This week's FRESH Art on Tap: April 9

2019

April

09 - 16

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FEATURED EVENT

CounterCurrent19

April 09 - 14
9:00 AM - 12 :00 AM

@ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts

FREE EVENT

CounterCurrent is a free festival of performance, installation, and ideas. Presented by the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, CounterCurrent includes audio and visual installations, live performances, talks, and participatory events by artists from around the world. From large-scale spectacle to intimate interaction, CounterCurrent projects reflect the range of ways we view each other and the city around us... more details

TUES

APR 09

WED

APR 10

THU

APR 11

FRI

APR 12

SAT

APR 13

SUN

APR 14

MON

APR 15

TUES

APR 16

TUESDAY, APRIL 09

CounterCurrent19: Tia-Simone Gardner: Salt Water Sweet Water

@ Allen's Landing Park

April 09 - 14 // 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM // Free

Taking place at "Houston's birthplace," Allen's Landing on Buffalo Bayou, Gardner's Salt Water Sweet Water (2019) is a site-specific response to Houston's own history of commerce and construction. Visitors will interact with these histories through a presentation of projected image, sound, and performance.... more details

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10

REYES'S STAFF PICK Jennif(f)er Tamayo: LA QUEERADORA @ MATCH April 10 - 11 // 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM // Free Jennif(f)er Tamayo's LA QUEERADORA installation sits at the intersection of digital cultural production and embodied cultural performance. It asks: How do material bodies, whose lives hold an archive of cultural knowledge and experience, compete with a manufactured and digitally porous production of identity? In Tamayo's work, the racial project of U.S. Latinidad, as an often capitalist and anti-Black enterprise, becomes an optic through which these questions can be approached.... more details
CounterCurrent19: Current Conversations @ MATCH April 10 - 14 // 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM // Free Current Conversations are a series of public discussions across disciplines and along parallel lines of inquiry. CounterCurrent festival artists and University of Houston faculty experts engage in lively discussion about themes and concepts connected to this year's festival programming. Each one-hour, lunchtime talk kicks off with a set of rapid-fire presentations followed by questions and answers among panelists and the audience.... more details
THE ROYALE by Marco Ramirez @ Rec Room April 10 - 27 // 7:30 PM // $15-40 REGIONAL PREMIERE: Jay 'The Sport' Jackson dreams of being the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. But it's 1905 and, in the racially segregated world of boxing, his chances are as good as knocked out. Winner of two Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award, The Royale is inspired by the real-life story of Jack Johnson from Galveston, a boxer who - at the height of the Jim Crow era - became the most famous and the most notorious black man on Earth.... more details

THURSDAY, APRIL 11

Cultured Cocktails Benefiting "Houston, We Got You Covered" @ Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar April 11 // 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM // Free Please join us for drinks and conversation at Boheme Cafe & Wine Bar on Thursday, April 11th, when a portion of the proceeds from all drink sales during the 5:00PM -8:00PM happy hour will go to support "Houston, we got you covered." So enjoy a drink or two, meet the "Houston, we got you covered" team, and take-in Boheme's bohemian atmosphere! The proceeds from the evening will support "Houston, we got you covered" so don't be shy, raise a glass (or three) while raising funds for "Houston, we got you covered."... more details
Let Creativity Happen 8x8 Presentations @ Aurara Picture Show April 11 // 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM // Come see what kind of innovative arts projects Houston Arts Alliance and Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs funded in the new creative risk and innovation program.... more details
JESSICA'S STAFF PICK 72 Miles \| 72 Stories @ Applied Theatre at the Alley April 11 - 13 // 7:30 PM // The Alley Theatre continues its El Zócalo season with the three-day celebration: 72 Miles \| 72 Stories. Dovetailing with Latino Art Now! (LAN!) and Spring of Latino Art (SOLA) Houston, the Alley is embracing the rich heritage and home-grown stories within our own community.... more details
CounterCurrent19: Ellen Fullman: The Watch @ University of Houston April 11 - 13 // 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM // Free Long String Instrument composer and performer, Ellen Fullman, explores the acoustics of large resonant spaces with her compositions and collaborative improvisations. Fullman will literally "play" the iconic atrium of the Philip Johnson-designed Hines College of Architecture and Design building at the University of Houston, an action first performed in 1994. The title, The Watch, references a specific and repeated experience the artist has had involving vigilance and a wristwatch. For the artist, the title, The Watch, is a reminder of the possibility to transcend mundane existence through maintained focused attention.... more details
32nd Annual Houston Art Car Parade Weekend @ Downtown Houston April 11 - 14 // 12:00 AM // See Website Join us for four full days of events, celebrating the artist in everyone and "The Drive to Create!" This weekend includes a sneek peak, the Art Car Ball, a Kids Creative Zone, a VIP Experience, and so much more!... more details

FRIDAY , APRIL 12

Artist Talk: The Legacy and Future of Korean Papermaking @ Asia Society Texas Center April 12 // 6:30 PM // $5-10 Artist Aimee Lee discusses her work in hanji (Korean paper) as part of "The Magic of Korean Papermaking" workshop at the Glassell School of Art. This presentation will describe how hanji is made in both Korea and the U.S., and how it is used for books, sculpture, jewelry, and artwork.... more details
Two brides and One wedding @ Czech Center Museum Houston April 12 // 7:00 PM // Free Marie is a typical city single. Although she is a successful TV moderator, in the realm of relationships she has a talent to attract only idiots. On the contrary, her sister has already found the right man and they plan to get married. When Marie arrives to their home town to visit her family, she meets her old flame, Jiří. Soon it is clear that their mutual feelings are still alive. But the whole thing has a catch, as Jiří is the man her sister is about to marry.... more details
FUEGO @ Sky Lounge April 12 // 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM // Free You are invited to attend a showcase in honor of Artist Jesse de Leon. He will be introducing a new dialogue of two series that infuses his affection for latin culture and the city of Houston! This free event will be sponsored by Camden McGowen Station in Houston, Texas. You don't want to miss the chance to see this winning work up close and personal!... more details
Ballet Orchestra @ Moores Opera Center April 12 // 7:30 PM // $10-15 In conjunction with the Houston Ballet II and Houston Ballet Academy, the Moores School of Music presents a "Fridays at Moores" performance by the Ballet Orchestra.... more details
CounterCurrent19: Awilda Rodríguez Lora: SUSTENTO @ MATCH April 12 // 8:00 PM // Free SUSTENTO: from La Performera to La Mujer Maravilla is a lecture-performance by the transdisciplinary artist, Awilda Rodríguez Lora also known as La Performera. Stories, movements, and songs are strategies used by La Performera to invite the audience to reflect on the concept of sustento (sustenance) as a complex and vital idea for survival in creative and everyday practices. As a performance choreographer, Rodríguez Lora challenges traditional notions of womanhood, sexuality, and autonomy, examining relationships between the economy of living, corporeality, and the contemporary art market.... more details
Better Together @ Hobby Center April 12 - 13 // 8:00 PM // See Website Together, we are an ocean. Better Together showcases the unity in energy and physicality that the artists of METdance bring to the stage. The program will include a world premiere by long-time METdance collaborator Katarzyna Skarpetowska , as well as works by HSPVA and Juilliard graduate Robbie Moore and acclaimed NYC based artist Kyle Abraham. We also will have a selection from DUO, Guest Company iMEE and the MET too Youth Company.... more details
CounterCurrent19: Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born: Sitting on a Man's Head @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts April 12 - 13 // 12:00 AM // Free Artists in residence through the Performing the Neighborhood initiative of the Mitchell Center and Project Row Houses over the past three years, Okpokwasili and Born have created a dynamic "public song," engaging the Project Row Houses campus, local artists, and the Houston community. Their installation in a row house will be activated during CounterCurrent as an immersive live experience, in turn intimate and collective.... more details
Special Presentations: Cocksucker Blues @ MFAH \| Brown Auditorium April 12 - 14 // 12:00 AM // $8-10 Pleased with Robert Frank's photographs for the cover of their 1972 album Exile on Main St., the Rolling Stones invited him to document their next U.S. tour. Frank and his collaborator, Danny Seymour, created the observational documentary capturing the legendary musicians and their entourages in private encounters - later considered too revealing by some of the band members. This cult classic is available courtesy of the Museum's longtime involvement with Robert Frank's photography and films.... more details

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

Expressions in Molten Metal @ Art Alley at Sawyer Yards April 13 // 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Experience another aspect of art-making that is not widely available with guidance from Houston-artist Jack Gron. Happening during Second Saturday at Sawyer Yards, Expressions in Molten Metal is an interactive experience that allows the public to create their own design in a resin sand scratch block that will then be turned into a cast aluminum block by Gron's mobile foundry. Bring your creativity and let it shine!... more details
DARAL'S STAFF PICK The Market at Sawyer Yards @ Sawyer Yards April 13 // 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM // Free This curated market hosts a mix of artist mediums with a focus on folk art, the maker is the seller & artisan crafts including packaged specialty foods. Surrounded by the highest concentration of working artists in all of Texas, the market coincides with 2nd Saturday Open Studios, when artists from The Silos at Sawyer Yards, Winter, Spring, Summer and Silver Street Studios, open their studios to the public.... more details
MARCI'S STAFF PICK Lyons Ave Renaissance Festival @ 3800 Lyons Ave April 13 // 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Join us, and over 5,000 of our closest friends, family and community members, as we celebrate the history, art, and culture of the Historic 5th Ward! Dance the day away to the sounds of Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop/R&B, Latin/Salsa, Zydeco, Gospel and much more. Plus, with over 150 vendors/food trucks, kids' areas, games, a beer garden, a classic car show, a 3x3 basketball tournament, and a few secret surprises, we KNOW that there's something for everyone!... more details
ANGELA'S STAFF PICK NOCHE de Selena Market at Axelrad @ Axelrad April 13 // 2:00 PM // Free Join us as we kick off NOCHE de SELEVA at Axelrad with a Selena "Queen of Tejano" inspired Artist and Makers Market. We will celebrate the singers conribution to music, fashion and her everlasting impression on our culture. NOCHE de SELENA will have live music and videos all evenings in collaboration with Wonky Power.... more details
CounterCurrent19: Stacy Garrop: How Does a Composer Compose? @ MATCH April 13 // 4:00 PM // Free In this lecture-demonstration, Garrop takes the audience through a step-by-step process of how she composes instrumental music, demystifying a process that for many remains challenging to understand. For CounterCurrent19, Garrop will focus on the compositional process she utilized for her woodwind arrangement, Bohemian Café. The presentation features videos of Prague street performers from whom she drew inspiration, photos of her early pencil sketches for the work, and examples (both audio and visual) of how the piece took shape within a music notation program.... more details
Simply the Best: An 80s Kids Comedy Variety Show @ Station Theater April 13 // 6:00 PM // See Website Calling all fans of comedy - and the decade of excess! Join The '80s Kids for a totally tubular romp through the 80s pop culture. The "kids" celebrate the decade that defined them with a signature variety show featuring live music, sketch comedy, improv, and more! It's gnarly fun!... more details
Brotherhood: In Conversation on Contemporary Black Dance @ Mystic Lyon April 13 // 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM // Free From artist Orlando Zane Hunter Jr: The piece that we will be collaborating on is a work that I'm writing as a short story and bringing it into a live movement experience. We like to work with a concept we are calling Afro-neo narratives. This is a understanding we are learning and experiencing. Having the control to tell the stories of past present and future with a focus on healing. Having the liberty of black imaginative space to tie time and space using focused energy to tell stories and mythologies that someone may never heard of or has, has an affect on viewer who never get to see themselves in a particular light.... more details
Filming Vincent: Vincent and Theo @ MFAH \| Brown Auditorium April 13 // 7:00 PM // $7-9 Filmed on location in Provence, France, and in Holland, Robert Altman's biopic Vincent & Theo concentrates on the relationship between artist Vincent van Gogh (Tim Roth) and Van Gogh's beloved brother, Theo (Paul Rhys). Based on letters written by the painter to his art-dealer brother, this beautiful story of love and compassion captures the artist's creativity and state of mind as Theo-who recognizes his brother's genius-cannot convince an indifferent public to buy Vincent van Gogh's work.... more details
MICAH'S STAFF PICK Premiere: Mass Observation @ St. Philip Presbyterian Church April 13 // 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM // See Website The Choir will be joined by Musiqa in a unique collaboration. This startling original work is scored for choir and six percussionists and is a poignant meditation on the histories of our varied, ambivalent relationships with surveillance in its many guises. The work takes its title from the British social research organization, Mass-Observation, which aimed to record everyday life in the United Kingdom.... more details
KiKi Maroon's Burly Q Lounge @ House of Blues Houston April 13 // 8:00 PM // $15-35 Burlesque, standup comedy, live music, and showgirls! KiKi Maroon's Burly Q Lounge is a Burlesque Varie-TEASE Show, unlike anything you've ever experienced. Classy and sexy, dirty and funny; this evening of vaudevillian hijinks will transport you to the naughty speakeasy your grandparents never told you about. Every show is a totally new line-up, each event a brand new experience! Visit our website for show dates, tickets, video, and more.... more details
The Magic of Korean Papermaking Workshop @ MFAH \| Glassell School of Art April 13 - 14 // 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM // $240 In this process-based workshop, students learn to make one style of hanji (Korean paper), working together to prepare raw materials for sheet formation in the gadum tteugi method. This two-day class is ideal for those with papermaking experience and those interested in the history and folklore of hanji, but is open to all levels.... more details

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

Brunch and Conversation with Ariel Burger @ Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston April 14 // 10:30 AM // $25-37 This profoundly hopeful, thought-provoking, and inspiring book takes us inside Elie Wiesel's classroom. As Wiesel's teaching assistant, Ariel Burger gives us a front-row seat witnessing these remarkable exchanges in and out of the classroom. Burger first met Wiesel at age fifteen. Witness chronicles the intimate conversations between these two men over decades, as Burger sought counsel on matters of intellect, spirituality, and faith, while navigating his own personal journey. Burger is a writer, artist, teacher and rabbi.... more details
CounterCurrent 19: Closing Reception @ Axelrad April 14 // 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM // Free Drop in to Axelrad, Houston's favorite neighborhood beer garden, and celebrate the closing of CounterCurrent19 happy hour cocktails, light bites, and live music. This year we've partnered with Axelrad and our friends at Decatur Bar to present a CounterCurrent signature cocktail crafted by master mixologist Leslie Krockenberger. Order one at the bar and all proceeds from the cocktail go to supporting the Mitchell Center's programming.... more details
Cirque And Destroy @ The New Potato April 14 // 9:00 PM - 2:00 AM Cirque and Destroy is a Sunday night Circus arts skill share event. Come learn how to throw knives, swordfight, flow arts and more. Meet with artists and performers of all skill levels and get first hand experience with various props and techniques to get you juggling your way into a new hobby. Come share your passion with us. Bring whatever discipline you train in and share with the group!... more details

MONDAY, APRIL 15

AURA Contemporary Ensemble: Postcards

@ Moores Opera Center

April 15 // 7:30 PM // $10-15

The Moores School of Music's AURA Contemporary Ensemble presents the music of guest composer Stacy Garrop with "Postcards," a collaborative, multidisciplinary performance featuring Dan Gelok on saxophone, Tali Morgulis on piano and Psophonia Dance Company. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.... more details

TUESDAY, APRIL 16

Author Talk with Caroline Moss & Michelle Markowitz

@ Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston

April 16 // 7:30 PM // $12-18

Hey Ladies! is a laugh-out-loud read that follows a fictitious group of eight 20-and-30-something female friends for one year of holidays, summer house rentals, dates, brunches, breakups, and the planning of a disastrous wedding. This instantly relatable story is told entirely through emails, texts, and direct messages. Michelle Markowitz, a writer and producer, has been featured in the New York Times, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and MTV. Caroline Moss has written for New York Magazine, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and Business Insider.... more details