Regional Films - Kamp Katrina, Intimidad - at River Oaks Theatre, Houston Monthly, Finding Heroes
Mark Lacy
-Film directors discuss KAMP KATRINA and INTIMIDAD at River Oaks Theatre
-Thank You, Houston: A Celebration of Gulf Coast Voices, Music and Food
-Houston Monthly is for People Who Enjoy Travel, Arts and Meaningful Dialogue
-Campaign for Achievement: Finding Heroes in the Faces of Houston
-Volunteers Make All the Difference in the Services We Provide to Houston
-Digital Story Resource Center Photography Classes Registering for October
-About this Email Newsletter
Houston Institute for Culture had a fun and exciting summer. After
producing the city's Juneteenth celebration at Miller Outdoor Theatre,
we were off to the Smithsonian to work with cultural exchange programs
on the National Mall. It wasn't all work; the twelve hour days were
rewarding. Take a look at what we saw:
http://www.houstonculture.org/travel/bhutan/photos.html
Back in Houston, hurricanes are on our minds. We have several programs
this week that examine the stories of hurricane survivors. And we will
be watching the tropics closely, hopeful that a hurricane doesn't
disrupt our lives (not to mention our best-planned programs).
Two powerful, award-winning regional films will be showcased at River
Oaks Theatre this week. Directors David Redmon and Ashley Sabin will
be present to answer audience questions.
KAMP KATRINA, an award winning cinema verite documentary, follows a
small group of people who have taken refuge in a garden transformed
into a tent city by an extraordinary New Orleans couple, Ms. Pearl and
her husband, David. Filmed over six months in New Orleans'
Bywater/Upper Ninth Ward, Kamp Katrina focuses on the dialectic
between madness and hope in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina.
More than a document about a hurricane, "Kamp Katrina" is a story
about the trials and tribulations regular people go through everyday
in communities all across the country to make life better for family
or friends, even if they've sunk to an all-time low.
Kamp Katrina will be shown at 7:00pm, Tuesday, Sept 9, 2008
River Oaks Theatre, 2009 West Gray, Houston, Texas 77019
Free screening; donations accepted
INTIMIDAD - To understand the condition of Mexico and its people, you
can start by understanding the aspirations of one family.
"Intimidad" is an in-depth poetic story of life on the Mexico-Texas
border, as the filmmakers follow a family on their quest for financial
security in Reynosa. Cecy and Camilo – ages 21 – recently moved to the
border, Reynosa, Mexico, from Santa Maria, Puebla with a dream to save
money, buy land, and build a home. A year later they return to their
rural hometown to reunite with their two year-old daughter Loida. What
seems like a satisfying reunion turns into a confusing dilemma that
transforms the course of their marriage. Both the family in the film -
and the directors - documented "Intimidad" over the course of five
years, lending the story to an incredibly intimate, dream-like
impression. "Intimidad" mixes digital verite with Super 8 and 16mm
film stock.
Read an excerpt from a review of Intimidad in the Texas Observer:
http://www.houstonculture.org/film/intimidad.html
Intimidad will be shown at 7:00pm, Wednesday, Sept 10, 2008
River Oaks Theatre, 2009 West Gray, Houston, Texas 77019
Free screening; donations accepted
Get more information about the screenings of "Kamp Katrina" and "Intimidad":
http://www.houstonculture.org/film
____________________________________________________
Thank You, Houston: A Celebration of Gulf Coast Voices, Music and Food
A great celebration and a commemoration of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
is planned for Discovery Green this weekend. [We will send an update
as we learn more about the path of Hurricane Ike later in the week.]
"Thank You, Houston" is a live music event in honor of Hurricane
Katrina survivors and Houstonians who volunteered their support. Music
by Al "Carnival Time" Johnson and Bluebonnet Brass Band. There will
also be free food, and a survivor story video display.
In the park's Houston Public Library Express, a video version of the
photo/audio exhibition, WHO WE ARE, will be playing. In addition,
patrons may check out headsets to hear podcasts focusing on stories of
thanks and gratitude recorded from survivors by the Surviving Katrina
and Rita in Houston project. A workshop on Mardi Gras Indian suit
making will start things off at 6:30pm. And last but not least, hearty
servings of red beans and rice and jambalaya will be available for
free - as long as it lasts.
"Thank You, Houston" will take place from 6:30 - 9 pm at Discovery
Green, just outside the George R. Brown Convention Center, where
thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors were welcomed and housed in
September 2005.
"Thank You, Houston" is sponsored by Houston Institute for Culture,
Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston project and Discovery Green.
"Thank You, Houston" is funded in part with support from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast,
Discovery Green, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts
Alliance, and the Houston Endowment.
The public will find information about this free event at:
http://www.houstonculture.org/houston
Hear Audio Excerpts:
http://www.houstonculture.org/houston/SKRHphotos.html
____________________________________________________
Houston Monthly is for People Who Enjoy Travel, Arts and Meaningful Dialogue
If you enjoy travel, local arts and music, hobbies like photography
and blogging, and want to be part of a group that promotes meaningful
social interaction, then check out "the next small thing" from Houston
Institute for Culture. This program is meant to be small and
meaningful, while presenting a full magazine of interests in a live
setting.
You've heard of Atlantic Monthly, Texas Monthly and Washington
Monthly. Now meet Houston Monthly:
http://www.houstonmonthly.org
Houston Monthly invites the Houston community to meet each month to
mingle and share interests. Following a light social hour in an
interesting Houston artspace, one or two presenters will share their
insights into interesting travel, fun activities that are uniquely
Houston, and beneficial community programs. Community involvement is
needed in planning fun and educational monthly activities and
developing the Houston Monthly blog. If you or someone you know is
interested, please contact us.
We have also upgraded our Events Calendar to promote more
opportunities for meaningful social interaction in Houston. You can
now sort events by category, print a weekly listing of events (by
using the Weekly Reports link at the bottom) and you can post events
more easily. An editor will have to approve them before they appear
live to prevent spam. If you would like to become a calendar editor to
help us provide this valuable service to Houston, please let us know.
Events Calendar:
http://www.houstonmonthly.org/calendar
Take our poll to tell us what activities you would most like to see at
Houston Monthly events and what you think are the most critical issues
Houston faces in its future.
Online Polls:
http://www.houstonmonthly.org/poll/db/poll.php
____________________________________________________
Campaign for Achievement: Finding Heroes in the Faces of Houston
Campaign for Achievement, a National Urban League program, helps
children recognize achievement in their daily lives. The Children's
Museum of Houston and the Houston Area Urban League have partnered for
the past eight years to create exhibits that reflect examples of
achievement through the eyes of Houston's urban youth.
What is a hero? As defined by one of this year's youth artists:
"Heroes are normal people who do the right thing." Through a
partnership with the Children's Museum of Houston, the Houston Area
Urban League, Houston Institute for Culture, and SHAPE Community
Center, photographer Ben DeSoto taught local youth between the ages of
8 to 13 a "bag of tricks" of how to capture the concept of heroism
through the art of photography. Parents, siblings, doctors, policemen
and scientists are just some of the heroes these children portray in
this exhibit.
Special thanks to the University of Houston-College of Education CITE
lab for providing digital cameras for the students during the program.
Students from the Houston Institute for Culture Camp Dos Cabezas
program who are included in the exhibit and will be awarded for being
Young Achievers include Yessenia, Miguel, Daniel and Alex.
All camp participants, family members, and HIFC volunteers and
supporters are encouraged to attend.
Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony
5:30 to 6:30pm, Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Children's Museum of Houston
1500 Binz
Houston, TX 77004
(713) 522-1138
http://www.cmhouston.org/directions
____________________________________________________
Volunteers Make All the Difference in the Services We Provide to Houston
Volunteers are our most critical need.
There are many decisions to be made, leadership roles to fill and
challenging goals ahead. For a relatively young organization, Houston
Institute for Culture came a long way over the past year. We increased
our budget significantly with funding from the National Endowment for
the Arts, United Way, and many more. We reached out to broad audiences
and garnered tremendous local and national media coverage. The
organization is in an ideal position to produce both cultural arts
events and proactive social services. Our programs are generally
divided in two categories: Cultural Literacy and Social Innovation.
Houston Institute for Culture achieves its goals by providing
education through public events about cultural influences - family,
history, media, religion, arts, business, economy, environment,
technology - and programs to improve communities through education and
empowerment. By seeking audiences in unexpected places and involving
students of all ages, we drew exceptional numbers to documentary film
and photography events, and concluded the season with an audience of
thousands at the Miller Outdoor Theatre.
To learn more about our programs and see examples, please visit:
http://www.houstonculture.org/meeting/index.html#about
Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation from slavery, is the
most significant historical event in Texas and A Gulf Coast Juneteenth
is one of the region's most exciting commemorations of this occasion.
We are beginning monthly meeting to establish the most effective plan
for citywide promotion of Juneteenth in Houston.
The Juneteenth Publicity Committee meets at 2:00pm, Saturday,
September 13, 2008 [We will send an update as we learn more about the
path of Hurricane Ike later in the week.]
Houston Institute for Culture
7111 Harwin Drive, Suite 132
Houston, Texas 77036
The Juneteenth Publicity Committee works to promote A Gulf Coast
Juneteenth (a city-wide event at Miller Outdoor Theatre), as well as
other Juneteenth activities in Houston.
Learn more about meeting schedules and our office location:
http://www.houstonculture.org/meeting
See information about last year's Juneteenth event:
http://www.houstonculture.org/juneteenth
____________________________________________________
Digital Story Resource Center Photography Classes Registering for October
In the upcoming year, Houstonians will see major advances in the
programs and services Houston Institute for Culture offers through its
Digital Story Resource Center.
And, you will see more benefit to youth groups through the increased
funding for this center. In fact, we are currently seeking another
student intern to work on digital storytelling projects with middle
school students in schools. Responsibilities for this internship are
to: present workshops for students to develop their ideas as digital
stories; facilitate the students' work to completion and presentation
for peer groups. The paid internship is open to university students in
applicable fields, such as education, communication, and media
production. Contact us for more details.
But this isn't only an initiative for schools and community centers.
Anyone can take part in the center's activities, which include classes
from digital photography to digital publishing and multi-media
creation.
The best place to begin is the introductory photography course, which
meets two consecutive Saturdays and explores the fundamental uses and
functions of all cameras (which also can be helpful for video camera
users). It focuses on camera techniques and understanding light
conditions to make the best possible pictures in various situations.
The $45 class fee benefits youth activities.
Introduction to Photography and Lighting
October 4 & 11, 11:30am to 1:30pm
http://www.houstonculture.org/class
Thank you for supporting educational events in Houston.
____________________________________________________
M a r k @houstonculture.org
Houston Institute for Culture
7111 Harwin Drive, Suite 132
Houston, Texas 77036
Learn more about Houston Institute for Culture
http://www.houstonculture.org/resources/hifc.html