Director Nicole Kenley-Miller—and a female-led production team—put a fresh spin on women’s roles in “Pirates”

The women’s chorus in Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s 2015 production of “The Pirates of Penzance” / Photo by Steve Feinberg

Nicole Kenley-Miller says that she’s most excited about the portrayal of the character Mabel, played by Julie Hoeltzel, in this summer’s production of Pirates of Penzance by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston.

“In other productions I have seen, she tends to be played as a cutesy, coquettish ingénue that is waiting around for a man to come and save her,” she said. “But that is simply not supported by the librettist’s text.”

In Pirates of Penzance, considered one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s funniest and most popular operettas, Mabel is the love interest of protagonist Frederic, who must serve out an apprenticeship to pirates until his 21st birthday—that is, until 21 of his Leap Year birthdays have passed, which extends his sentence by decades.

“Gilbert paints her as a fiery young woman who knows what she wants and who is not afraid to speak up and get it,” said Kenley-Miller. “From the beginning of my conception for the piece, I knew that Mabel was going to be the key to a new interpretation.”

This summer, Kenley-Miller becomes the second woman to direct the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston in its 70-year history. Founded in 1952, the award-winning, Emmy-nominated company is considered to be the oldest continuously operating opera company in Houston.

A veteran director of opera and musical theater on stage and in film, Kenley-Miller received her DMA from the University of Houston and is Assistant Professor and Opera Stage Director at The University of Oklahoma. She is also the founder of Intersection Arts, an organization which explores the convergence of the arts and current social and cultural issues.

Sean Holshouser (Pirate King), Dennis Arrowsmith (Major General), and Nicole Kenley-Miller (Stage Director) in rehearsal for Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s 2023 production of “Pirates of Penzance” / Photo by Karen Jones

As stage director of Pirates of Penzance, which runs July 22-23 and July 29-30 at the Hobby Center, she succeeds British director and actor, Alistair Donkin, who served the company for 40 years as a beloved featured performer and choreographer, as well as stage director from 1985 until his retirement last summer.

Kenley-Miller’s appointment is part of a new chapter at the company, which also welcomes other changes this summer: renowned conductor Eiki Isomura, who leads Houston’s Opera in the Heights, takes the helm as Music Director; bass-baritone Joseph Rawley serves as Artistic Director, a new position responsible for conveying the company’s vision to the Board and providing long-term artistic continuity; and longtime company baritone Dennis Arrowsmith stars for the first time as Major-General Stanley, an iconic role previously sung by Donkin.

At a time when women remain underrepresented in American opera leadership positions—on average representing fewer than 30% of stage directors working in a season, according to an internal review by Opera America—this summer’s production of Pirates is also noteworthy for its female-driven production team. Led by Kenley-Miller, they include Jodi Bobrovsky (Set Designer), Riana Canetti-Rios (Lighting Designer), Shaun Heath and Mary Webber (Costume Designers), Lauren Pastorek (Choreographer), Debs Ramser (Stage Manager), Cathy Comeaux (Wig Stylist), Susie DeBlieck (Makeup Designer), Carolena Lara (Assistant Director Intern), and Sarah Roberts (Production Intern).

From portraying Mabel in a much stronger way than usual to dressing the character in late-Victorian hiking suits, Kenley-Miller says she hopes that the audience will see that the production aims to present the women of Pirates in a new light.

Jodi Bobrovsky, scenic designer for Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s 2023 production of “Pirates of Penzance” / Photo by Corey Nance

Houston Arts Journal reached out to Nicole Kenley-Miller for the following interview about her vision as a stage director and her production team’s interpretation of Pirates:

Houston Arts Journal: Throughout your career, you’ve “worked fluidly between the opera and music theatre genres,” as your bio says. How did your love of the performing arts begin?

Nicole Kenley-Miller: I grew up singing in school and church choirs. When I started my undergraduate degree, I was just planning to sing as a hobby while pursuing a pre-med degree. Even though I had never seen an opera, I decided to audition for the production my freshman year, and they cast me as Florence Pike in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. The opera bug bit me, and I changed my major to Vocal Performance.

I went on to study at Eastman School of Music and then had a long career singing and teaching voice in the Houston area where I gradually became more interested in stage direction, because it offered more scope for the imagination. I started directing shows around Houston and ultimately got a doctorate in Opera and Directing at University of Houston. Each show I direct is a new world I get to step into and learn about. While I still sing, directing is now my main focus, and I have never looked back.

HAJ: Do you remember the first production you ever directed? What was that experience like? I’d love to hear a bit of the story behind that, in the spirit of getting to know you.

NKM: The first few productions I directed were for Lone Star College–Cy-Fair. I remember a production of Camelot we did there, which included an original set and costumes–a fairly significant amount of resource for a director who is just starting out. Usually at that point in one’s career, you have to make do with some black theatrical cubes and costumes from the actors’ closets. But I actually had the opportunity to collaborate on a design with their in-house set designer and a costume designer, who was the mother of one of the cast members. The conception and design of a show is a part of the process that I have come to love so much, because it allows me to create a world and imagine ways to tell these beloved stories through different lenses.

Stage Director Nicole Kenley-Miller in rehearsal with the cast of Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s 2023 production of “Pirates of Penzance” / Photo by Karen Jones

HAJ: You’re taking over as director of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston after 40 years of Alistair Donkin at the helm. What do you personally enjoy—or want people to know—about Gilbert and Sullivan’s work?

NKM: It has been such an honor to be the first director to open a new chapter for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society after Alistair’s long legacy with the company. I worked with Alistair Donkin and Robert Linder as a G&S chorister and understudy of Katisha in The Mikado when I was fresh out of undergraduate school in 1997, and I will always be grateful to them for their encouragement of me in the early stages of my career.

Gilbert & Sullivan is such great repertoire for young singers to get their start. It offers very accessible music and dialogue that draws on so many of the fundamental concepts of comedy that have been passed down over time. If a singer can do this kind of broad comedy, which is so dependent on good timing and understanding of how to use one’s body, they can pretty much do anything else on stage.

Many people don’t realize that Gilbert & Sullivan is a historical touchstone for much of our modern-day music theatre, and it has been a major influence on so many artists who write and perform on Broadway stages and in film today—Lin Manuel-Miranda, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kelsey Grammer, to name a few.

HAJ: You happen to be only the 2nd woman to direct Houston’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society. The company tells me that previously Carolyn Franklin directed The Gondoliers in 1978. Because I know that you’re interested in the intersection of social/cultural issues and art, I wanted to ask how you view your opportunity to direct this production as a female director?  What aspects of Gilbert and Sullivan’s work do you wish to bring out, which might have been overlooked—or could be reinterpreted?

NKM: It is such an honor to be the second woman to direct for the Society. As a woman in the male-dominated industry of stage directing, the particular lens I bring to every show cannot help but be influenced by my perspective as a woman. I have created and directed several pieces that are explicitly about a woman’s perspective, such as my recent work The Women Have Something to Say that opened off-Broadway in New York back in May.

While it’s not always possible to be as direct with these themes in more traditional operas, I find that I am constantly trying to reevaluate the female characters in a show by going back to the original text that the librettist wrote. With so many of these canonical works, the composers and librettists originally wrote the female characters in strong and dynamic ways, which have often been watered down or smoothed out by directors over decades of performance practice. I often find this with Mozart heroines, and it is equally an issue with historical interpretations of the women in Gilbert and Sullivan. I hope the audience will see that we are presenting the women’s roles in Pirates in a new light.

There is also an opportunity with G&S to bring out the original intent of their works, which was to poke fun at the very aristocratic class that had the means to attend their performances. Their works were originally a satirical commentary on the socio-economic inequities that existed in their day. Over time, this intent has been lost, so we’re trying to punch up those themes in this production of Pirates as well.

Cast blocking during a rehearsal of Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s 2023 production of “Pirates of Penzance” / Photo by Karen Jones

HAJ: Can you tell us about your take on Pirates—and, in particular, your “fresh spin” on the character Mabel?

NKM: I’m most excited about the portrayal of Mabel. In other productions I have seen, she tends to be played as a cutesy, coquettish ingénue that is waiting around for a man to come and save her. But that is simply not supported by the librettist’s text. Gilbert paints her as a fiery young woman who knows what she wants and who is not afraid to speak up and get it. From the beginning of my conception for the piece, I knew that Mabel was going to be the key to a new interpretation.

To amplify her character, I decided to update the piece from its usual 1870s setting to 1893, so that we could capitalize on the historical synchronicity of the burgeoning women’s suffrage movement in Britain. Moving to the late 19th century also allowed us to explore different costumes for the women. When we first meet them, they are hiking over the Cornish seaside cliffs, so this later setting allowed us to put them in late-Victorian hiking or cycling suits, and opened the door for Mabel to be in, [gasp], pants!

HAJ: This production seems to have a female-led creative team—not only yourself as a director, but a total of 11 women involved with producing this show (9 creative team artists and 2 interns). You shared with me that this is a “high percentage vs. the usual in the industry.”  Can you give a little context to how this compares to the industry based on your personal experience of gender equity?

NKM: I am very proud of the large representation of women on our design and production team. While women are often behind the scenes in so many areas of opera and theatre, particularly in costume design, stage management, and dance, there are certain roles in the theatre which still have a glass ceiling for women—particularly the areas of stage direction, set design, and lighting design. Though I am happy to say that this is gradually changing in the opera industry, there is still work to be done, so I am proud to have this team of women playing such a central role in Pirates.

HAJ: As a follow up, what do you see as the significance or impact of having a female-driven production?

NKM: For me, the significance of a greater presence of women in leadership in opera is not about quotas and numbers, but rather in expanding and enriching the way we tell these stories. When women or any underrepresented group tell a story, we cannot help but bring our experience to the table. Because I’m a woman, I am automatically going to bring a more organic understanding of the female characters to the forefront in my interpretation. And that vision then allows the design and production team to follow suit within their specialties of sets, costumes, choreography, etc. Ultimately, I believe the art form will benefit by expanding the way we tell these stories so that they can speak to a wider range of audiences and attract a new generations of opera lovers.

Music rehearsal for Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s 2023 production of “Pirates of Penzance” / Photo by Joe Carl White

HAJ: Lastly, this year’s Pirates also features new sets designed by Jodi Bobrovsky and new costumes by Shaun Heath and Mary Webber. Can you give us a sense of what they look like and how they complement your vision of this production?

NKM: I am so excited about the new designs that Jodi Bobrovsky, Shaun Heath, and Mary Webber have brought to the table. They are colorful and full of life. The costumes are always a central way in which we communicate the period of the piece. Shaun and Mary’s designs have allowed us to capture the late Victorian look that the setting calls for, but in an anachronistic color palette for this time period that reflects the exaggerated nature of Gilbert and Sullivan’s outrageous plots and comedy. And Jodi’s colorful set design inspired by British travel posters of the Cornish coast provides a vibrant backdrop to all the hilarity that will ensue in front of it.

It should be mentioned that we have new exciting choreography as well, created by Lauren Pastorek. There is so much movement in this production, and there will never be a dull moment. All of these women have been so integral to casting a new vision for this piece, and I have so much admiration for their expertise and long histories in the Houston opera and theatre scene.

India’s first Broadway-style musical comes to Houston

Scene from “Mughal-e-Azam” / Courtesy of mughaleazamplay.com

Considered the first original, large-scale Broadway-style music written and produced in India, Mughal-e-Azam is in the midst of its first North American tour, making a stop in Houston for performances July 14 – 16 at the Wortham Center’s Brown Theater.

Based on the epic, blockbuster 1960 Bollywood movie of the same name, Maughal-e-Azam: The Musical premiered in 2016 in Mumbai and has been described in a press release as “a love letter to South Asian history and legend,” as well a “a love story as familiar to Indians and their Eastern neighbors as Romeo and Juliet is to the West.”

In the era of the Mughals, Emperor Akbar’s desire of a son is fulfilled when his wife, Jodhabai, gives birth to Salim, who grows up to be a spoiled brat filled with disrespect and self-indulgence. Consequently, he’s sent off to war in Akbar’s army and returns as a reformed person with perseverance and discipline fourteen years later. Salim, now a young man, falls in love with Anarkali, a lowly courtesan. Bahar, a dancer who covets the love of the Prince, is filled with jealousy upon discovering the secret affair and exposes it to Akbar. The emperor, full of royal pride, vehemently disapproves of the relationship and imprisons Anarkali, which leads Salim to declare an open rebellion against him. The war between father and son changes the lives of everyone in the empire threatening the foundations of the Mughal rule in India.

synopsis of “Mughal-e-Azam,” press release

Produced by Shapoorji Pallonji (who produced the original film) and directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, the musical stage adaptation was nominated for 14 Broadway World India Awards in 2017 and won seven for Best Play, Best Director, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography, Best Original Set Design, Best Original Lighting Design, and Best Ensemble Cast.

Scene from “Mughal-e-Azam” / Courtesy of mughaleazamplay.com

The production includes 350 cast and crew members, more than 550 costumes designed by Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra, and reimagined choreography from the 1960 film.

“Seven years back, when we green-lighted this project, we had not imagined that it would run for 19 seasons and travel to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Muscat, Doha, and now North America. There is a lot of technical and logistic expertise that goes into a massive show like this, but what really makes it universally loved is its emotional core and the love story of Salim and Anarkali,” said Deepesh Salgia, head of Creative and Strategic Vision for the musical, in an article by Hindustan Times.

Presented by Bollywood Entertainment, in partnership with Houston’s Indo-American Association, Mughal-e-Azam’s North American tour kicked off with a flash mob in New York City’s Time Square, and then began its official 13-city tour on May 26 in Atlanta. The production will travel to Dallas, following its Houston performances.

The show’s dialogue and lyrics are spoken and sung in Urdu and Hindi, with English subtitles.

CAMHLAB artists honor and support Freedmen’s Town through projects this summer

Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective hosted a Mother’s Day event with storytelling and a movement class in Wiley Park in Freedmen’s Town, May 2023 / Photo courtesy of Stacey Allen

A partnership of Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town is a new site-specific iteration of the museum’s CAMHLAB artist residency program—an initiative that grew out of the pandemic, which has previously utilized spaces like CAMH’s Brown Foundation Gallery and Montrose Collective.

Through residencies by four artists and collectives between June – September 2023, CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town aims to honor, preserve, and amplify the histories, stories, and experiences of Houston’s oldest Black settlement and its residents.

Situated along Buffalo Bayou in Houston’s Fourth Ward, Freedmen’s Town was settled shortly after June 19, 1865—Juneteenth—when enslaved African Americans were finally granted the freedom that had been legally theirs since the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation 2 ½ years earlier. Eager to begin new lives in a new place as freed people, these men, women, and children from the surrounding rural areas journeyed to Houston, and began creating a community.

In what became known as Freedmen’s Town, they built homes, schools, businesses, churches, and lives. They built a world in which African Americans could prosper and thrive. Freedmen’s Town is where Black Houston took shape … By 1880, Freedmen’s Town was home to 95% of Black Houstonians. By the 1930s, it had produced over 400 Black-owned businesses. It was the “mother ward,” the Harlem of the South.

Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy
Freedmen’s Town overlooking downtown Houston / Photo courtesy of Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy

In March, the mental health and arts nonprofit The Black Man Project, dance company Nia’s Daughters, and interdisciplinary artists Ann ‘Sole Sister’ Johnson and Billion Tekleab were announced as the 2023 CAMHLAB Freedmen’s Town Artists-in-Residence, and they will carry out projects, community activities, and public presentations over the course of this summer and coming months.

Choreographer and dancer Stacey Allen is the founder and Creative Director of Nia’s Daughters, a movement collective whose works aim to incorporate social justice and activism. During their residency, Allen says her company will create a body of work that centers the stories of resilience and resistance of African Americans in Texas—including The Fairytale Project, a dance theater production inspired by the love story of Jim and Winnie Shankle, and Aesthetic Inheritances, a film and exhibit made in collaboration with artists Danielle Mason and Keda Sharber, which highlights the Freedom Colony Barrett Station and explores Black material culture.

Nia’s Daughters in “The Fairytale Project” / Keda Sharber of Images by Papillon

“This work in Freedmen’s Town is a beautiful extension of this path of storytelling. We’ve been here and will not allow for our stories to be erased. Our goal is that this work conjures memory and sparks something inside audiences, and they cherish their own histories,” said Allen.

According to Allen, Nia’s Daughters kicked off their CAMHLAB residency by hosting an interactive, yet laidback outdoor Mother’s Day event in May in Freedmen’s Town.

“We engaged residents with storytelling with the elder Sister Mama Sonya, and our company members, Lakendra Howard and Sydney Hart with myself led the children in a movement class,” said Allen. “The rest was a super organic kickback—popcorn, juice, a DJ—you know, feeling the flow of Sundays at Wiley Park.”

Nia’s Daughters presented a Mother’s Day event at Wiley Park to kick off their CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town artist residency / Photo courtesy of Stacey Allen

Allen says they will return to Wiley Park for another event in coming months, which will include more movement classes, more storytelling, and more kicking back with the community.

“We truly respect the work that Charonda Johnson [Vice President of the Freedmen’s Town Association and a fifth generation Freedmen’s Town resident] has done in her neighborhood and are just honored to be able to build trust with Freedmen’s Town residents and share our movement practice with the youth.”

Allen told Houston Arts Journal that Nia’s Daughters will also present a public program at POST, to be scheduled in the fall, which will include a quilting workshop by Joethella Gipson and the debut of Sister Mama Sonya’s “mahogany messages: poetic melodies,” a new poetry and dance piece with narratives about Freedmen’s Town residents.

This work in Freedmen’s Town is a beautiful extension of this path of storytelling. We’ve been here and will not allow for our stories to be erased. Our goal is that this work conjures memory and sparks something inside audiences, and they cherish their own histories.

Stacey Allen, Nia’s Daughters Movement Collective

These artist residencies point to a community partnership between Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy that goes back to 2020, when the two organizations began formal discussions and programming centered around community engagement and empowerment, as well as “the shared belief that arts and culture is an essential catalyst for change.”

Their partnership also supports artists-in-residence at POST, including Freedmen’s Town Lead Research Fellow Amarie Gipson, whose Reading Room is a curated library of books by and about Black artists, and Freedmen’s Town Film Documentarian Nate Edwards, whose works-in-progress can be viewed this summer during open studio hours:

CAMHLAB at Freedmen’s Town is part of Rebirth in Action: Telling the Story of Freedom—a multi-year project of CAMH, HFTC, the City of Houston, and artist Theaster Gates—which was announced in January and funded by a $1.25 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and an NEA “Our Town” grant.

With the goal to “to promote Houston Freedmen’s Town as monument of Black community, agency, and heritage,” according to a press release, Rebirth in Action includes various phases of artist-led, community, and infrastructure projects—including the archaeological preservation of brick streets, laid by formerly enslaved residents, which hold historical, spiritual, and cultural significance.

Historic Freedmen’s Town bricks at the intersection of Wilson Street and Andrews Street / Photo courtesy of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Ermanno Florio celebrates final season as Houston Ballet’s longtime Music Director, musicians pay tribute

Houston Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Ermanno Florio in rehearsals with the Houston Ballet Orchestra / Photo by Amitava Sarkar (2016). Courtesy of Houston Ballet.

Houston Ballet recently announced that the 2023-2024 season will be Ermanno Florio’s final season as Music Director after 32 years at the podium.

“Although I’m stepping down as Music Director of Houston Ballet, I will continue with my international conducting career and look forward to the possibility of guest conducting with the Company in the years ahead,” said Florio in a statement.

Musicians of the Houston Ballet Orchestra describe Maestro Florio as a “strong musical leader” with “an unerring sense of tempo and timing, so crucial in ballet,” who has shown great care and compassion with colleagues over his decades with the company.

Houston Ballet says that Florio has been the Principal Conductor for every production since he joined the company in 1992, from repertoire spanning the classics of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky to many world premieres.

Florio also guided and led the orchestra through the COVID-19 pandemic, including a socially-distanced recording session in January 2021, which marked the first time since the start of the pandemic that the orchestra reunited on stage at the Wortham Theater Center.

“What we do is bring people together. When the music starts, there’s a sense of unity. I still get shivers thinking about it—it’s gratifying and good for the soul,” Florio told Houston Chronicle reporter Amber Elliott at the time.

Houston Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Ermanno Florio conducting the Houston Ballet Orchestra / Photo by Christian Brown (2015). Courtesy of Houston Ballet.

A Houston Chronicle article in 2008 by Charles Ward recounted the story of how Florio got the job to come to Houston: it started in La Scala, where he had prepared music—to “great reviews”—for a dance production at Teatro alla Scala.

“Former Houston Ballet principal Li Cunxin was a guest dancer in the La Scala show, and former artistic director Ben Stevenson came to see him,” wrote Ward. “Li, Stevenson and Florio all went out to dinner. Florio came to conduct Houston Ballet as a guest during the 1991-92 season; he got the music director job here in 1992.”

In addition to his enduring role at Houston Ballet, Florio was Music Director of the American Ballet Theatre (1998 – 2001) and Music Director of Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam (2004 – 2012), where he continues to serve as principal guest conductor. His career highlights also include an extensive and award-winning discography, as well as numerous music arrangements of ballet scores, including Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch’s Marie Antoinette and La Bayadère.

Welch called Florio’s ability to bring dancers and musicians closer together “extraordinary.”

“His collaboration with all has resulted in continuous wonderful performances and contributed greatly to our company’s artistic success, all while helping to build the reputation of Houston as one of the greatest cities in the world for art,” said Welch in a statement.

Houston Arts Journal reached out to longtime musicians of the Houston Ballet Orchestra for their following reactions to Maestro Florio’s tenure:

Ermanno is a real humanist, and a really great guy. Approaching him is always easy, even for serious conversations, and he seems to actually enjoy talking with the musicians in the orchestra. He cares about his people very much, and rarely a harsh thing comes out of his mouth, but when it does, we probably needed it. It will be sad to see him go. The man is a very prolific ballet conductor, in rep and in number of performances across the world. 32 years is a long time, anywhere, so his presence as a consistent symbol of the grace and excellence of the Houston Ballet will be missed greatly.

Rene Salazar, Principal Violist since 2003
Houston Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Ermanno Florio / Photo by Amitava Sarkar (2011). Courtesy of Houston Ballet.

Ermanno Florio has been conductor with Houston Ballet for over 30 years … I joined the orchestra 27 years ago, so I’ve been witness to his remarkable journey. During his tenure, the ballet orchestra has blossomed, in large measure due to Ermanno’s steady cultivation and balanced leadership … Whether performing a tried and true classic or something outlandish and new, Ermanno brings to the podium a serious dedication to the music while navigating a graceful path between dancers, choreographers, stage managers, and musicians, all the while arriving at the podium with an elegance and charisma and with never a hair out of place … With an unerring sense of tempo and timing, so crucial in ballet, it is no wonder that he has flourished in Houston and in the world of dance, enjoying an international career. The Houston Ballet Orchestra celebrates his legacy and we will miss him. Fortunately, we will have one more great season together!

Barrett Sills, Principal Cellist since 1996
Houston Ballet Principal Chase O’Connell as Prince Siegfried and Artists of Houston Ballet in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake / Photo by Lawrence Elizabeth Knox (2023). Courtesy of Houston Ballet.

I have known and worked closely with Ermanno Florio throughout his tenure with Houston Ballet. His first appearance with the Houston Ballet Orchestra was as a guest conductor. Following that successful engagement, he became our music director and principal conductor beginning the next season. Ermanno has striven to make the orchestra’s playing a sensitive and compelling musical accompaniment to the choreography. Houston Ballet has been the beneficiary of his many years of conducting on the international stage, all the while growing his knowledge and musical understanding. His standards and expectations are high, and the orchestra has continued to show musical growth each season. He is always a strong musical leader focused on our performance success, but also has a caring and compassionate side when dealing with the members of the orchestra. He has made a huge positive impact on the orchestra, and I will miss working with him greatly.

Rick Reeves, Bass Trombone since 1987 and current Orchestra Manager

Florio’s final season as Houston Ballet’s Music Director in 2023-2024 coincides with other company milestones: Stanton Welch’s 20thanniversary as Artistic Director and the new appointment of Julie Kent as the company’s first Co-Artistic Director alongside Welch.

According to company representatives, recently appointed Associate Conductor Simon Thew and Florio have worked closely together and in support of each other over the past season and will continue to do so in Florio’s final season. A new music director will be announced at a later date.

Here’s what happened at the Houston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture

L-R: Linda Lorelle, moderator, with Houston mayoral candidates Robin Williams, John Whitmire, Sheila Jackson Lee, Lee Kaplan, Gilbert Garcia, Robert Gallegos, and Amanda Edwards at the Houston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture / Photo by Catherine Lu

This past Monday night, the Houston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture—the first candidate forum of this campaign—took place before a packed audience at the Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall.

The public event was organized by the city’s seven state-designated cultural districts: Arts District Houston, East End Houston Cultural District, 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, Houston Museum District, Midtown Cultural Arts and Entertainment District, Third Ward Cultural Arts District, and Theater District Houston.

In an interview with Houston Public Media, Alison Weaver, Co-President of the Museum District Association and Director of Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts, said it was exciting to see Houstonians’ enthusiasm and support for the city’s arts and culture.

“We had over 600 people registered for the event before we had to shut down the online registration system,” said Weaver on Houston Matters with Craig Cohen. “So, the energy in the room was fantastic. The interest from across the city was extraordinary.”

According to Hillary J. Hart, Chair of Theater District Houston and Executive Director of Theatre Under the Stars, 400 people showed up in person for the event, filling Zilkha Hall to near capacity.

One of those in attendance was writer, activist, and Houston Poet Laureate, Aris Kian Brown, who live tweeted the forum from her perspective as a member of the arts and culture community:

Brown documented the candidates’ responses—including goals to increase public art, create affordable housing for artists, and identify new sources of funding for artists—while also expressing her frustration for what she called a lack of “innovative solutions.”

“The candidates had no genuine solution or long-term engagement with arts institutions or artists. We have so much work to do,” she tweeted.

Seven Houston mayoral candidates participated: Amanda Edwards, Robert Gallegos, Gilbert Garcia, Lee Kaplan, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Whitmire, and Robin Williams.

Emmy Award-winning journalist Linda Lorelle served as moderator. Lorelle is also a ballroom dancer, who has been involved on the advisory board for Hope Stone Dance.

Lorelle told the audience that all of the questions were “sourced after conversations and interaction with all of you in the community. So, these are the questions you want answered.”

Candidates responded in alphabetical order, with two minutes to answer each question.

You can watch the entire 2023 Houston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture, recorded by Houston Media Source, here:

Forum Questions:

  1. “More than 70% of Americans believe that the benefits of the arts extend beyond the individual to the community. If you are mayor and are planning for the city of the future, how will you ensure that Houston is recognized as a cultural leader?” [14:00 mark in the video]
  2. “Dallas spends on average $17 per capita on the arts, while Austin spends $22.90, compared to Houston’s—are you ready for it—$6.70 … Houston’s thriving arts and culture scene is a significant contributor to the quality of life for its residents and visitors. It is an important economic driver, a primary recruiting tool for corporations, and a key tourism attraction for the city. So, in addition to the current Hotel Occupancy Tax allocations, what plans do you have as Mayor to increase funding for the arts outside of the Hotel Occupancy Tax?” [27:05 mark in the video]
  3. “The city’s previous Cultural Plan is dated 2015. What is your plan as Mayor to invest in and commit to a new citywide Cultural Plan for 2024 and beyond? How will you ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are prioritized under this plan?” [42:30 mark in the video]
  4. “There is near universal support for arts education: 91% of Americans believe that the arts are part of a well-rounded K-12 education. Over 90% say students should receive an education in the arts in elementary, middle, and high school. With the state taking over HISD, how will you as Mayor assist schools in making arts education a priority and accessible?” [57:16 mark in the video]
  5. “The arts sector needs artists and workers to thrive. How would you as Mayor ensure that Houston’s diverse artists and cultural workers stay here and thrive here?” [1:12:23 mark in the video]

You can also read the candidates’ written responses to a Pre-Forum Q&A here.

Meet bassoonist Xayvion Davidson, 1st Place Winner and Audience Favorite of the inaugural Mitchell-Hogg Competition

Xayvion Davidson / Photo by Jonathan Storton

Xayvion Davidson, a 19-year-old bassoonist from Nashville and student at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, has won the First Place and Audience Favorite Awards at the inaugural Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition—a new collaboration between the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival (TMF) and the Houston Symphony, whose individual, long-time young artist competitions were recently merged.

Davidson said he felt “grateful and glad”—as well as stunned—to learn that he had earned both honors for his performance of Rossini’s Bassoon Concerto in the competition’s Final Round on June 11, as part of TMF at the University of Houston.

“I remember thinking and stammering in my own thoughts, Oh my gosh. I won. I actually won. Oh my gosh. This is unreal. I won. Oh my gosh,” he said in an email to Houston Arts Journal. “I am not lying when I say the shock and disbelief lasted for at least another 20 minutes.”

Davidson takes home a $2,000 cash prize—$1,500 for First Place plus $500 for being voted Audience Favorite—and two solo performance opportunities: one with the TMF Orchestra on June 24 and another with the Houston Symphony during its 2023-24 season.

UH’s Texas Music Festival is a selective three-week summer academy for emerging, advanced orchestral musicians, who are pursuing a career in classical music. Organizers say that 81 young artists were accepted from 273 applicants for this year’s festival. Of those 81 TMF musicians, 25 auditioned for the Mitchell-Hogg Competition, and only five finalists made it to the last round.

Finalists included flutist Lorien Britt, a 19-year-old Dallas native and Manhattan School of Music student (Second Prize, $1000); violinist Momoko Uchida, a 22-year-old New York native and recent graduate of the Mannes School of Music (Third Prize, $750); harpist Lily Primus, a 20-year-old Denver native who attends Rice’s Shepherd School of Music; and double bassist Colin Roberts, a 19-year-old Seoul, Korea-born Houstonian who has studied at Baylor University and who will join UH’s Moore School of Music this fall.

2023 Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition winners, L-R, Momoko Uchida (3rd Place), Lorien Britt (2nd Place), Xayvion Davidson (1st Place & Audience Favorite), and TMF Director Alan Austin. Photo by Felipe Harker/Univ of Houston Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts

Houston Arts Journal reached out to First Prize and Audience Favorite Winner, Xayvion Davidson, for the following interview:

Houston Arts Journal: Congratulations on your win, Xayvion! When did you start playing bassoon? What drew you, and continues to draw you, to this instrument?

Xayvion Davidson: Thank you! I am unique in the regard that I started on bassoon in fifth grade. I have been playing for nine years. Most people start on clarinet or flute, but the bassoon looked fascinating, had a unique sound, and looked quite difficult. Originally, I thought it was an oboe, which funnily enough was my second choice and all I have to say is, “Thank GOODNESS my mom corrected me!” Imagine having to make oboe reeds for life. Can you imagine all that time wasted on something that probably won’t even work? Sadly, I can relate because I’m doomed to make reeds, thanks to the bassoon.

I got serious about music once I heard of regional band and met my first teacher Dr. Maya Stone, who helped me get into the regional band. When I was there, I enjoyed the social aspect and making music with people as passionate as I was about music and that was what made me want to go pro. What draws me to the bassoon now is the range of the instrument, which is about 3.5 octaves, and the wide range of characters it can portray, from the comedic Sorcerer’s Apprentice to Tchaikovsky’s downright depressing Sixth Symphony.

HAJ: Who are your bassoon heroes or musical heroes?

XD: As for bassoon heroes, Mr. Benjamin Kamins, Dr. Stone, and my fellow studiomates are heroes. Mr. Kamins continues to inspire me, and I have learned a lot from just one year of studying under him because he is a phenomenal teacher. I also learned that he is truly a mentor in every sense of the word. I recall him once saying to me, “Xayvion, I will help you with your reeds until the day I croak.” Though I found it comical, he has helped me and students who have graduated with reeds and continues to check up on them. When he can, he will go to students’ performances and cheer enthusiastically. If his students are around Houston, they will drop by Rice to introduce themselves or sit in on a class.

Though I only studied with her for one year, Dr. Stone is a hero to me because she continues to be a mentor and is there for me when I need it. I am eternally grateful for the support that she has and will continue to give me.

Last but certainly not least, my studiomates are a constant source of inspiration because we are supportive of each other. When I see my studiomates grow and succeed over the year, it is proof that I am in the right spot to accomplish my dream of being an orchestral musician, and I get inspired to work harder.

HAJ: Can you describe how you felt the moment you won the Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Competition? 

XD: Oh, I think everyone who was in the reception hall Sunday could have EASILY answered that one. The one word I immediately felt when I was announced as the winner was shock, followed by disbelief, and it DEFINITELY showed. My mouth was WIDE open after I was announced the winner, when I walked up to the stage with my mouth open, and when I turned around for another ten seconds—maybe more—still gaping. I remember thinking and stammering in my own thoughts, “Oh my gosh. I won. I actually won. Oh my gosh. This is unreal. I won. Oh my gosh.” I am not lying when I say the shock and disbelief lasted for at least another 20 minutes.

HAJ: In addition to the prize money, you’ve won performance opportunities with the TMF Orchestra and the Houston Symphony.  What’s most important to you as a performer?  What are you trying to communicate or achieve each time you go on stage?

XD: What is important to me is trying to get a message across to my audience because as I have heard from my parents, amongst others, the impression you leave is the most important thing. It is rare to play a technically perfect audition, but if you left a memorable impression on the committee, you still stand a chance of winning. For example, when I was performing the Rossini, I thought about being an opera singer because the concerto sounds very operatic. To me, the first movement sounded like it was about a singer professing his love, and to try to be in the right headspace, I thought of singing to my girlfriend. I love her, and when I was singing my ideas with sappy made-up lyrics, I had fun preparing this.

HAJ: What are your goals or dreams as a musician?

XD: As of right now, my goal is to win an orchestral job, preferably before I graduate, and become a great private instructor.

***

Xayvion Davidson begins his sophomore year this fall at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying under Professor Benjamin Kamins. Davidson is an alumnus of the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program and NYO2. In 2022, he served as alternate bassoonist and apprentice manager for the National Youth Orchestra of the USA. His honors also include winning the 2022 Curb Youth Symphony Concerto Competition. When he is not practicing the bassoon or making reeds, he enjoys watching TV with his family or playing Splatoon 3.

Houston mayoral candidates will discuss the role of arts and culture in the city’s future

Mural in progress by artist Aches, located on the side of Houston Ballet’s Margaret Alkek Williams Center for Dance, and “Imagine,” an art car by artist Ruth Sosa Bailey / Photo by Elizabeth Sosa Bailey

The public will have the opportunity to ask Houston mayoral candidates about their visions, stances, and plans for arts and culture in the city, if elected, at a community forum. The Houston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture will take place on Monday, June 12, 2023 at 6:30pm, preceded by a public reception at 5:30pm, at the Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall.

The forum is organized by the city’s seven state-designated cultural districts—Arts District Houston, East End Houston Cultural District, 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, Houston Museum District, Midtown Cultural Arts and Entertainment District, Third Ward Cultural Arts District, and Theater District Houston. The event is free with an RSVP.

According to a press release, organizers aim to bring the arts sector together to learn about candidate policy positions related artists, arts educators and administrators, culture bearers, and cultural institutions—and to seek answers to the question, “As Houston continues to grow, what role will arts and culture play in this ever-changing environment?”

“The arts sector is still recovering from significant events such as the pandemic,” said Harrison Guy, Artistic Director of Urban Souls Dance Company and Director of Arts and Culture of 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, in a statement.

“As we gear up for an essential election in our city, it’s crucial to create a space for a much-needed conversation that not only focuses on the arts but also acknowledges that artists are small business owners. We must also recognize that arts organizations are a driving force behind what makes our city thrive,” he said.

Based on the Arts and Economic Prosperity 5 report, the most recent national economic impact study by Americans for the Arts, the Greater Houston Region generated $119.3 million in local and state government revenues and supported 25,817 full-time equivalent jobs in 2015. Total spending in the arts and culture industry for the area (including spending by organizations and audiences) was $1.1 billion, helping to generate $801.6 million in household income for local residents.

“As critical economic drivers and significant contributors to the development of our communities, arts and culture must be part of the conversation regarding Houston’s future,” said Hillary J. Hart, Executive Director at Theatre Under the Stars and Chair of Theater District Houston, in a statement.

The format of the Houston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture will include opening statements by each candidate, followed by questions from Emmy Award-winning journalist Linda Lorelle, who will serve as the moderator, and questions from the audience. The public can submit questions in advance online, as well as at the event in person.

Writer, educator, and activist Tony Diaz says that he plans to attend the forum to voice his concerns for the evolving needs and changes of the local cultural landscape.

“This is a very exciting time for Latino art and culture in Houston with ALMAAHH about to hire a full-time president of the organization as it launches its visioning sessions quantifying Houston’s Latino Art Eco System, which will be part of its 2023 report. BANF is also identifying and supporting Latino individual artists, collectives, and nonprofits,” Diaz told Houston Arts Journal.

“As an artist, and as the founder of Nuestra Palabra, I would like to know how the mayoral candidates propose to create more funding for Latino Arts nonprofits, collectives, and individual artists. Also, how will they devise ways to work with, build on, and institutionalize the findings of ALMAAHH and BANF to raise Houston’s profile as a Latino arts city?” he said.

Organizers say that all Houston mayoral candidates have been invited to participate in the forum. Confirmed attendees at the time of this publication include Amanda Edwards, Robert Gallegos, Gilbert Garcia, Lee Kaplan, Sheila Jackson Lee, and John Whitmire.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner, who has been recognized for his support of arts and culture, is term-limited and will leave office in January 2024.

The public can check voter registration status here and register to vote here.

A Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture was also held prior to the 2015 Houston Mayoral election.

19th Annual HAAPIFEST showcases films from 13 AAPI communities, celebrates “a lot more of our stories to tell”

Audrey Liao in “Lunchbox” by director Anne Hu / Courtesy of www.lunchboxthefilm.com

When the Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival began 18 years ago, co-director Christina Fu says that the event showed six movies, on VHS tape, in a room at a community center.

Now in its 19th annual edition, HAAPIFEST will screen 41 short and feature-length films by writers and directors from 13 different AAPI communities—Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hawaiian, Iranian, Filipino, Japanese, Malay, Singaporean, Thai, Khmer, Indian, and Vietnamese—running June 3 – 11, 2023. Opening and Closing Days will feature in person screenings at the Marriott Westchase (June 3) and The Cannon West Houston (June 11), with the majority of the festival (June 4 – 10) taking place online.

At a time when “Texas has the largest concentration of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the South, and the Houston metro area has one of the top 10 largest Asian American populations in the United States,” as reported by the Houston Chronicle, HAAPIFEST reflects that growth—and the experiences of those living in the region.

Jenah de las Alas Maravilla in “Kapwa Texas,” a documentary by filmmakers PJ Raval and Cecilia Mejia / Courtesy of kapwaseries.com

“Our festival starts with Kapwa Texas, which includes scenes about the Houston Filipino experience,” said Fu.

Directed and produced by the filmmaking team of PJ Raval and Cecilia Mejia, Kapawa Texas is a new documentary that follows three Filipino American women, who discover themselves politically and personally during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, amidst the bonds of Filipino family and community in Texas.

“The 13 AAPI communities represented in our movies all have communities here in Houston. Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Iranian Houstonians will see their stories, or stories of people they know, in our films, even if they don’t take place in Houston,” Fu said. “Great art shows how people from different backgrounds deal with the challenges and joys that we all face, based on their heritage and personal experience.”

Created in 2004 by OCA-Greater Houston, HAAPIFEST aims to highlight and celebrate AAPI cultures, to support AAPI artists and filmmakers, and to share the untold AAPI experience with the Greater Houston metropolitan area, according to its website.

“As the community has become more visible, so have we. Houston’s AAPI community is recognized worldwide for its size, diversity, and activity. Thanks to this, we received submissions from across the world,” said Fu.

The festival’s mission remains significant at a pivotal moment for diversity in Hollywood, which has made recent strides in AAPI representation along with efforts to have conversations to confront its history of AAPI invisibility and discrimination.

“We are thrilled by the increased AAPI representation in Hollywood. But there are still a lot more of our stories to tell,” said Fu.

Winners of Asian descent took home eight Oscars at the 2023 Academy Awards, the most in a single year so far, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Yet, stories about, written by, and performed by Asians remain low—with Asians representing only about 4% to 6% of all film roles, lead roles, film directors, and screenwriters, based on the 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report.

“Festivals like HAAPIFEST share stories that have not made it into big-budget features. We also are providing exposure to newer and lesser-known AAPI writers, directors, and actors who may find themselves working in Hollywood in the near future,” Fu said.

Scene from “Lunchbox” by director Anne Hu / Courtesy of www.lunchboxthefilm.com

One of those emerging writer-directors is Anne Hu, whose film Lunchbox will be screened at HAAPIFEST.  Lunchbox is the mother-daughter story about a Taiwanese American woman who struggles to forgive herself for pushing away her immigrant mother. As she cooks lunches from her childhood, she confronts regret, assimilation, cultural and familial loss, and healing.

The festival will also feature Mysore Magic by Abijeet Achar, an award-winning director and cinematographer of Indian and Mauritian descent. Mysore Magic tells the true story of an unlikely romance in 1982 at a disco competition in Mysore, India.

Siddharth Kusuma in “Mysore Magic” by director Abijeet Achar and written by Achar and Alex Woodruff / Courtesy of Mysore Magic

In a press release, Fu also called the range and quality of this year’s films “breathtaking,” including stories of “growing up in Chinatown, mental illness, LGBTQIA+ issues, undocumented persons, and depictions of the current struggles against racism and exclusion.”

The festival also creates a shared space for community building, according to Fu.

“Our opening and closing receptions are opportunities for the Houston AAPI community to come together, mingle, network, and watch some of the best AAPI-created movies available,” she said.

HAAPIFEST’s complete schedule, along with film descriptions, can be found here.

Houston painter and professor, Michael Ray Charles, is named 2024 Texas State 2-D Artist

Michael Ray Charles / Photo by Aarik Charles

Known for “complex, layered paintings” that examine power, race, and gender, Michael Ray Charles has been named the Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist for 2024, as announced by the Texas Commission on the Arts and selected by a committee of the Texas Legislature.

Charles is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Franz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Painting at the University of Houston. From 2018-2019, he spent nearly a year in residence at the American Academy in Rome as the recipient of the Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize, considered one of the most prestigious honors awarded to practicing artists.

His art is represented by major museum collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Charles has also been featured in the PBS series, Art21: Art in the 21st Century.

Charles’ work explores historic African-American stereotypes from the Antebellum South, appropriating images from advertising and pop culture to expose the underlying racism prevalent in contemporary culture. He creates a vocabulary of cultural, racial, and historical images to explore caricatures that continue to survive in popular media, such as Aunt Jemima or Sambo.

Texas Commission on the Arts

In a March 2023 feature by Nancy Coleman in the New York Times, Charles said, “I’m still painting about minstrelsy. Certain characteristics are similar to my early work, but my understanding of its intersections in history and culture is more complex.”

(Forever Free) A One ‘Man’ Show (2022) by Michael Ray Charles. Acrylic latex and copper penny on canvas. Photo credit: Courtesy of the artist and Templon, Paris — Brussels — New York / Hedwig Van Impe © Remei Giralt

(Forever Free) Veni Vidi (2022) by Michael Ray Charles. Acrylic latex and copper penny on canvas. Photo credit: Courtesy of the artist and Templon, Paris — Brussels — New York / Hedwig Van Impe © Remei Giralt

Texas State Artist positions are the state’s highest recognition for excellence in the arts. The honorary positions include one-year terms, which are unpaid and do not include specific duties.

Charles’ appointment comes as the Texas Legislature recently selected eight artists to serve in 2023 and 2024 in the positions of state poet laureate, state musician, state two-dimensional artist, and state three-dimensional artist.

“In honoring these individuals, we bring attention to the important role the arts play in shaping Texas’ cultural landscape,” said Gary Gibbs, Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director, in a statement.

“These Texas State Artists are the best of the best. Their work defines our character of place and reflects the distinctive qualities that make Texas unique,” Gibbs said.

Charles is the only Houstonian selected during this current cycle of state artists, whose previous cycle included Houstonians Jesse Lott as 2022 Texas State 3-D Artist and Lupe Mendez as 2022 Texas State Poet Laureate.

A complete list of the new Texas State Artists can be found here.

Arte Público receives $500,000 NEH grant toward preserving and digitizing U.S. Hispanic literature

Gabriela Baeza Ventura, executive editor of Arte Público Press and co-founder of the U.S. Latino Digital Humanities program at University of Houston / Photo credit: University of Houston

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently awarded Arte Público Press a major $500,000 challenge grant in support of its Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Program.

Launched in 1992, Arte Público’s Recovery Program is considered the first nationally coordinated attempt—and the largest endeavor of its kind—to recover, index, and publish lost Latino writings that date from the American colonial period through 1960, as described on its website. Its ongoing efforts include the collection and digitization of books, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, correspondence, and other archival items, including diaries, oral lore, and popular culture.

The grant comes as the NEH recently announced $35.63 million in funding for 258 humanities projects nationwide in various grant categories. Of the 13 Texas institutions and individuals funded during this grants cycle, Arte Público received the largest amount in the form of an NEH Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant.

As a challenge grant, the $500,000 from the NEH aims to leverage federal funding to spur nonfederal support—requiring it to be matched 1-to-1, with Arte Público to fundraise another $500,000 over the next three years. Together, the $1 million will be used toward two main goals, according to a press release: “1) organize, index and preserve digital content and 2) provide multilevel access to the documents and metadata for a wide range of audiences in the United States and abroad.”

“Leonor Villegas de Magnón, Venustiano Carranza, Lily Long and Others,” Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Digital Collections / Courtesy of Arte Público Press

Arte Público says that the Recovery Program’s documents are currently stored in several different servers and are not easily searchable. That will change with the implementation of the NEH grant.

“This support from the NEH will be critical in generating additional funding to create a customized cloud-based digital repository of texts and content management system, all with the long-term goal of making the hundreds of thousands of Latino texts already preserved by the Recovery Program accessible to scholars and community members,” said Dr. Gabriela Baeza Ventura, Executive Editor of Arte Público, in a statement.

Baeza Ventura is also Co-Director of the U.S. Latino Digital Humanities Center, which serves as a venue for the Recovery Program’s archives and whose digital infrastructure will be improved through the NEH grant.

At a time when PEN America reports that book bans are on the rise, increasing by 28% during July to December 2022 when compared to the previous six months—with 30% of banned titles being books about race or racism, or that feature characters of color—there is vocal concern for barriers to access to works by Latino authors, particularly in Texas which leads the nation in book bans.

“This grant is extremely significant not only because it will aid the program to consolidate its archive amassed through more than 30 years of research, but also because it will provide a venue to access materials pertinent to U.S. Latino history and literature that is not accessible and increasingly in peril of being lost or banned,” said Baeza Ventura in an email to Houston Arts Journal.

Founded in 1979 by Dr. Nicolás Kanellos, Arte Público is recognized as the nation’s oldest and largest publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Latinx authors. It has published bestselling authors, such as Nicholas Mohr, Victor Villaseñor, and Helena María Viramontes, as well as seminal works, including Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street.