Arts in Crisis A Kennedy Center Initiative

“Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is a program designed to provide planning assistance and consulting to struggling arts organizations throughout the United States. Open to non-profit 501(c)(3) performing arts organizations, the program will provide counsel from Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and the Kennedy Center executive staff in the areas of fundraising, building more effective Boards of Trustees, budgeting, marketing, technology, and other areas pertinent to maintaining a vital performing arts organization during a troubled economy.

Click here to read more about this program.

Click here to request Arts in Crisis services.”

from the HAA special opportunities page

Texas Legislation That Could Negatively Affect Lighting Designers

Being VOTED ON TODAY….
from Jim on Light
“Attention, Lighting Designers! YOU MUST READ Texas House Bill 2649
Posted May 26, 2009 at 8:33 pm by Jim in Architectural Lighting, Civil and Infrastructure Lighting, Designers, Home Lighting, Industry News, JimOnLight.com, Legal Light, Lighting Design, Lighting Discussion, Lighting Manufacturing, Policy and Legislation, landscape lighting

Everybody, this bill is scheduled for a vote TOMORROW. Texas House Bill 2649 puts us out of business, folks.

I just got information from John Baker in Houston about Texas House Bill 2649. I don’t know what your feelings are on this, but it deserves a read. IALD sent out a letter about voting this down – I have copied both the verbage in the bill and the letter from IALD below.

First and foremost, this bill is going to make it impossible for lighting designers who work in Texas to work on projects without being licensed as either an electrician, architect, engineer, landscape architect, or interior designer.”

Please go to the original article and take action.

Candidates Speak at Forum on the Arts

“Take four candidates for Houston mayor, place them in a museum auditorium and ask them if they support the arts. Wanna bet their answer will be an artful yes?

It was. There was little room for disagreement among Gene Locke, Peter Brown, Roy Morales and Annise Parker in a forum at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston sponsored by the Houston Arts Alliance, the Houston Downtown Alliance (Theater District) and the Houston Museum District Association. Worth mentioning is that the audience of 300-plus was probably the biggest crowd to view the candidates together so far in the campaign for the November election.”

full article at Houston Politics: A portrait of agreement.

Aleatoric Art

“Aleatoric Art, a new web-based not-for-profit gallery featuring artists whose practice blends new-age ritual with old-fashioned automatism is emanating from Houston. The site’s author, J. Coleman Miller, says the site “began as a way for me to catalog artists who deal with chance methods in composition” and will be updated twice yearly. He invites submissions from artists who think they fit it’s criteria. From Zoran Zugic’s surrealist fantasies to Mike Bloom’s abstract watercolor blots, the spirit of Arp, Ernst and Cage is alive and kicking, all against a background music of gentle waterfalls.”

via Glasstire: Texas visual art online – Aleatoric?!??!!.

Photojournalists are like athletes

“Anne Wilkes Tucker, curator of photography at the MFAH, …said she strongly disagrees with those who attribute [photojournalist] Garcia’s success to dumb luck. “When Willie Mays was exactly in the outfield where the ball came down, that was not an accident,” she said. “Photojournalists are like athletes in that way.”

via Iconic shot of Obama began as just another assignment | Fine Arts | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

Houston dancer wins prestigous competition

The worst part for 17-year-old ballet dancer Sebastian Concha was flying nine hours from Houston to Switzerland.

The best part was becoming one of the winners of the Prix de Lausanne, a prestigious six-day competition for young dancers from around the world.

Follow the link below to read the full article.

via Houston dancer wins prestigous competition | Fine Arts | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

Years of work made Sandel one of Houston’s top actors

Don’t give Joel Sandel that old canard about how it’s impossible to piece together an acting career in Houston unless you get hired as a company member at the Alley Theatre.

Sandel’s been doing just that for 20 years, chiefly as a mainstay at Main Street Theater, but with regular work at the Houston Shakespeare Festival and other companies — and only two gigs at the Alley, thank you very much.

Follow the link below to read the full article.

via Years of work made Sandel one of Houston’s top actors | Fine Arts | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.