Concepts at Work: Nina Katchadourian at the Blanton Museum of Art
Nina Katchadourian has a mindfulness or awareness that might make a Buddhist blush.
Coming Home to Texas and Sometimes Leaving Again
When a writer pitched a story about an actor leaving Texas I immediately said, “No thanks, I need to focus on those staying.” Although, now I can't help wondering what would have been in that exit interview.
Ten Years of Tales: BooTown Celebrates 100 Grown-up Storytimes
The first time I experienced Houston’s BooTown and their now-famous Grown-up Storytime was in the spring of 2008.
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 have if it doesn’t exist within the world it’s born into?
Nothing’s Regular: Stanley Whitney at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
In the current FOCUS series of exhibitions at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, abstract paintings by the African American painter Stanley Whitney are on view through April 2. This solo show is his first in Texas.
My Mañana Comes: Responding to Times of Crisis
As the nation’s fourth largest city, Houston is home to more than 2.1 million people (over 5 million in the metro area). The city’s Latina/o residents comprise roughly 41 percent of the population. As I have detailed before (See: “Excluding Latina/o Stories in Tejas”), Houston’s arts scene has seen a major boom in capital projects, funding, and national exposure.
Dropout By Dropping In: The Co-work Space for Potential Dropouts at Pollock Gallery
The Co-Work Space for Potential Dropouts, which will occupy SMU’s Pollock Gallery through March 11, is a project by the artist Avi Varma and curated by Pollock Curatorial Fellow Sofia Bastidas.
Acting in Texas: James Belcher
I've had the great privilege to see James Belcher on many a Houston stage. Right now, he's entrancing audiences in August Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata, through Feb. 26 at Classical Theatre, where he is a member of the resident company.
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 to improved relations between the United States and Cuba, laying the groundwork for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s unprecedented exhibition Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950.
Houston Symphony’s Fidelio & a New Season
The heroics of Beethoven’s Fifth. The exuberance of his Ode to Joy. The humor of his First Symphony. The drama of his Eroica. The Houston Symphony and Andrés Orozco-Estrada have embraced all that and more since they launched their Beethoven symphony cycle in 2015.
Differences Intertwined: Teresa Margolles at UTEP Rubin Center for Visual Arts
How might artists use their work to create connections across difference in these difficult times? Two shows currently exhibited at the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at the University of Texas El Paso provide partial responses to this difficult question.
Building a Community of Writers and Readers: WriteFest Returns to Silver Street Studios
Nonprofit literary organizers draw all sorts of volunteers, but Elizabeth White-Olsen, executive director of Writespace, recalls one in particular. “We had a young lawyer show up, and she looked like a supermodel, in her miniskirt, cute silk blouse, high heels. She didn’t have time to change after work. I watched her in this outfit, moving furniture all day. I thought it was the funniest thing. That’s the kind of volunteer we have—so committed.”