“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 [...]]]>

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 16^th 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. 

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 [...]]]>

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.