DWOW

DiverseWorks on Wednesdays returns this week with two great events:Screening: Keren Cytter's Rose Garden, 2014 Digital HD video, color/sound 8:57 minA tragic story takes place in a Texan bar. Its drastic course and the lightness of the composition oppose each other contrapuntally. A virtually musical arrangement is formed by the repetitive employment of various elements (theme music, changing atmospheres, rifle shots). The therein presented, almost emotionless, acceptance of death is contrasted by the narrative of a father speaking to his son. Rose Garden explicitly criticizes the bigot mixture of family values, American gun laws, and societal behavioral patterns in general. Rose Garden was shot in Houston and features an all-star Houston cast including Winch Eagleton, Sara Gaston, Chris Hutchison, OTIS IKE, Nick Meriwether, Emily Peacock, John Grmillian, Wayne Gilbert, and Jim Hatchett. Directed by Keren Cytter; Produced by Ivete Lucas; Special Effects by Jack Burn; and Weapons by Pat Henderson. ________________________ Pecha Kucha with Luck of the Draw Artists: June Woest Earl Staley Penny Cerling Frank Sherwood White Eva Maria Lourdes Martinez Rosine Kouamen Hiyme Brummett Kay Sarver Each artist will show images and talk about their work in a fast-paced, fun environment. ________________________ DiverseWorks on Wednesdays is sponsored in part […]

The Houston VIP Poetry Slam Team and friends present an evening of performance poetry. Watch as a closed list of poets stitch together eloquent writing with theatrical exuberance. This nationally ranked group holds the title of the 2nd Ranked Group Poem Performers in the Nation. This year, Houston VIP will host the 2014 Southwest Shootout Regional Poetry Festival. For more info, visit www.Houstonvipslam.com. The Houston VIP Poetry Slam is a program of EXPRESSIONS-EWCOC. Pecha Kucha with Luck of the Draw Participating Artists: Mari Omori, Katie Mulholland, Phillip Pyle, II, Emily Link, Sandy Ewen, Kathy Hall, Michael Guidry, Isela Aguirre, Hillerbrand + Magsamen, Linda Post, and Jon Read

Artist's Talk with Wura-Natasha Ogunji Austin-based artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji will discuss her Idea Fund performance project, one hundred black women, one hundred actions, which is included in Six of one, half a dozen of the other through photo documentation. one hundred black women, one hundred actions premiered April 24, 2010 in Austin, Texas as part of Fusebox Festival. Black women from around the world were asked to submit an action or gesture of power. These movements were then performed by one hundred black women in east Austin along with a simultaneous live outdoor projection in Clarksville, west of downtown. The sites for the performance were chosen due to their significance to the history of Austin and specifically to honor and recognize the history of black people in the city. The project performed movements across borders and geographies to envision a cumulative, collective action translated into a site-specific performance with the weight and critical mass of one hundred black women, thereby invoking shared power and presence. 

Identity Works:  Queer Filmmaking in Houston Presented by DiverseWorks, Out & Equal Houston, and QFest Join Houston-based filmmakers Anahita Ghazvinizadeh, Jared Gullet, Travis Johns, and Stephanie Saint Sanchez for a presentation of recent work and a discussion moderated by Alfred Cervantes, Deputy Commissioner of the Houston Film Commission. Alfred Cervantes, Deputy Director of the Houston Film Commission and a native Houstonian, has worked in various capacities in film for the past 22 years. As a freelancer he worked on Reality Bites, The Chase, Jason’s Lyric, Powder, and Apollo 13. His duty with the film commission is to promote the greater Houston & Harris County area to film producers, production executives, and independent filmmakers, scout locations, and facilitate any production’s local filming experience. Some of the recent feature films he has assisted or scouted for are The Tree Of Life, The Preacher's Mistress, The Retrieval, and Hellion. More information at http://www.imdb.me/alfredcervantes. Anahita Ghazvinizadeh received a BFA in film from Tehran University of Art and a MFA in studio arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Gazvinizadeh was selected as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Cinema in 2013 by Filmmaker Magazine. Among the many festivals in which her works have been screened are Melbourne […]

Artist's Talk and Pot Luck: Mary Margaret Hansen Mary Margaret Hansen will talk about her installation, Second Seating, currently on view at DiverseWorks in the group exhibition Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Originally presented in a warehouse just blocks from Minute Maid Park in Houston, Second Seating features a series of elegant dinner tables and fanciful chandeliers created with recycled objects from Houston's East End - the industrial heart and historic core of the city. An exchange through food, objects, and stories, Second Seating communicates the richness found within objects and the diversity of a specific neighborhood.