MFAH 16th Annual Citywide

MFAH 16TH ANNUAL CITYWIDE

AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS EXHIBITION

Closing Reception, Tours, and Exhibition Talk.

HOUSTON (Feb. 10, 2012) – Sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) through Five-A (the African American Art Advisory Association at the MFAH), the annual Citywide exhibitions offer artists the opportunity to show their work to a broader public, and to the collecting community. The 16th Annual Citywide African American Artist Exhibition will be held from February 1, 2012 – March 3, 2012 at Heritage Plaza (sponsored by Arts Brookfield) and the Community Artists’ Collective.

The 16th Annual Citywide Exhibition is curated by artist/curator Michael K. Taylor. The awarded prizes will be juried by artist Floyd Newsum, Professor of Art at the University of Houston Downtown, artist George Smith, Professor Emeritus of Art at Rice University, and Joan Bristow, artist and winner of the 2011 For the Sake of Art at Texas Southern University.

Locations:
Heritage Plaza, 1111 Bagby, Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm
Community Artists’ Collective, 1413 Holman at the Tea Room Gallery, Thur.-Sat. 12-5pm

Prize Ceremony:

Friday, Mar. 2, 6:00—8:00 pm, Community Artists’ Collective.

All prize winners will be announced at 7:00 pm.
• 1st prize: $500 and a full scholarship for one studio art class at the MFAH Glassell School of Art
• 2nd prize: $250
• 3rd prize: $250

Tours and Talks:

Community Artists’ Collective – Sat. Feb 25th 1-3pm Collectors, Artists, & Curatorial Talk

An open dialogue with the 16th Annual Citywide curator Michael K. Taylor, art collectors, artists and the public. Topics will include creating, collecting and displaying fine art. Please visit thecollective.org/citywide for more info.

 Heritage Plaza – Each Thursday 12-1pm : The Community Artists’ Collective will host tours lead by Michelle Barnes (Executive Director), Katy Kleinhans ( Citywide at Heritage Plaza Coordinator ) and select artists.

Participating Artists: Moses Adams, Ron Adams, D’jomme Adia, Hardy Allen, Lashun Beal, Vonetta Berry, Emile C. Browne, Lanre Buraimoh, Valerie Burkes, Cynthia Burleson, Quenton Byers, Eugene Campbell, Kerri Carmouche, Alton Cooper, Quincy Cooper, Joanne Edwards, Akua Fayette, Toyin Folorunso, Pamela Frazier, Leonard Freeman, Jevon Gee, Clyde Ellington Grant II, Lisa E. Harris, Derek Hawkins, Jamil Higley, Keith Hollingsworth, Emma Horace, Dedrick James, Cletus O. Johnson, Dannye Jones, kYmberly Keeton, Linda Simien Kelly, Kelvin Latson, Dekeita McClenon, Tony McMillian, Gail Mebane, Kula Moore, Quentin Pace, Alton Pearce, Frank Perkins, Bridgette A. Phillips, Justin Ransburg, Ezra Roy, Deanna Santiago, Rev. Adreon Scott, Elizabeth Montgomery Shelton, Micah Simmons, Mike Thomas, Jasmin Vann, Donald Walker, Charles Washington, Curtis Williams, Jackie Williams, and Gery Wych.

Five-A, the African American Art Advisory Association at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, was established in 1993 to enhance the museum’s collection of African American and African art.  At the end of each year, Five-A uses its membership dues and other fund-raising proceeds to purchase major works for the permanent collection of the museum. In addition to sponsoring the work of acclaimed artists, Five-A also has championed artists history has overlooked. The support and guidance of Five-A has been instrumental in shepherding up-and-coming artists into the collection. Since its founding, Five-A has brought an impressive 44 objects into the museum’s collection.

The Community Artists’ Collective (The Collective) was conceived in 1985 by Michelle Barnes, artist, art educator and director of Barnes-Blackman Galleries, and Dr. Sarah Trotty, artist and art educator at Texas Southern University. The Collective was organized to meet the needs of professional African American artists with a special sensitivity to African American women artists. The Community Artists’ Collective programs are supported in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and the Texas Commission on the Arts and through collaborations with community organizations.  The Collective is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition.

Arts Brookfield (Houston) of Brookfield Properties owns and manages many of the buildings which create downtown Houston’s signature skyline, including the Allen Center and Cullen Center properties and the Heritage Plaza.  Arts Brookfield animates its public spaces in major cities across North America with acclaimed free visual and performing arts.

For more information and updates regarding the exhibition please visit thecollective.org/citywide or mfah.org/programs-for/page/annual-citywide-exhibition/

Hot Nights on Holman

Friday, February 10, 2012

Double Feature:  “Cairo Time” and “Medicine for Melancholy”

“Cairo Time” and “Medicine for Melancholy” are the movies for the February 10 “Hot Night on Holman” at the Community Artists’ Collective, 1413 Holman at LaBranch in the Midtown Art Center Tea Room.

 A discussion after the movies will be facilitated by urban planners Jay Crossley and Zakcq Lockrem and Planners’ Revolution staff.

Entries from some of the more than 60 artists in the 16th Annual Citywide African American Artist Exhibition, sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, through Five-A (the African American Art Advisory Association at the MFAH) will be on display.

“Cairo Time,” released in 2009, is a romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off guard.  Starring Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig, the film was named the best picture at the Directors’ Guild of Canada in 2010.

The movie is a love letter to a city where people’s lives are bound to the countryside as well as the old cities modernized with technology.  The story concerns the clash of two very different cultures and how the past and present collide to form such a layered city as Cairo. Wonderful scenes within the city are shown as well as exceptional cinematography of the surrounding countryside. The White Desert and the Pyramids stand out, etched out in the land, seemingly by giants who preceded modern civilization.

“Medicine for Melancholy,” released in 2008, is a love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African-American 20-somethings dealing with the conundrum of being a minority in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco. The film won awards at the San Francisco Film Critics’ Circle and the Sarasota Film Festival.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The movie begins at 7:00 p.m. with live music following at 8 p.m. Cost is $5 person, which includes free cocktails.  $15 gets you admission, cocktails, popcorn, a meal and wine. The Vegan Comfort café will be open from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Bike parking is available on Holman, and free auto parking is located behind the Midtown Arts Center. 

 

Redefinition 8: An Artistic Experience

Pre-Kwanzaa After Party

Objects of Art and Craft: A Collective Choice

“Texas Artists Today” author to sign books at The Collective December 7

PaperCity’s Catherine D. Anspon will sign copies of her lavishly illustrated “Texas Artists Today” at the Community Artists’ Collective Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Some of the 62 artists highlighted in this rich canvas of Texas’s art scene will be attending the book signing.   The book is the first in a decade to highlight the visualists who create at the epicenters of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, as well as locales from the west Texas plains to the state’s piney woods.

The collectible, limited edition of 3,000 hand-numbered copies, presented in an oversized format with 460 color images, treats the reader to studio tours, portraits, examples of the artists’ works and essays on each talent’s intent, inspiration and working methods.  The 248-page book, featuring a preface by James Surls and foreword, by Lester Marks, retails for $150.00.