artiFACTS: February 2012

AURORA PICTURE SHOW HAS received support from the Andy Warhol Foundation to attend the Arthouse Convergence, an annual gathering of art house operators and industry leaders to get together and share successes and challenges of running independent cinemas, that is presented in collaboration with the Sundance Institute. Aurora will be there to network and to learn tips for marketing, fundraising, technology, and programming to improve the quality and effectiveness of our organization.

For more info:
www.aurorapictureshow.org

 


 

ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL HEALTH System will serve as Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) 2012/2013 season sponsor, marking the third consecutive year for St. Luke’s as season sponsor.

For more info:
www.tuts.com

 


 

REBECCA GREENE UDDEN AND Main Street Theater were the subject of a five-page feature article by Frank Boudreaux in American Theatre Magazine about their production of Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia” trilogy, which is only the second production in the nation.

For more info:
www.mainstreettheater.com

 


 

STARK NAKED THEATRE CO., MILDRED’S Umbrella Theater Company and The Classical Theatre Company announce that they will be moving into the performance space Studio 101 at Spring Street Studios, formerly Divergence Music & Arts. The goal will be to provide audience members with a one-stop shop for the highest quality theater Houston has to offer, while allowing the three member organizations to remain true to their distinct artistic visions.

For more info:
www.starknakedtheatre.com

 


 

MARLANA WALSH DOYLE HAS been named artistic director of The Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. Doyle has been been dancing with The Met for the past decade. Since becoming Company Manager in 2005, the company’s repertory has grown significantly.

For more info:
www.houstonmetdance.org

 


 

ASIA SOCIETY TEXAS CENTER IS pleased to announce that Korean artist Lee Ufan has been commissioned to produce a site-specific work to inaugurate the Sculpture Garden in its new home, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi and located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District. Titled “Relatum-Signal,” the 2011 work represents Lee’s first commissioned piece for a public institution in the United States.

For more info:
www.asiasociety.org/texas

 


 

ANTONIN BAUDRY, CULTURAL Counselor of the French Embassy, conferred the insignia of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters on Gary Tinterow on January 23, 2012. Gary Tinterow, a distinguished curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for nearly three decades, was recently appointed director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

For more info:
www.mfah.org

 


 

FORMER MIAMI CITY BALLET (MCB) Soloist Marc Spielberger has been hired as the new artistic coordinator at Houston Ballet. Trained at Ballet Schule Schulzke and the German Ballet Academy of Munich, Spielberger danced with Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin before joining MCB in 1999.

For more info:
www.houstonballet.org

 


 

IN ADDITION TO THEIR ART League Houston show running through February 24, Hillerbrand + Magsamen have a show in Madrid, Spain at Camara Oscura Gallery and the Indianapolis Art Center, through February 12.

For more info:
www.hillerbrandmagsamen.com

 


 

AMY POWELL IS THE NEW CYNTHIA Woods Mitchell Curatorial Fellow at Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston. Her work frames contemporary art in global perspectives, including modern and contemporary African art and photography, African cinema, critical theory focusing on post colonial theory and contemporary theories of representation, new media and subjectivity, and the history and theory of museums and curatorial studies

For more info:
www.class.uh.edu/blaffer

 


 

DIVERSEWORKS ARTSPACE ANNOUNCES the appointment of Elizabeth Dunbar as the new executive director, taking over from interim executive director William Betts. Most recently, Dunbar served as associate director and curator at Arthouse, a non-collecting experimental art space in Austin.“I’m thrilled to be joining DiverseWorks at this important time in its evolution,” says Dunbar. “I look forward to working with the Board, staff, and many committed supporters in realizing its ambitious goals and shaping the organization’s future.”

For more info:
www.diverseworks.org

 


 

SANDY EWEN IS THE NEW ARTIST in residence at 14 Pews. She will be creating two shows that combine performance and the visual arts. Ewen has been experimenting with vintage slide projectors and has created a body of work that explores materiality and scale.

For more info:
www.14pews.org/pages/home.asp

 


 

THE HOUSTON FAMILY ARTS Center (HFAC) Actors Academy cast of Kissless returned to Houston after performing at the 2011 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). The cast of 27 Houston teens and young adults performed six times at the Off-Broadway Theatre at St. Clement’s. “Kissless,” with book, music and lyrics by Houston’s own Chance McClain, tells the story of two very different people forced to live together for the summer and the unlikely relationship that develops to the dismay of their friends and family. “We’re elated that our actors had the opportunity of a life time to perform Off-Broadway,” said Bob Clark, HFAC executive director. “They spent 13 days in New York living their dreams.”

For more info:
www.houstonfac.com

 


 

THE MICHELE BRANGWEN DANCE Ensemble performed as a guest company on Dance Theater of Harlem’s Sunday Matinee Concert Series on January 8. Repertory included Outside My Window and the opening dance from Get Outside, with choreography by Michele Brangwen and music by Tim Hagans.

For more info:
www.brangwendance.org

 


 

THE JULIA IDESON LIBRARY, located in Downtown Houston, has reopened after a five year renovation project. The Ideson Library, part of the Houston Public Library system, is home to the Houston Metropolitan Research Center. The Spanish Renaissance style building is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, a City of Houston protected Landmark and a Texas State Archaeological Landmark.

For more info:
www.ideson.org