Katrina and Rita Exhibit Closing, Independent Topical Films, Students for a Better Houston
Mark Lacy
-Surviving Katrina and Rita Exhibit Closing Saturday with Panel and Party
-Powerful Films: Independent Intervention and How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
-Students for a Better Houston Presents Important Public Service Messages
-Camp Dos Cabezas Provides Unforgettable Experience for At-risk Youth
-Documentary and Digital Storytelling Class Schedule for July and August
-Great Educational and International Events Continue Through the Summer
-About this Email Newsletter
We normally suspend newsletters from June to August, but with so many
activities coming up this weekend (several we are hosting) we decided
to go ahead with this issue. We will be back in late August with more
Houston Institute news and educational events. We also will offer an
organization status report and volunteer opportunities. For the
remainder of the summer we will be away - offering a camp for kids in
New Mexico, taking education-seeking tourists to the Smithsonian
Folklife Festival, and offering digital story workshops at the
Onondaga Nation in New York. Please read on to find out how to get
involved and attend upcoming events.
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Surviving Katrina and Rita Exhibit Closing Saturday with Panel and Party
The audio/photo installation, Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston:
Who We Are, is currently on exhibit at the Art League Houston's space
at 1953 Montrose until June 16, 2007. As part of its closing
activities the Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston project, Art
League Houston and the Houston Institute for Culture will host panel
presentation and closing celebration. Events begin at 4:30pm with an
informal session on The Healing Power of Stories. Storm survivors
participating in the panel include Phylicia Bradley, Henry Armstrong
and Vincent Trotter. The panel will be moderated by project founder
and folklorist Carl Lindahl. At 6:00pm there will be a closing
celebration featuring music by noted Creole musician and Hurricane
Rita survivor Ed Poullard.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston is a survivor-centered
storytelling and documentation project which that has been training
Katrina and Rita survivors to collect and record the stories of their
fellow survivors. The project's goal is to voice, as intimately as
possible, the experiences and reflections of those displaced to
Houston by the two major hurricanes that pounded the Gulf Coast in
August and September of 2005. The stories will ultimately be housed at
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the
University of Houston.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are features eighteen
large format photographs of survivors taken by Alice McNamara and weds
them with interview excerpts from each of the individual survivors
portrayed in the installation. The exhibition explores the diversity,
the dreams, the disappointments and the very real day-to-day lives of
the survivor community.
The afternoon panel presentation, The Healing Power of Stories, will
consider the manner in which survivor-to-survivor storytelling creates
an empathetic connection between interviewer and interviewee and
encourages survivors to tell their story on their own terms. By
dispensing with an authorial, academic or journalist agenda, the
storytelling may serve the storyteller in various ways-- as testimony,
witness, therapeutic expression and/or empowerment. Panel participants
will share aspects of their stories and reflect on the restorative and
constructive nature of narrative.
At 6:00pm, the closing celebration will be capped off with
refreshments and music. Accordionist and fiddler Ed Poullard is the
single most important link to the legendary generation of Creole
musicians such as Canray Fontenot and Bois Sec Ardoin. Starting out
in the family band, Ed went on perform alongside all of the noted
players in this style over many decades. However, unlike many Creole
accordionists, he did not migrate to the more popular and
readily-accessible bluesyness of zydeco – instead he built his Creole
credentials by diversifying from accordion into fiddle and playing
with such noted groups as the Ardoin Family Band, Beausoleil and with
his late brother Danny in an ensemble known as Poullard, Poullard and
Garnier. Ed will be joined by guitarist J.B. Adams. As a co-host of a
popular Houston radio show, "Zydeco Pas Sale," he has become a mentor
to several young Creole musicians, passing down his knowledge of the
musical repertoire and encouraging younger players to pursue their
interest and greater involvement in the music.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston: Who We Are is supported by
Houston Institute for Culture with funding from the National Endowment
for the Arts, Houston Arts Alliance, and the United Way of the Texas
Gulf Coast.
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston is produced in partnership with
the University of Houston, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and the American
Folklore Society with funding from the Houston Endowment.
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Powerful Films: Independent Intervention and How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Houston Institute for Culture - Center for Localism and KPFT present a
double feature of powerful films this weekend. The free screening will
take place at the Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama Street.
Independent Intervention - breaking silence
Saturday, June 16, 8:30pm and Sunday, June 17, 7:00pm
Independent Intervention is an award-winning documentary about United
States media coverage of the conflict in Iraq. Focusing on the human
costs of war, it contrasts corporate-controlled media coverage of the
invasion of Iraq with independent media reports of the brutal
realities on the ground.
Through discussions with media experts including Amy Goodman, Noam
Chomsky, Dahr Jamail, Danny Schechter, David Barsamian, Kalle Lasn,
Norman Solomon, and James Zogby, the film investigates important
issues and systems that govern today's information flow, and shows how
these systems of control reveal themselves during times of political
turmoil and war.
Independent Intervention also includes commentary by Howard Zinn,
Arundhati Roy, Bill Moyers, Michael Moore, and Jeremy Scahill.
Free
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Houston, Texas 77098
http://www.houstonculture.org/film
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The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Saturday, June 16, 7:00pm
The independent documentary was inspired when Faith Morgan and Pat
Murphy took a trip to Cuba through Global Exchange in August, 2003.
That year Pat had begun studying and speaking about worldwide peak oil
production. In May, Pat and Faith attended the second meeting of The
Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, a European group of oil
geologists and scientists, which predicted that mankind was perilously
close to having used up half of the world's oil resources. When they
learned that Cuba underwent the loss of over half of its oil imports
and survived, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, the couple
wanted to see for themselves how Cuba had done this.
During their first trip to Cuba, in the summer of 2003, they found
what Cubans call "The Special Period" astounding and Cuban's responses
very moving. Faith found herself wanting to document on film Cuba's
successes so that what they had done wouldn't be lost. Both of them
wanted to learn more about Cuba's transition from large farms and
plantations, and reliance on fossil-fuel-based pesticides and
fertilizers, to small organic farms and urban gardens. Cuba was
undergoing a transition from a highly industrial society to a
sustainable one. Cuba became, for them, a living example of how a
country can successfully traverse what we all will have to deal with
sooner or later, the reduction and loss of finite fossil fuel
resources.
Free
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Houston, Texas 77098
http://www.houstonculture.org/film
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Argentina - Hope in Hard Times, with Juan Peron (short)
Presented by Globalization Forum and Houston Institute for Culture -
Center for Localism
Sunday, June 24, 7:00pm
"¡Que se vayan todos!" Chants echo off the skyscrapers, burst through
the plazas, and clamor down the streets of Buenos Aires. "Throw them
all out!" shout legions of frustrated Argentine housewives, students
and lawyers, weaving their way through the city one summer evening,
banging on pots and pans. What would you do if you lost your job, they
closed the banks so you couldn't access your savings, and the
government seemed unable to help? In Argentina they stormed
supermarkets for food; the police gunned down 30 people in just one
day. But what happened next was truly extraordinary.
ARGENTINA - HOPE IN HARD TIMES joins in the processions and protests,
attends street-corner neighborhood assemblies, visits workers'
cooperatives and urban gardens, taking a close-up look at the ways in
which Argentines are picking up the pieces of their devastated economy
and creating new possibilities for the future. A spare narrative,
informal interview settings, and candid street scenes allow the
pervasive strength, humor, and resilience of the Argentine people to
tell these tales. These are their inspiring stories - of a failed
economy and distrusted politicians, of heartache and hard times, of a
resurgence of grassroots democracy and the spirit of community - told
in resonant detail.
Other films by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young are NET LOSS, ANOTHER
WORLD IS POSSIBLE, NOT FOR SALE, GENE BLUES, ISLAS HERMANAS, and RISKY
BUSINESS.
Free
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Houston, Texas 77098
http://www.houstonculture.org/film
Parking and Accessibility
Havens Center is located about 1/4 mile east of Shepherd on W. Alabama
Street, on the south side of the street at 1827. Parking is available
at St Stephens Episcopal Church (on the south side of the street near
Woodhead and Alabama) or in the parking lot directly across the street
from Havens Center (on the north side of Alabama). Additional parking
is available at the St Stephens School, Woodhead and Sul Ross.
Havens Center is accessible. Please call 713-521-3686 for
accessibility information.
See map for directions and further information:
http://www.houstonculture.org/film
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Students for a Better Houston Presents Important Public Service Messages
Students for a Better Houston, a student organization made up of 12-
to 14-year-old middle school students, recently completed their work
for the spring. Through regular meetings and deliberation, they
determined two important issues that need to be addressed in the city
and started public service campaigns to raise awareness.
The student group, which is facilitated by Houston Institute for
Culture, utilized digital storytelling capabilities from a program we
offer at the Havens Center after-school program to conceive and
produce public service messages for radio and television.
The student organization's PSAs are on line and can be played as MP3s
or viewed as Windows Media videos. Next the students will be involved
in disseminating their messages to media and, of course, friends
through their MySpace accounts.
The videos are available at the organization website:
http://www.betterhouston.com
The audio is available on the resources page.
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Camp Dos Cabezas Provides Unforgettable Experience for At-risk Youth
Volunteer camp counselors and young scholars had a great time at Camp
Dos Cabezas in southeast Arizona last week. You can read about the
educational and exciting adventures of the Camp Dos Cabezas young
scholars through journal entries they posted to their on-line blog:
http://www.houstonculture.org/camp/2007campblog.html
We will offer another camp for Pilgrim Elementary students who are
nominated by their teachers August 4 - 12 in western New Mexico and
eastern Arizona.
Camp Dos Cabezas - La Ventana (The Window) will visit many education
sites, wonderus natural environments and cultural activities,
including: Pueblo Indian Cultural Center; El Morro National Monument
(Inscription Rock); El Malpais National Monument (Bandera Volcano and
Ice Cave); Acoma Pueblo (Sky City); Petrified Forest National Park;
86th Annual Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial; Gallup Cultural Center;
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site; Canyon de Chelly National
Monument (Navajo Nation - White House Ruins); and San Antonio Missions
National Historic Park.
If you would like to volunteer for an upcoming camp, please contact Mark Lacy:
ma...@houstonculture.org
If you would like to help more deserving children attend Camp Dos
Cabezas, contact Elisa Gutierrez, scholarship director:
elisa@ houstonculture.org
More information is available:
http://www.houstonculture.org/camp/scholars.html
http://www.houstonculture.org/camp/campvols.html
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Documentary and Digital Storytelling Class Schedule for July and August
Introduction to Photography and Lighting
Saturday, July 21 and Saturday, July 28 (4-6pm)
$45; Class meets two consecutive Saturdays, covers use of camera and
functions, light meter, exposure and light concepts, and introduction
to lighting equipment.
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Intermediate Photographic Lighting
Saturday, August 18 and Saturday, August 25 (4-6pm)
$55; Class meets two consecutive Saturdays, covers intermediate
photography applications, use of lighting equipment and advanced
lighting concepts.
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Introduction to Digital Storytelling
Dates for September and October will be announced.
$25; Class meets on one Saturday, covers the elements of digital
storytelling, production and software. Note: This intro class is
preferable for people with access to computers with Windows XP
operating systems.
Get more information and schedule updates at:
http://www.houstonculture.org/class
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Great Educational and International Events Continue Through the Summer
Stay tuned to KPFT's Music Beyond Borders radio show and our website
for information about events throughout the summer:
http://www.houstonculture.org/calendar
Here are several upcoming events:
"International Tales and Rhythms"
Thursday, June 21, 8:00pm
There will be a performance by the Mitotiani-Aztec Dancers. They will
be exploring the world of ancient Mexico through Aztec dancing,
storytelling, poetry, and songs. There will also be a performance by
the Second Generation Dance Company entitled "African Folktales and
Fairy tales".
Miller Outdoor Theatre
http://www.milleroutdoortheatre.com
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"Moves and Music of the Motherland"
Saturday, June 30, 8:00pm
Miller Outdoor Theatre
http://www.milleroutdoortheatre.com
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Indian Music Workshop
Beginning Monday, July 9
The two week workshop on Indian music will feature classes in Tabla,
Vocal and Dilruba taught by Chandra and David Courtney
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Bollywood Music Featuring Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, and Mona Singh,
with 20 singers, musicians, and dancers from India
Sunday, July 22, 7:00pm
Brown Theatre in Wortham Center
281-648-0422
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About this Email Newsletter
The Houston Institute newsletter is provided about nine times per year
to community members who have requested it, as well as Houston
Institute for Culture volunteers and collaborators on beneficial
programs. The newsletter features Houston Institute for Culture events
and activities, as well as community and cultural activities
throughout the region. We attempt to highlight events and
organizations that resemble the educational mission of Houston
Institute for Culture, as well as promote diverse interests.
Thank you for supporting great educational events in Houston.
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M a r k @houstonculture.org
Houston Institute for Culture
Havens Center
1827 W. Alabama Street
Houston, Texas 77098