Homes, Alief-Westwood, Fort Bend Houston, Gulfton, Kashmere Gardens, Magnolia-Park Manchester, Near Northside, Second Ward, Sunnyside, and Third Ward.”

Houston’s Discovery Green Conservancy will receive a $15,000 NEA grant in support of its project, Tejas Got Soul: Celebrating Houston’s Tejano Roots Music Legacy.

Initiated by East End residents Pat Jasper, Nick Gaitan, Isaac Rodriguez, Robert Rodriguez, and Angel Quesada, the project includes 3 free concerts in fall 2022 that feature traditional music genres popular in the Chicano community, from orquesta to conjunto and Tejano to Brown-Eyed Soul. There will also be panel discussions about the history of the local Chicano music scene and a social media campaign to add historical and cultural context about the music, musicians, and the community.

“Part of Discovery Green Conservancy’s mission is to shine a light on the diversity of traditions that exist in Houston,” said Barry Mandel, Discovery Green Conservancy President, in a statement. “The Conservancy is very proud to work with talented Houstonians to present these concerts and is very grateful for the National Endowment of Arts support.”

A full state-by-state listing of grants is available here.

A full list of Houston grantees follows:

Alley Theatre
$20,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Theater

Arts Connect Houston
$100,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Arts Education

Aurora Picture Show (aka Aurora)
$15,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Media Arts

Da Camera Society of Texas (aka Da Camera chamber music & jazz)
$25,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Music

Discovery Green Conservancy (aka Discovery Green)
$15,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Folk & Traditional Arts

FotoFest, Inc.
$25,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Visual Arts

Guez, Julia
$10,000
Literature Fellowships: Translation Projects – Literary Arts

Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature & Fine Arts (aka Gulf Coast)
$15,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Literary Arts

Houston Architecture Foundation (aka Architecture Center Houston)
$12,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Design

Houston Arts Alliance (aka HAA)
$35,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Local Arts Agencies

Houston Cinema Arts Society
$20,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Media Arts

Houston Grand Opera Association, Inc.
$65,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Opera

Houston Symphony Society (aka Houston Symphony)
$15,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Music

Musiqa Inc.
$10,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Music

Nameless Sound
$20,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Music

Open Dance Project Inc.
$10,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Dance

Rothko Chapel
$35,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works

Society for the Performing Arts (aka SPA)
$35,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works

Theatre Under The Stars, Inc.
$10,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Musical Theater

University of Houston (on behalf of Arte Publico Press)
$60,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Literary Arts

University of Houston (on behalf of Blaffer Art Museum)
$30,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Museums

Young Audiences Inc of Houston (aka Houston Arts Partners)
$50,000
Grants for Arts Projects – Arts Education

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and Radom Capital launch a local artist residency in Montrose

Frame Dance Productions will be a CAMHLAB artist-in-residence at Montrose Collective in spring 2022. / photo courtesy of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

During the pandemic, in the fall of 2020, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston created the CAMHLAB initiative, an artists’ residency based at the museum’s newly renovated upstairs Brown Foundation Gallery.

It was implemented in response to the impact of COVID on Houston artists – in particular, to offset the loss of performance and rehearsal space, and to provide a safe way to connect artists and audiences.

CAMH is now expanding that residency program through a partnership with real estate developer Radom Capital, which has offered to house it in a new gallery space at Montrose Collective – a shopping center that includes chefs, merchants, wellness services, and creative offices. Located adjacent to the Museum District, Montrose is considered by many to be among the city’s most creative, culturally rich, and inclusive areas.

“Walking though Montrose inspires curiosity, wonder, and discovery. In the spirit of our neighborhood, we are honored to announce our curatorial and programming partnership with CAMH,” said Steve Radom, managing principal of Radom Capital, in a press release.

“CAMHLAB x MC is a light-filled gallery providing neighbors and visitors with access to an exciting and eclectic lineup of local artists curated by CAMH,” Radom said.

Montrose Collective / photo courtesy of Contemporary Art Museum Houston

Through this re-envisioned residency, local artists will have the opportunity to create new and timely works, while aiming to foster community interaction and connection following nearly two years of social distancing and isolation brought on by the pandemic.

“We are living through wild times and the world is a strange place these days. CAMHLAB is making space for artists to process and interpret,” said Eepi Chaad, artist-in-residence, in a statement. “Each residency is like a capsule of a moment during an extraordinary period of acceleration in the human timeline.”

According to reporting by Glasstire,“artists will receive an honorarium, opportunities to host programming, support for communications and marketing, and additional support as needed from CAMH.”

The gallery is family friendly and free.

“This is an opportunity for artists to move not just beyond the walls of the Museum, but to directly share their creative process with the public,” said Hesse McGraw, CAMH Executive Director, in a statement.

Four artists-in-residence have been selected and will rotate through the space (project descriptions and photos provided by CAMH):

Eepi Chaad

December 15, 2021–January 30, 2022

Artist Eepi Chaad’s “Soft Space” is an installation that celebrates the soft surfaces we associate with our homes. Visitors are invited to learn about surface design, take part in the process of making, and engage with the transformed space created out of handkerchiefs, bandanas, scarfs, afghans, throws, and security blankets. “Soft Space” aims to provide a safe and welcoming space for visitors to create, heal, and connect with one another through a communal project.

Two Star Symphony

February 2–March 27, 2022

Two Star Symphony will utilize the space to create new performance and sound works. The group is often inspired by the movement of dancers, silent film, and other visual mediums. The ensemble will offer regular open studio hours to connect with their audience and make their process visible.

March 30–May 25, 2022

Frame Dance will present “The Family Mantra,” an installation-based participatory performance that explores generational psychological shifts in the Houston community. The group aims to create an environment that will invite interaction with marbles, toy tops, pathways on the floor, pipe cleaner dolls to manipulate, and puppets. Frame Dance will host family dance parties with the goal of building bonding and creative expression.

Dana Caldera

June 1–30, 2022

Artist Dana Caldera’s project, “Paper to Fabric,” will explore the intersection of quilt and collage. An important component of this work is a community sewing circle event, which aims to offer a place for community, organizing for political or social causes, and education that is open to everyone. Caldera’s residency embraces the artist/caretaker role in order to model a family-friendly environment that welcomes children and ensures they are safely included in all events.

Orange Show’s expanded campus aims to become a major destination for folk and outsider art

Rendering of the expanded Orange Show Center for Visionary Art / Courtesy of Rogers Partners

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art recently announced plans for a major expansion to its campus, which will lead to more exhibition space, additional facilities, and increased programs to serve the public – and to engage community art-making.

What began as a monument in honor of a favorite fruit – from 1956 to 1980 Houston postman Jeff McKissack used common materials and found objects “to transform an East End lot into an architectural maze of walkways, balconies, arenas and exhibits decorated with mosaics and brightly painted iron figures” – became the Orange Show Center in 1982.

The Center restored and preserved the monument, then later acquired the Beer Can House and developed Smither Park, a mosaic art-adorned green space. Since 1988, it has also produced Houston’s annual Art Car Parade.

Earning its reputation over the decades as a hub for folk art activity in Houston, the Orange Show has also been nationally recognized a “temple for outsider art,” most recently by GQ Magazine.

Rendering of the expanded Orange Show Center for Visionary Art / Courtesy of Rogers Partners

The newly expanded campus – to be completed over the next five years – will aim to bring more attention to its major role in supporting self-taught art, and to widen its reach within the community and beyond.

“We want to encourage visitors not only to see the art, but to participate, make, and engage with it. This experiential environment differentiates the Orange Show from other museums or gallery spaces,” said Tommy Lee Pace, Orange Show executive director, in a statement.

Here’s what to expect from the expansion:

  • The new campus will use a 5.7 acre property acquired by the Orange Show Center in 2017.
  • It includes a 31,000-square foot warehouse building, which will be converted into a performance and exhibition space – with potential use for offices, programs, education, events, and an art library.
  • A new 800-foot ramp will be built throughout the entire campus, serving as an extended display area for art cars and a promenade for visitors.
  • The newly expanded space will be adjacent to the current Orange Show Monument, which is located at 2401 Munger Street.
  • Inclusive of the current site, the total expansion will create an 8-acre campus that will seque into the nearby Fonde Park.
Rendering of Smither Park’s Mosaic Alley / Courtesy of Rogers Partners
  • Smither Park will “nearly double in size thanks to a new ‘Mosaic Alley’ … [and] the public will be encouraged to contribute to the ongoing mosaic project,” according to reporting by Glasstire.
  • The projected timeline is a 2026 public opening.
  • Rogers Partners, a New York-based architectural firm with offices in Houston, will lead the design project.

Read more here:

Houston’s Orange Show Announces Major Expansion (via Glasstire)

Houston’s beloved Orange Show reveals vivid expansion of vibrant headquarters (via CultureMap Houston)

Houston’s Orange Show Center announces expansion to 8 acres of vibrant art cars, creative displays (via Houston Chronicle)

Rendering of the Orange Show Monument / Courtesy of Rogers Partners

$62,500 in grants awarded to local artists show wide range of projects in Houston

The Little Girl in the Lion’s Den by Tierney Malone, part of The Sankofa Project at Lawndale Art Center / photo from LawndaleArtsCenter.org

The latest round of grants from the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) has awarded a total of $62,500 to 12 artists and nonprofits.

Even as the pandemic continues and artists face challenges, the grants reveal that a wide range of art-making persists in the city, including efforts to work toward social justice, mental health, racial equality, and a greater engagement of local communities.

Grant recipients’ projects involve subjects and genres often rooted in Houston – including community storytelling inspired by the life and childhood of George Floyd, meditation through music in Indo-American traditions, performance art in Third Ward, pop-up theater in Acres Homes, and outdoor cinema showcasing works by underrepresented filmmakers, as well as land art and hip hop.

Seven recipients were awarded $2,500 each through Let Creativity Happen! Digital, a grant program that launched in April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It supports projects reimagined in a virtual format or that use digital technology to engage audiences.

Four recipients were awarded $10,000 each, and a fifth recipient awarded $5,000, through the City Initiative grant program, which is in its third round of the year. This program seeks to use the arts to strengthen the city, as it reopens from the pandemic. Projects support cultural tourism, sustainability, and community resilience.

“The arts helped the city flourish and enlightened the lives of our citizens during the pandemic,” said Necole S. Irvin, MOCA Director, in a press release.

“As we continue to recover, we know that the city’s continued support of the creative sector and communities’ support of cultural activities is integral to building back our economy,” said Irvin.

Houston Arts Alliance administers the grants, which are funded by a portion of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax.

The Orange Show Media Project will document performances by Houston artists in front of live audiences at the Orange Show’s historic properties. / photo from OrangeShow.org

The following list with descriptions of grant recipients was provided by the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

The seven awardees for the “Let Creativity Happen! Digital” grants are:

George Floyd Childhood in the Cuney Homes
By Crystal Toussant
District B
Mack Performing Arts Collective (MPAC)
Children and residents of Cuney Homes will share stories of growing up in a low-income housing development where many deal with hard times and social injustice. They will explore the life and childhood of George Floyd and use him as inspiration. MPAC members along with the participants will be using texts, lighting, costumes, make-up, and scenery to bring their stories to life.
 
Online Classes Using Art to Support Mental Health
By Andria Frankfort
District C
C G Jung Educational Center of Houston, Texas
Unique in the United States, The Jung Center offers year-round, live-streamed and online classes that employ the arts in supporting the mental health of the community. Two-thirds of their programming is open to the public, while the other third is designed specifically to bring healing arts to support the mental health of social service providers, frontline workers, teachers, nonprofit employees, healthcare workers, and others. Their public-facing programming is taught by psychotherapists, book and film group facilitators, improv actors, musicians, a children’s art therapist, and others. The Online Activation Form includes an incomplete list of public arts programming currently scheduled for Fall 2021: times are to be determined. More classes will be scheduled for the fall as well as for Spring and Summer 2022.
 
Be-Longing
By Mariela Dominguez
District C
Mariela Dominguez will choose an object to be the trigger for a story of a journey that evokes uprooting and regeneration. A set of four videos presents the stories between two speakers, one, the issue of a mother tongue as the other represents the mediator who personifies a new local generation that articulates the dominant English language. This material object evokes cultural ties that are seemingly enigmatic to everyone except those who retain their mother tongue. The development of a set of four videos with English subtitles is projected and additionally, various audiovisual resources will be included.
 
SUKOON: Tranquility Thru Music
By Sheetal Bedi
District C
Indo-American Association (IAA)
Sukoon is an Urdu/Hindi word which translates to calm, peace, relief, serenity, tranquility, and wholeness. Through this project, IAA will endeavor to bring great sukoon and tranquility to digital audiences. Patrons have come to deeply value IAA’s digital concerts at a time of tremendous isolation and loneliness. The Sukoon project will give an opportunity to emerging artists to showcase their ability to connect digital audiences to a meditative space where tranquility can be found at the individual level, even for a few minutes. This will be presented through IAA’s social media platforms.
 
The Sankofa Project and its Virtual Dialogues
By Stephanie Mitchell
District C
Lawndale Art and Performance Center
The Sankofa Project brings light to the events that have been censored or ignored in historical narratives and reinforced the racial oppression of Black Americans. A free Zoom conversation between the artist and collaborating scholar or historian will be held and deepen the conversation on race and inequality and educate the community. These dialogues will be available post-event via Lawndale’s website and social media along with exhibition documentation and materials for public accessibility.
 
Mindful In This Moment
By Nathan Edwards
District D
On a clear morning in February 2022, Nathan Edwards will film a live installation around the theme of meditation. 50 black men and women dressed in monochromatic pastel colors will meet at a Houston park for a staged, live, one-hour installation/meditation that will be filmed, edited, and shared online.
 
Orange Show Media Project
By Sara Kellner
District I
Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
The Orange Show Media Project is a partnership with SWAMP and its young filmmakers to document five intimate performances by visionary Houston artists in front of live audiences at the Orange Show’s historic properties. These will be live streamed weekly starting July 4, 2022.

“Symbiosis” by Cindee Travis Klement is a work of living land art that introduces local color, texture, and variation through a variety of native plants / photo from LawndaleArtCenter.org

 
The 5 awardees for the “City Initiative” grants are:
 
Christmas in the 44: An Urban Christmas Tale
By Norma Thomas
District B
Christmas in the 44: An Urban Christmas Tale (UCT) brings theatre to Acres Homes community in more ways than one. UCT is “takin’ it to the streets!” Staged outside local businesses along the 4 major Acres Homes throughfares, festive tableau style scenarios, much like department store holiday window displays and the live nativity scenes of old, will delight passers-by, create community celebration, and foster holiday spirit.

Scott @ X
By Andrew Davis
District C
Scott @ X proposes a new way of engaging communities with performance art. Throughout November 2021, weekly Sunday performances will occur along Metro Rail stops in Third Ward; with the opening performance at the Leeland/Third Ward stop and closing performance at MacGregor Park/Martin Luther King, Jr. stop. The audience will be able to engage with the performance on site as well as virtually through Twitch using QR codes posted at the Metro Rail stops.

2 Post Cinema
By Britt Thomas
District C
2 Post Cinema is a neighborhood outdoor cinema set to open in November 2021. It will showcase contemporary film and video art created by underrepresented artists and filmmakers. Utilizing the non-obstructed view, they have of T.C. Jester Park’s parking lot from their property, Britt and Prince Thomas will erect a large, retractable rear-projected film screen in their backyard while relaying sound via radio transmission to viewers’ car stereos. 2 Post Cinema is a free, publicly accessible catalyst for bringing together our diverse community via the arts in a safe, socially distanced manner.

Cindee Travis Klement: Symbiosis
By Lawndale Art and Performance Center
District C
Cindee Travis Klement’s Symbiosis is a work of living land art in Mary E. Bawden Sculpture Garden at Lawndale Art and Performance Center, which introduces a variety of native plants to immerse the community in and educate them on the possibility of a more regenerative, sustainable future.

Swisha House: Rollin’ & Burnin’ Since ‘97
By Henry Guidry
District D
With millions of records sold, several Grammy nominated artists and the first record label/music genre to be archived in Rice University’s Fondren Library, Swishahouse has been a staple in the Houston hip hop scene since the mid-90’s. This event, held in East Downtown Houston at 8th Wonder Brewery, will exhibit items from the Rice archive, CD & mixtape covers and never-seen-before photos. The exhibit will simultaneously highlight the impact Swishahouse has made on the hip hop genre while introducing to many, and reinforcing to others, the significance of Swishahouse on the Southern hip-hop movement.

Rice University gets ready to break ground on its new Sarofim Hall for the arts

Aerial of Susan and Fayez Sarofim Hall from the northwest. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

A new $25 million arts facility, set to become a major addition to Rice University’s campus, has moved past planning stages.

Groundbreaking for Sarofim Hall is expected in early 2022, with an anticipated completion date in 2024.

Named for lead donor Fayez Sarofim, the 50,000-square foot space will be home to the university’s Visual and Dramatic Arts Department and aims to become a hub for art-making and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Printmaking, painting, drawing and senior studios in Sarofim Hall. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

The rough timeline for the project comes as an architectural firm and design concept have also been announced.

Following a national competition, the design team of Diller Scofidio + Renfro was selected and will be led by architect and Rice alumnus, Charles Renfro.

The building’s architecture, with its metal structure, pays tribute to the former Rice Media Center and Art Barn, commissioned in 1969 by Houston arts patrons John and Dominique de Menil – and now the sites on which Sarofim Hall will sit.

While its steel frame makes a nod to the campus’ past, the new building’s open, indoor/outdoor design is meant to symbolize – and facilitate – the free-flow of ideas that will lead to artistic collaborations of the future, according to designers.

Sarofim Hall will connect sculptors, printmakers, photographers, filmmakers and other visual artists – currently scattered at facilities all over campus – and allow them to work in close proximity, potentially learning from and engaging with each other.

Sarofim Hall’s ArtStreet from the southeast. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

A glass-lined pedestrian “ArtStreet” will bisect the four-story structure, which will contain exhibition areas, labs, studios, shops, faculty offices, and other working art spaces. It will also feature an outdoor plaza.

“The building shell is thought of as a piece of infrastructure: simple, durable and timeless, while the insides can transform as needs change,” Renfro said in a press release.

Construction on the new building coincides with another change for the Visual and Dramatic Arts Department: newly-appointed department chair, Bruce Hainely, will step into the role in January 2022. Among his plans is a future graduate level program in the fine arts.

Located adjacent to the Moody Center for the Arts and nearby the Shepherd School of Music’s Alice Pratt Brown Hall and newly constructed Brockman Hall for Opera, Sarofim Hall will complete the university’s arts district on the southwest side of campus.

Anita Bateman named Associate Curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Anita Bateman / courtesy of MFAH

Anita Bateman joined the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in October and is the museum’s newly appointed Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Her role will encompass exhibitions, collections, and programming at the MFAH.

In conjunction with Alison de Lima Greene, The Isabel Brown Wilson Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Dr. Bateman will work on exhibitions, acquisitions, and the display of the permanent collection, with a special focus on work by African American artists. She will also contribute to defining and expanding long-term collection goals.

Dr. Bateman earned a B.A. cum laude in art history from Williams College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in art history and visual culture from Duke University.

Her curatorial projects, teaching, and writing have focused on modern and contemporary African art and art of the African diaspora. Most recently, she curated Black Flyyy and Defying the Shadow, two exhibitions at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence, and Roots & Roads, an exhibition of contemporary art centering Black hair culture, at Franklin Street Works in Stamford.

“I am delighted to welcome Anita Bateman to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,” said Gary Tinterow, director of the MFAH, in a statement. “Dr. Bateman’s groundbreaking work on East African photography; strong background with African-American art and artists; and teaching experience in the museum environment will all enhance the Museum’s efforts to further our longstanding commitment to the work of African American artists and artists of the African diaspora.”