Diverseworks Art Space » Fall 2008

THRIVE REMIX

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:58:46 +0000

The Women of Thrive! Photo taken by Ben Tecumseh DeSoto

6:30pm

DiverseWorks and Friends of Women’s Studies invite you to THRIVE REMIX!Come see the show everyone’s talking about and enjoy holiday cheer, libations, and tasty treats!

Through December 20, 2008

Notions of time play through the work of 16 notable artists from Houston in Thrive, an exhibition organized in conjunction with a conference at University of Houston: “Gender, Creativity and the New Longevity.” The exhibit and accomanying programs are a co-presentation of DiverseWorks and Women’s Studies program at University of Houston. Artists include Elia Arce, Laura Bennett, Ellen Berman, Suzanne Bloom, Joanne Brigham, Kathy Hall, Roberta Harris, Rachel Hecker, Mary Jenewein, Lauren Kelley, Charles Mary Kubricht, Lynn Randolph, Debra Rueb, Toby Topek, Kelli Vance and Dee Wolff.

APAHA & NOVA ARTS PROJECT: Gate of Heaven

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Dec. 6-7, 11-14, 18-21, 2008
Sunday performances at 2pm
Thursday-Saturday performances at 8pm
DiverseWorks Theater

As part of the DiverseWorks Houston Performing Arts Residency Series,Asian Pacific American Heritage Association (APAHA) & Nova Arts Project present The Gate of Heaven. Written by playwrights Lane Nishikawa and Victor Talmadge, The Gate of Heaven is a compelling story of friendship and tolerance between two men of diverse backgrounds, Japanese-American soldier Kiyoshi “Sam” Yamamoto and Leon Ehrlich, an East European Jew rescued by Yamamoto from the Dachau concentration camp at the end of the Second World War.

The Gate of Heaven opens Friday, December 6 and runs through December 21. Tickets range from $15 to $30. For ticket information, call 713-623-4033 or purchase tickets online by clicking HERE. .

Need Directions to DiverseWorks? Click HERE.

Jonah Bokaer: The Invention of Minus One

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Friday & Saturday, Nov. 21 & 22, 2008
8pm

Commissioned by DiverseWorks with Danspace Project and The National Performance Network (NPN)

Making its regional debut, Jonah Bokaer’s Invention of Minus Oneinfuses technology into an exhibition that propels dance and motion-capture techniques into new realms of innovation. While with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Bokaer began using state-of-the-art digital software to develop new movement vocabularies and performance possibilities. Through motion-capture research compiled from a year of epic investigation, Bokaer with his collaborators (video: Michael Cole; costumes: Isaac Mizrahi; sound: Christian Marklay) examines the actual and the virtual, presence and absence. The program will also include False Start, Bokaer’s technology-influenced solo homage to Jasper Johns’ renowned painting.

Interested in how Jonah creates his work? Join us for a Dance and Technology workshop Tuesday, Nov 18, 6:30. [details]
Read Nichelle Strzepek’s review of The Invention of Minus One on The Dance Advantage.
Read Nancy Wozny’s preview of The Invention of Minus One on Dance Source Houston.
Listen to the radio interview with Jonah Bokaer and Bob Stephenson onKUHF’s The Front Row.

Thrive

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Curated by Mary Ross Taylor

November 14 – December 20, 2008

Opening Reception: Friday, November 14, 2008 – 6-8pm

Above image… Installation shot of Rachel Hecker’s Untilted and Japa Mala

To celebrate Thrive, we have created a catalog in partnership with the Womens’ Studies at University of Houston!

Special Thanks to the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation for additional program support!

Check out Douglas Britt’s review of Thrive in The Houston Chronicle.
Virginia Anderson Billeaud’s review of Thrive in the Greater Houston Weekly.
Read Troy Schulze’s review of Thrive in The Houston Press.
Check out CultureMaps’ review of Thrive.

Did you miss the opening reception of Thrive? Click HERE to see some pics from that night.

Catastrophic Theater: The Strangerer

admin — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:34:05 +0000

Special Preview: Thursday, October 16 (see details below)
Thursday – Saturday, October 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31
November 1, 6, 7, 8
8pm
Written by Mickle Maher
Directed by Jason Nodler

“Mr. Lehrer, were you aware that I am a lover of the theater?”

One of the books on President Bush’s 2006 vacation reading list was Albert Camus’ absurdist tale of senseless murder, The Stranger. In hopes that the French philosopher might shed some light on the recent political clime – or vice versa – Mickle Maher’s new play The Strangerercollides several of Camus’ works with the first Bush/Kerry presidential debate in 2004. The formalities of the debate are overturned as Bush and Kerry struggle with the question not of if or why an innocent man should be killed (the man in question being moderator Jim Lehrer), but rather what is the proper manner in which to go about killing him. The Strangerer is part political satire, part classical drama, and part contemporary debate. A murder mystery with the murderers in plain view, it asks one of the most important questions of our day: Why does our president want to kill a lot of innocent people?

Rave Reviews for The Strangerer

“…an absurdist, frequently hilarious tone poem…Neither simple mockery nor earnest existentialism, (this) oddball play is a uniquely weird and enthralling cross-pollination of the two …. makes the impossible commonplace with a perfectly straight face…” Variety

“The Strangerer fuses political and literary satire, mock philosophy, and a touch of metatheatricality into something truly new under the sun….the real moments are so utterly real and the bizarre moments so utterly bizarre that the play takes the humor of incongruity to a new plane.”Backstage

“… a magnificent oddity… for the pure delight of invention, this show shouldn’t be missed.” LA Weekly

“With “The Strangerer,” Theater Oobleck has repeated history from a strange, vibrant, and perversely insightful new angle — and the results are nothing if not memorable.” NY Sun

“… might set Lincoln and Douglas rolling in the aisles… as well as in their graves.” Time Out NY

“…incisive and hilarious…” American Theatre Web

“…disturbingly compelling…” talkinbroadway.com

“…unpredictable, hilarious, and provocative….like Alice’s Wonderland, Maher’s universe is at once coherent and mad.” “Highly Rec/Critic’s Choice” Chicago Reader

“…dazzling erudite humor…haunting…” Time Out Chicago – 5 star review

“Brilliant” is a word to avoid. For one thing, it’s generally an overstatement. Worse, it’s worn out, robbed of its singularity by years of careless use. You might as well say “double plus good.” But “The Strangerer,” a new play from Theatre Oobleck, has in its double plus goodness such peculiar qualities (lightness, hardness, endless facets) that it could tempt that old word out of retirement. “Brilliant” should make you think of a gem—something that shines through cutting. “The Strangerer” is practically all sharp edge…freakish, perfect, hilarious…” Centerstage

“…hilarious and intellectually pointed…a smartly crafted, tautly produced work…” Gay Chicago Magazine

“…bizarrely fascinating…smart and beautifully written…” Chicago FreePress

“Never have the multiple meanings of the term “absurd” been on better display than in Theater Oobleck’s (“The Strangerer”)… It is funny, it is beyond brilliant…. it’s the best piece you’ll see this year about American politics, the news business, or existentialism. WBEZ – critic’s pick of the year, 2007

“The play’s what’s secret. What’s it going to be? Am I going to like it? I’m excited by that secret.”

The Strangerer opens Friday, October 17 and runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm through November 8. Tickets are $15. Or join us at 6:30 on Thursday, October 16 for food, drinks and an exclusive sneak peek preview party with the cast. Preview tickets are $50. For ticket information, call 713-880-5216 or visit www.catastrophictheatre.com.

DiverseWorks & Spacetaker present October Artist SPEAKeasy

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featuring Elia Arce, Ben Tecumseh DeSoto and Matthew Siegel
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
6:30pm
WinterStreet Studios, 2101 WinterStreet- Studio 11B
Admission is Free and Open to the Public

DiverseWorks is excited to partner with Spacetaker for The Artist SPEAKeasy in October. Every third Wednesday of the month at The Artist SPEAKeasy, Spacetaker hosts two to three artists from varying disciplines (visual, performing, literary, etc.) to present, in an informal atmosphere, creative dialogs/talks/presentations about their work followed by a question and answer session where the audience can glean further insight into the artist, the artist’s aesthetic and creative process.

The evening is designed not only to bring together artists and those who appreciate the arts, but also to introduce local artists to each other to encourage conversation and cross-disciplinary collaboration between artists and their chosen media.

This month, Spacetaker is partnering with DiverseWorks and presenting Elia Arce, Ben Tecumseh DeSoto and Matthew Siegel.

About Elia Arce
In her performances, Elia Arce releases what is inside of her with intense abandon. Raised in Costa Rica, the artist moved at the age of 22 to the United States, where she was forced to redefine herself in an unfamiliar culture and a completely foreign language. Her experience with misunderstandings, alienation, and prejudice have informed her work ever since. In the late 1980s and early ’90s, Arce was involved with the performing arts scene in Los Angeles. There, she developed collaborative improvisations and actions with the homeless, prostitutes, and immigrants at a time when the culture wars were marginalizing many performance artists. Later, Arce cultivated spiritual themes in her work and found that she could express these concepts with her body, video, experimental theater, film and the written word. With a keen intuition, she continues to plumb internal mysteries of love, fear, sexuality, and violence, and in so doing, manifests a ritual transformation of herself and her audience.

About Ben Tecumseh DeSoto
Ben Tecumseh DeSoto combines the real-world immersion of photojournalism with the higher concerns of art and social justice photography. A native Houstonian, DeSoto was a staff photographer at the Houston Chronicle for 25 years (1981 to 2006), Houston Post (1980-81) and Pasadena Citizen (1976-80). His work has been included in exhibitions at DiverseWorks, Lawndale Art Annex, Blaffer Gallery, among others, and is included in several collections including the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston, the Harry Ransom Collection, University of Texas Austin, and the private collection of Caroline Huber and the late Walter Hopps.

About Matthew Siegel
Matthew Siegel was born in Manhattan and raised in nearby in Rockland County, NY. This spring, he completes his third and final year of the MFA program at the University of Houston, where he is a teaching fellow. In addition to teaching at UH he works as a writer in residence with Writers in Schools, a non-profit organization that engages at-risk children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing. He has been awarded scholarships to the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference and the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets as well as an award from the Academy of American Poets. The assistant editor of Pebble Lake Review and an editorial assistant at New York Quarterly, he has work recently published or forthcoming in Cimarron Review, Poetry Daily, Paterson Literary Review, Salt Hill, Passages North, and Forklift, Ohio: a journal of Poetry, Cooking, & Light Industrial Safety.

WHEW Second Chance Conference

admin — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:55:24 +0000

Via Connect the Dots
2nd Annual Conference to Educate and Empower Womens’ Advocates in Houston
Saturday, October 4, 2008
10am

WHAT: The Second Chance Project explores our cultural heritage through creative mediums (such as sharing stories from essays and journals) that reflect issues specific to women who have experienced domestic violence, homelessness, or incarceration through the Counseling via Arts Workshops. The Second Chance Project also encourages healing through the Connect-the-Dots Workshops that not only discuss the problems we face, but also demonstrate how those problems are interconnected.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

WHEN: DAY TWO of the conference will start at DiverseWorks with the viewing of three films: “Silence: In Search of Black Female Sexuality” by Mya B, “Hip-Hop: Beyond the Beats and Rhymes” by Byron Hurt, and, “NO The Rape Documentary,” by Aishah Simmons. The films will be viewed and discussed separately by gender because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter (with the Women at DiverseWorks and the men at the Willow Street Pump Station (The Cultural Enrichment Center of the University of Houston-Downtown). Afterward, all the participants will come back together at DiverseWorks to discuss the films and take part in the panel discussions on reentry, women of color in prison, domestic/family violence, and homelessness.

WHY: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 80% of woman in prison are because of domestic violence, the primary reason women are homeless is because of incarceration and domestic violence.

About WHEW Women Healing & Empowering Women (WHEW) is a grassroots initiative addressing domestic violence, homelessness, and re-entry for women of color in Harris County.

The goal of WHEW is to provide workshops that connect the dots between Hip-Hop, homelessness, domestic violence, prison culture, and reentry.

The conference is Friday & Saturday, October 3 & 4. If you would like more information on the other events around the conference or would like to learn more about WHEW, please go to..http://www.whew-now.org/

Houston Sleep Out KickOff Party!

admin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 02:52:53 +0000

Ad Hoc

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:47:43 +0000

(POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)

September 24 and October 22, 2008

7:30pm

SEATS ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED!!!

Indulge your appetite for food and art in a casual outdoor setting with Ad Hoc, brought to you by DiverseWorks and New Living. This Fall’s Ad Hoc dinners—held at Aerosol Warfare’s This Old House, a traffic-stopping project commissioned by DiverseWorks in Midtown—will feature some of Houston’s rising chefs and finest artists collaborating to bring you a five-senses art and culinary experience that you won’t soon forget.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets or would like additional information, please contact Shawna Forney.

shawna@diverseworks.org

DiverseWorks Food Drive

admin — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:54:15 +0000

DiverseWorks Food Drive
September 19 – November 1, 2008

In conjunction with Understanding Poverty, DiverseWorks will hold a food drive to collect non-perishable food items for SEARCH (Service of the Emergency Aid Resource Center for the Homeless.) Food Donations can be dropped off during gallery hours, Wednesday- Saturday from noon to 6pm.

Non-perishable food is essential to the clients of SEARCH; especially those in the housing and education departments. SEARCH tries their best to provide them with enough food to take home for themselves and their family. Suggestions for non-perishable food items include canned meats, juices, canned vegetables, rice, cereal, applesauce, crackers, beef jerky, granola bars; any food that may be stored in a food pantry.

SEARCH Homeless Services is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless men, women and children get off the streets and into jobs and affordable housing. SEARCH serves more than 10,000 homeless people annually, providing them with the tools to work and achieve self sufficiency.