From punk rockers to presidents: The rebels at ROCO announce new season
May 31, 2017
Permalink
Editor's Picks

From punk rockers to presidents: The rebels at ROCO announce new season

The conductor nearly chickened out. Planning the concert that will open the River Oaks Chamber…

Continue Reading →

Making Dallas a Global Dance City: A New Season at TITAS Presents
May 8, 2017
Permalink
Dallas/Ft Worth

Making Dallas a Global Dance City: A New Season at TITAS Presents

Dallas dance-lovers are proud that a dance-centric presenter like TITAS Presents exists in their city—and…

Continue Reading →

Performania: The Loneliness of the Arts Writer
May 8, 2017
Permalink
Editor's Picks

Performania: The Loneliness of the Arts Writer

“What are you working on?” asked Anis Shivani, a Texas poet, novelist, pundit and provocateur.…

Continue Reading →

Anything’s Possible: PrintHouston 2017 Reflects a Medium’s Multiplicity
May 2, 2017
Permalink
Art

Anything’s Possible: PrintHouston 2017 Reflects a Medium’s Multiplicity

As printmaking shows fan out across Houston over the next few months, visitors to PrintHouston…

Continue Reading →

Funny (But Not Too Funny): Katherine Bernhardt at The Modern
April 21, 2017
Permalink
Art

Funny (But Not Too Funny): Katherine Bernhardt at The Modern

Contemporary art lovers have until July 9 to see more than two dozen of Katherine…

Continue Reading →

Rare Works, Beloved Classics & Surprises: Houston Ballet’s 2017-2018 Season
March 19, 2017
Permalink
Dance

Rare Works, Beloved Classics & Surprises: Houston Ballet’s 2017-2018 Season

At first glance, Houston Ballet's 2017/2018 Season can look like a crash course in ballet,…

Continue Reading →

Coming Home to Texas and Sometimes Leaving Again
February 27, 2017
Permalink
Coming Home

Coming Home to Texas and Sometimes Leaving Again

When a writer pitched a story about an actor leaving Texas I immediately said, “No…

Continue Reading →

Primed for Growth: Is Dallas the Country’s Next Hub for New Plays?
February 22, 2017
Permalink
Dallas/Ft Worth

Primed for Growth: Is Dallas the Country’s Next Hub for New Plays?

What is theater that doesn’t reflect contemporary realities? What kind of life can theatrical storytelling…

Continue Reading →

Irreversible Congas: MFAH’s Adiós Utopia Looks at Cuban Art Since 1950
February 14, 2017
Permalink
Art

Irreversible Congas: MFAH’s Adiós Utopia Looks at Cuban Art Since 1950

Late modern and contemporary Cuban art has gotten increased international exposure in recent years thanks…

Continue Reading →

Houston Symphony’s <em>Fidelio</em> & a New Season
February 13, 2017
Permalink
Editor's Picks

Houston Symphony’s Fidelio & a New Season

The heroics of Beethoven’s Fifth. The exuberance of his Ode to Joy. The humor of…

Continue Reading →

Open Space: Dance at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts
February 8, 2017
Permalink
Dance

Open Space: Dance at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts

“We are putting in a dance floor,” Alison Weaver told me during a hard hat…

Continue Reading →

Collecting Histories: Dogon at the Menil
January 27, 2017
Permalink
Art

Collecting Histories: Dogon at the Menil

The complex history behind American and European interest in present-day Mali informs a new exhibition…

Continue Reading →

Sonic Expansions: Austin’s Experimental Music Scene
January 20, 2017
Permalink
Austin

Sonic Expansions: Austin’s Experimental Music Scene

This year I unintentionally celebrated National Bird Day (Jan. 5) at an avant-garde jazz show.…

Continue Reading →

Called to Archive: Studio One in Houston
January 18, 2017
Permalink
Art

Called to Archive: Studio One in Houston

Share an article, pin an image, save a post, link a story. The immediacy of…

Continue Reading →

Redefining Modern: McNay Director Rich Aste on Breaking Down Walls——Literally and Figuratively
January 18, 2017
Permalink
Art

Redefining Modern: McNay Director Rich Aste on Breaking Down Walls——Literally and Figuratively

Before joining San Antonio’s McNay Art Museum as its third director in September, Rich Aste…

Continue Reading →

Electrifying Heroines and Cherished Classics: HGO’s New Season
January 18, 2017
Permalink
Editor's Picks

Electrifying Heroines and Cherished Classics: HGO’s New Season

They rank among opera’s most electrifying heroines, yet Houston hasn’t felt their wallop for more…

Continue Reading →

Music and Printmaking Merge in Son Jarocho Style: Alec Dempster at MECA
January 17, 2017
Permalink
Art

Music and Printmaking Merge in Son Jarocho Style: Alec Dempster at MECA

Housing the Drama: An Update on Dallas Theater Spaces
December 15, 2016
Permalink
Dallas/Ft Worth

Housing the Drama: An Update on Dallas Theater Spaces

Experimental plays and intimate dramas set in homes typically belong in black box theaters. The…

Continue Reading →

Fantastic Spaces: Where Will a Former Architect Take the DMA?
December 15, 2016
Permalink
Art

Fantastic Spaces: Where Will a Former Architect Take the DMA?

Given the centrality of immigration to the 2016 election and Texas’s status as a red…

Continue Reading →

Performania: Texas Dance Ambassadors
December 1, 2016
Permalink
Dance

Performania: Texas Dance Ambassadors

Nothing Is What it Seems: Monika Sosnowska at the Austin Contemporary
December 1, 2016
Permalink
Art

Nothing Is What it Seems: Monika Sosnowska at the Austin Contemporary

In Warsaw, Monika Sosnowska lives across the street from a forest that was once a…

Continue Reading →

On Book: Readings Take Center Stage in Houston
November 21, 2016
Permalink
Editor's Picks

On Book: Readings Take Center Stage in Houston

Scene: a bare stage anywhere—in a theater, a rehearsal hall, even on an outdoor platform…

Continue Reading →

Musical Evangelists: Houston Symphony’s Embedded Musicians Engage the Community
November 16, 2016
Permalink
Editor's Picks

Musical Evangelists: Houston Symphony’s Embedded Musicians Engage the Community

David Connor lets his double bass rest on the floor. Cradling an iPad and speaker…

Continue Reading →

SHOW UP: Lily Cox-Richard
November 16, 2016
Permalink
Art

SHOW UP: Lily Cox-Richard

“I'm trying to shake up my practice,” Lily Cox-Richard says, as we stand in her…

Continue Reading →

The Becomer: Early Monet at the Kimbell
November 7, 2016
Permalink
Art

The Becomer: Early Monet at the Kimbell

Monet: The Early Years at the Kimbell Art Museum kicks off with a startling contrast…

Continue Reading →

Lines, Lots of Lines: Degas at the MFAH
November 3, 2016
Permalink
Art

Lines, Lots of Lines: Degas at the MFAH

Degas: A New Vision will end its only U.S. presentation at the Museum of Fine…

Continue Reading →

Space Commander: Frances Bagley Fills Kirk Hopper Fine Art to the Brim
October 28, 2016
Permalink
Art

Space Commander: Frances Bagley Fills Kirk Hopper Fine Art to the Brim

“I’m really interested in space,” says Frances Bagley, as we walk through her east Dallas…

Continue Reading →

Clara’s Big Dream: Houston Ballet’s New Nutcracker
October 26, 2016
Permalink
Dance

Clara’s Big Dream: Houston Ballet’s New Nutcracker

Snow, a Sugar Plum Fairy and a gigantic Christmas Tree are three things we all…

Continue Reading →

Wonder & A Whale: Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer Transform American Classics into Opera
October 24, 2016
Permalink
Dallas/Ft Worth

Wonder & A Whale: Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer Transform American Classics into Opera

This November, Moby-Dick journeys safely back to its home port, as the Dallas Opera once…

Continue Reading →

SHOW UP: Harold Mendez
October 21, 2016
Permalink
Art

SHOW UP: Harold Mendez

When we meet for coffee, Harold Mendez has just returned to Houston from the Rauschenberg…

Continue Reading →

Hand, Heart & Passion: Jim Dine’s Designs for Salomé at the McNay & More
October 17, 2016
Permalink
Art

Hand, Heart & Passion: Jim Dine’s Designs for Salomé at the McNay & More

A hand, a conch shell, a pair of lips, a valentine heart: Rendered in pastels…

Continue Reading →

San Antonio Symphony Shines in a “Real” Hall at The Tobin Center
October 11, 2016
Permalink
Editor's Picks

San Antonio Symphony Shines in a “Real” Hall at The Tobin Center

Carmina Burana always packs a wallop. This time, Carl Orff’s paean to frolic and fate…

Continue Reading →

The Dance of Work: Forklift Danceworks reflects on past projects and looks to the future
September 27, 2016
Permalink
Austin

The Dance of Work: Forklift Danceworks reflects on past projects and looks to the future

Convention is not a part of Allison Orr’s vocabulary. The Forklift Danceworks artistic director has…

Continue Reading →

Show Up: Shayne Murphy
September 27, 2016
Permalink
Art

Show Up: Shayne Murphy

“Do you know the stereotype that any male who’s approaching his mid-30s becomes really interested…

Continue Reading →

Opera in Israel with Dallas Connections
September 27, 2016
Permalink
Dallas/Ft Worth

Opera in Israel with Dallas Connections

Hannah Munitz's face lit up when I asked her about the Israeli Opera’s production of…

Continue Reading →

Badge of Honor: SMU Dance Grads Impact Texas Dance
September 22, 2016
Permalink
Dance

Badge of Honor: SMU Dance Grads Impact Texas Dance

Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas is home to one of…

Continue Reading →

Collages of Consumption: Lucie Stahl at Dallas Museum of Art
September 20, 2016
Permalink
Art

Collages of Consumption: Lucie Stahl at Dallas Museum of Art

Lucie Stahl, Critic’s Pick, 2014, Inkjet print, aluminum, epoxy resin. The next person you see…

Continue Reading →

Houston Makes Room for Two New(ish) Galleries: Capsule Gallery + Cindy Lisica Gallery
September 19, 2016
Permalink
Art

Houston Makes Room for Two New(ish) Galleries: Capsule Gallery + Cindy Lisica Gallery

Two gallerists have set up shop over the last year on the Houston scene: Cindy…

Continue Reading →

Renaissance Woman
September 6, 2016
Permalink
Art

Renaissance Woman

This past July, Rebecca Rabinow, who grew up in Houston, stepped into her new role…

Continue Reading →

Color Fields: Gabriel Dawe Branches Out At Amon Carter
August 23, 2016
Permalink
Art

Color Fields: Gabriel Dawe Branches Out At Amon Carter

Gabriel Dawe spent two weeks in August scaling the Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s…

Continue Reading →