Category: Arts News

Arts in Houston: A better model for art prizes?

The $50,000 Hunting Art Prize, which Houston artist Wendy Wagner won this year, has drawn some flack from Kelly Klaasmeyer, among other observers, for its selection process…

The selection process for the Artadia Awards 2008 Houston sounds a little more, well, selective…

That sounds in line with some of the suggestions Rainey Knudson made last year to “fix the Hunting Art Prize” — most notably, shorter shortlists and studio visits with the finalists.

Follow the link below to read the full article.

via Arts in Houston: A better model for art prizes?.

Clamor and Fray, et al

Cite magazine and the Rice Design Alliance have launched OffCite.org, a new blog about architecture and design in Houston and elsewhere, but, having caved to the digital-media future, they can’t quite swallow the internet’s populism: according to the press release, “blogs often broadcast personal angst or feast on political partisanship. When OffCite.org comes up on the screen, the elegant layout and lush photography immediately set it apart from the clamor and fray.” And we thought clamor and fray was the whole blog idea!

via Glasstire: Texas visual art online – Clamor and Fray, et al.

Outpost on the Eastern frontier

Houston’s Deborah Colton Gallery has launched Outpost NYC / DCG in New York City in collaboration with New York-based art writer/curator Liutauras Psibilskis, who curated the 2007 Chemical City exhibition at Deborah Colton’s Houston space. The new venue will begin by sharing space with other institutions, but aims to establish its own permanent space in Lower Manhattan. In other year-end news, Colton has announced the promotion of Selene Arrazolo to Assistant Director.

via Glasstire: Texas visual art online – Outpost on the Eastern frontier.

With friends like these . . .

On Monday, our Texas legislature began to chew on declining enrollment in arts classes among Texas schoolchildren. Author Dan Pink, in Austin to address the Texas Association of School Administrators, told a group of lawmakers that there is too much focus on routine and standardization and “getting the right answer,” and today’s schools are “preparing kids for my past rather than their future.” Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, (R-Plano), who hosted the session with Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, said it is too early to say how the Legislature might accomplish the goal of integrating fine arts and the core subjects, but that the first step will be a new accountability system, Shapiro said, “will give us the opportunity to utilize the fine arts as we have never done before.”

via Glasstire: Texas visual art online – With friends like these . . ..