A Brass Band and Zydeco Christmas, Artery Benefit, and more
Mark Lacy
-Celebrate the Season Gulf Coast Style
-Houston's Natural Art Space - The Artery
-Hillcroft and Harwin, Need We Say More
-Texas Meets Bhutan at the Smithsonian
Houston Institute for Culture is a partner and collaborator with many
of Houston's visionary and progressive arts organizations. This
weekend we will be celebrating with two of them. With the Surviving
Katrina and Rita in Houston project we will be having the party of the
season on Friday night at the Orange Show, with a lively combo of New
Orleans Brass Band music and some Texas Zydeco. And on Saturday we
will celebrate the critical nature of the Artery, a visionary outdoor
art space hidden under a dense canopy of trees in the Museum District.
Here are the details:
Friday, December 7, 7-11pm
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston, the Orange Show and Houston
Institute for Culture present "A Gulf Coast Christmas", featuring the
Soul Rebels Brass Band and Zydeco phenomenon Corey Ledet.
Based in Houston since the 2005 hurricanes, the Soul Rebels Brass Band
is a beloved New Orleans group that blends Mardi Gras funk, rock and
reggae with traditional jazz and a bit of Hip Hop to create a
one-of-a-kind sound that encourages crowds to "Work It Out" on the
dance floor. Having come up through the traditions of jazz funerals
and the second line, the Soul Rebels made their professional debut
playing for the Neville Brothers at famed New Orleans hot spot
Tipitina's. The band's hard core funk groove has made them a favorite
opening act for groups such as The Fugees, A Tribe Called Quest,
Counting Crows and Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, just to name a few, and
they are featured on Galactic's recent release, From the Corner to the
Block.
Corey "Lil Pop" Ledet returns to his hometown of Houston to play
Zydeco favorites in the style of Clifton Chenier and Rockin' Dopsie.
Corey and his band twist Zydeco traditions with a contemporary beat
that has made them top bill at dancehalls throughout southwest
Louisiana and Texas.
Roger Wood will emcee and offer readings from his recent book, Texas
Zydeco. The presentation will feature photography by James Fraher.
Bring your friends and family. Food and drinks will be provided,
including sweets from Treebeards, and there will be entertainment for
the kids as well.
The free event will take place Friday, December 7, from 7 - 11pm at
The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, 2402 Munger Street, Houston,
Texas 77023. For information, call (713) 926-6368.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston was initiated in partnership
with Texas Commission on the Arts, the American Folklife Center at the
Library of Congress, the University of Houston, the American Folklore
Society and Houston Institute for Culture. The Surviving Katrina and
Rita in Houston project has been funded in part by the Houston
Endowment, Inc., the National Endowment for the Arts, the Houston Arts
Alliance, the American Folklore Society, Weingarten Schnitzer
Foundation, the Douglas County School District, Douglas County
Colorado, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the United Way of the
Texas Gulf Coast.
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Saturday, December 8, 7-11pm
Celebrate the Artery's 20th anniversary on Saturday, December 8,
7-11pm. The Artery had many achievements this year, including airing
their first two episodes of the Artery Media Project on HoustonPBS,
which featured Artery-produced events, as well as performances at
FotoFest and DiverseWorks. Through its events and documentary
productions, The Artery has made significant contributions to benefit
hundreds of Houston artists and organizations.
From art exhibits and rehearsals of a steel drum band that took place
on the site in 1987, Bill Day and Mark Larsen, along with a host of
collaborators that have included inventor Bruce Adams, artist Steven
Potter, photographer Jim Hicks, and sculptor Richard Fleuer, The
Artery has served the visual and performing arts communities, and
social and environmental justice movements for twenty years. The
Artery continues to meet increasing demands of its constituents by
providing vital space for the Houston community to expand its
collective interests.
During the party and video screening, The Artery media team will share
newly edited footage from the 2007 season, including international
performances from the Music Beyond Borders world music festival. There
will be wine, beer, apple cider and snacks.
The event is free. Donations will be accepted to support the continued
existence of this unique art space and media project. Donations to the
Artery Media Project are tax deductible. Contact Mark Larsen at
fac...@earthlink.net, or Mark Lacy at ma...@houstonculture.org to learn
more.
The Artery is located at 5401 Jackson, on the corner of Prospect (a
couple blocks northeast of the Children's Museum).
For more information, please see:
http://www.arteryhouston.org
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Our Locale at Harwin and Hillcroft
We recently set up a project office in Houston's most diverse setting
- Harwin near Hillcroft. It is the beginning of our Digital Story
Resource Center and will serve other functions of Houston Institute
for Culture, including a classroom space for our Camp Dos Cabezas
Young Scholars, community outreach and workspace for volunteers.
The address is:
Houston Institute for Culture
7111 Harwin Drive, Suite 132
Houston, Texas 77036
Interesting projects at this location include:
Recording the People's History of Houston - With easy access for
people from all over southwest Houston's diverse communities, we will
be prepared to record the interesting and vital stories of small
business owners, immigrants, community advocates, music makers,
religious leaders, and more.
Classes for Family Chroniclers and Citizen Journalists - We will offer
an increased schedule of classes in digital storytelling, photography,
publishing, genealogy research, and more, while developing an
extensive archive and digital story festival.
Community Outreach and Meeting Space - As we determine the community
needs and issues we can most effectively address, we will launch
several outreach projects from this central location and share our
meeting space with arts and community organizers.
Services for Artists and Nonprofits - With a recording station and
photo/video studio, we will be prepared to provide services, such as
assistance with public service messages or publicity materials, to
artists and organizations, as well as academic units of area
universities.
Stay tuned for more information as we settle in during January.
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Educational Adventures for 2008
The Houston Institute for Culture 2008 Educational Travel Series has
been posted:
Traditions of Mexico, Semana Santa (Copper Canyon)
March 17-25, 2008
Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Washington DC Tour
July 1-7, 2008
Historic New Mexico Series (Pueblo Revolt and Fiesta de San Lorenzo)
August 4-12, 2008
Celebration of West Indian Heritage, New York City
August 28 - September 2, 2008
Autumn in Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains
September 22-30, 2008
Traditions of Mexico, El dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead)
October 28 - November 4, 2008
California Migrant Worker Experience (from Steinbeck to Chavez)
December 2008
For more information about these great educational adventures, please see:
http://www.houstonculture.org/travel
Additional tours, workshops and conferences, as well as volunteer
opportunities with Camp Dos Cabezas, will soon be posted. Please
contact us at 713-521-3686 for more information.
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Featured tour location: Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Each year, one of our most popular tours explores Washington DC during
the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and citywide July 4th activities.
The Smithsonian Institution recently announced it will feature the
eastern Himalayan nation of Bhutan and the diverse state of Texas in
2008. The SI website describes the programs as follows:
Bhutan at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Situated in the eastern
Himalayas and bordered by China and India, Bhutan rises in just a few
hundred miles from steamy jungles to some of the world's highest
peaks. No roads led outside of the Kingdom until the 1960s, and access
by air became possible only a few decades ago. This isolation
throughout its history has provided refuge for its people to live and
practice their rich cultural traditions freely.
The Festival will celebrate Bhutan's special approach towards life in
the 21st century, which, as national policy, is described as the
pursuit of "Gross National Happiness." The Bhutanese have chosen a
different path towards development, rooted in deep respect for and
protection of the Kingdom's unique resources.
With approximately 95 percent of its people practicing traditional
farming, Bhutan is an agrarian society where people live close to the
land that sustains them. Their eco-friendly practices are in part
responsible for Bhutan's designation as a biodiversity "hot-spot."
Bhutan also is the last country where the Vajrayana form of Mahayana
Buddhism is practiced extensively and influences all aspects of daily
life.
The Festival will bring more than 100 Bhutanese artists, dancers,
craftspeople, cooks, carpenters, farmers, and representatives of
monastic life who will celebrate the living traditions that define and
sustain their culture. Artisans will demonstrate Bhutan's thirteen
traditional arts (zorig chusum) and specifically how these link the
people to the land. Weavers will showcase the diversity of complex
weaving traditions that have made Bhutanese textiles some of the most
coveted in the world today. Sculptors, painters, and carvers will
demonstrate the skilled arts that continue to adorn monasteries and
temples, as well as most Bhutanese homes. Monastic dancers will
perform ritual masked dances from the highly choreographed and
symbolic sacred festivals (tsechus).
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Texas at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Over ten days, the
National Mall will host demonstrations, performances, and famous Texas
talk about the Lone Star State's proud history and its contemporary
traditions. Up to a million visitors will hear presentations of Texas
blues, swing, conjunto, country and western, gospel, and tejano music;
see demonstrations of wine making; enjoy diverse culinary traditions,
old and new, from barbeque cook-offs to kolache making, from pan de
campo contests to the production of artisan Texas cheeses.
The Texas program will illustrate a dynamic and creative society built
upon rich natural resources, thriving cosmopolitan cities and engaging
rural landscapes, where a rich heritage of freedom, optimism,
opportunity, and achievement contribute to a vibrant contemporary
culture.
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NASA at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival - On the occasion of the
fiftieth anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, NASA at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will
showcase the role that the men and women of NASA have played in
broadening the horizons of American science and culture, as well as
the role that they will continue to play in helping to shape the
future by stirring the public imagination.
The NASA program at the Festival will include living presentations,
hands-on educational activities, demonstrations of skills, techniques,
and knowledge, narrative "oral history" sessions, and exhibits that
will explore the spirit of innovation, discovery, and service embodied
by the agency and its personnel. The Festival program will encourage
visitors to participate actively-to ask questions of astronomers,
astronauts, astrophysicists, educators, engineers, and other experts:
a cross-section of NASA's 18,000 employees and 40,000 contractors and
grantees. Visitors will come away from the Festival with a better
understanding and appreciation of NASA's history and mission through a
celebration of the people whose knowledge has made those achievements
possible.
Thank you for supporting educational events in Houston.
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M a r k @houstonculture.org