Black Houston and the Arts

06/05/2024

Past Exhibits

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Installation view of Black Houston and the Arts

February 8 - May 31, 2024

The African American History Research Center at the Gregory School | 2nd Floor

From painting and sculpture to photography and decor, African American fine art covers a wide range of styles and techniques. The creative expression of Black art captures themes of identity, history, lived experiences, the beauty of the African diaspora, and so much more.

This exhibition highlights the artwork of Timekeepers Resource Awardable Coalition (TRAC) members, a Houston area group of senior artists who studied under the guidance of nationally renowned artist and muralist Dr. John Biggers, sculptor Carol Simms or in the Art department at Texas Southern University (TSU). A railroad track, once essential in Houston, became a resource of the Art Center on TSU's campus and is represented today by TRAC. The railroad track defines the fine line between creative arts and cognitive growth. Each artist learned the significance of carefully placed pillars, spikes, and rail which tie together humanities of the past with present day passions.

Artists featured in the show include Moses Adams, Jr., Geraldine Crossland, John C. Davis, Rickey Donato, Karl Hall, Earl Sampson Jones, Will North, Elizabeth Montgomery Shelton, Jesse Sifuentes, Vernon Simmons, Roy Thomas, and Shunshieva Trahan.

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Mexican Fiestas

Sendero de maravillas. A trail of marigold petals has been laid out for el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), leading to the door of a home in Zinacapan, Puebla. Photo by Geoff Winningham.September 14 - December 5, 2024 Central Library | 1st Floor Gallery Featuring striking images by Houston photographer Geoff Winningham, Mexican Fiestas presents a vivid chronicle of the historic and diverse traditions of Mexican festivals-deeply rooted expressions of the country's religious and cultural heritage. Beginning with his first trip to the state of Michoacán for Día de los Muertos, Winningham's work spans decades, documenting a wide array of festive traditions in villages throughout Mexico, highlighting how these celebrations unite communities through centuries-old traditions of art, music, dance and worship. ARTIST STATEMENT In order to appreciate the cultural importance of the popular fiestas of Mexico, one must go back to the 16th century, to the years immediately following the Spanish conquest, when the indigenous religious celebrations of the Amerindian civilizations of Mesoamerica began to fuse with the Catholic rites of the Spanish conquerors. Beginning at that time, over five centuries ago–and continuing to the present day–Mexican fiestas have served as living reminders of the country’s turbulent history, as well as celebrations of its religious and spiritual foundations. Through music, dance, art, and storytelling, Mexican fiestas have passed ancient knowledge and customs from one generation to the next, while providing platforms for artisans, musicians, and performers to showcase their talents, thus ensuring that cultural legacies continue to flourish and evolve in the modern world. The elaborate costumes, masks, and rhythmic dances of the Nahual people of Zinacapan, Puebla, the vibrant music and intricate artistry of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Oaxaca and Michoacán, the solemn processions and ceremonial rituals of the penitents at Atotonilco, Guanajuato, each offers a window into the soul of Mexico. In 1983, I drove across the border from Texas into Mexico for the first time, where I discovered a New World at my doorstep. Fascinated by the culture, amazed by the diverse beauty of the landscape, and enthralled by the fiestas I witnessed, I traveled for almost a year, exploring and photographing virtually every region of Mexico. A year later, I returned on another driving trip, specifically to see and to photograph the famous celebration of el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) in the region around Lake Pátzcuaro. Shortly after that trip, a Mexican photographer friend gave me a copy the Calendario de Fiestas Populares. Published by the Mexican Office of Popular Culture, roughly the size of a large Bible, the Calendario is a unique volume, listing over 7,000 traditional fiestas with historic roots, located in every region of Mexico. Each of these fiestas is celebrated annually, some in cities, but most in villages so far off the beaten track that the Calendario includes maps, guides for those who wish to find and observe these remote celebrations. Since discovering the Calendario, I have traveled to photograph several hundred fiestas in 22 Mexican states. The most famous of these festivities, the Day of the Dead, is now widely promoted by the Mexican government, bringing more tourists to those celebrations each year. Still, most Mexican fiestas are barely known beyond the tiny villages in which they are celebrated, and many are struggling to survive, as their rural communities face the eroding effects of television, internet, and the migration of their inhabitants from their homes, often across the US border, in search of work. In addition to the historic and cultural importance of the popular fiestas of Mexico, there is another, more profound reason that fiestas have continued to exist and seem certain to survive as an essential part of Mexican culture. Writing in In the Eye of the Sun: Mexican Fiestas, the eminent Chicano writer Richard Rodriguez observed: On the day of the fiesta, everything is different. . . On any other day of the year the will of God may be hard to decipher, harder to bear. Why has God allowed a drought to wither the fields? Why did He allow our mother to suffer with cancer . . . there are no answers. The fiesta impersonates a divine motive. If not an answer, the fiesta supplies a droll rhyme—tears become sequins. The pleasure of the fiesta is that for one day the link between heaven and earth is certain. The air in the early morning seems different, sweeter. The sky hangs at a slant unlike any other day of the year. I offer the photographs in this exhibition as a visual record of the Mexican fiestas I have witnessed, as personal memoir of the trail of marvels that I have followed across Mexico over the past forty years, and as a love poem to this beautiful country and to its people, who have welcomed me so generously. Mexican Fiestas is a traveling exhibition by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, created in collaboration with Houston photographer Geoff Winningham. ...

The Library as an Art Center: Celebrating 120 Years of Art at Houston Public Library

Detail from Stella Sullivan, Reflections in a Glass Door, 1967, oil on canvas. Houston Public Library, City of Houston Civic Art Collection. Photograph by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. August 24 - October 8, 2024The Julia Ideson Building | Exhibit Hall “A public library has a greater opportunity of fulfilling the purpose to which it is dedicated, namely, that of enriching the higher life of the community, if it has in addition to a generous supply of inspiring and helpful books, some objects representing other lines of artistic development, examples of those works of art, which, together with books, have ever been a source of joy and inspiration to the soul of man.”“The Library as an Art Center,” The Houston Post, August 2, 1908 On March 2, 1904, the Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library opened at the corner of Travis Street and McKinney Avenue. Within three years, over 10,000 Houstonians owned a library card. Shortly after opening its doors, the library began to acquire pieces for its permanent art collection and became a venue for temporary exhibits.In 120 years, Houston Public Library (HPL) has grown from one location to over 40 locations. The Library as an Art Center: Celebrating 120 Years of Art at Houston Public Library is a rare opportunity to view selected works from HPL's permanent art collection in one location. This exhibition also covers the history of HPL's long-standing commitment to providing free art exhibits to Houston residents and visitors. We hope you enjoy The Library as an Art Center and continue to visit us to see what we have in store for the next 120 years.Featured artists include Charles Baugh, John Biggers, Mary Anita Bonner, Emma Richardson Cherry, Marian Ford, Frank Freed, David Hickman, Dorothy Hood, Earlie Hudnall, Jr., Grace Spaulding John, Sven Lukin, Leila McConnell, Claes Oldenburg, Charles Pebworth, Edward Muegge (Buck) Schiwetz, Mary Ellen Shipnes, Anna Francis Simpson for Newcomb College Pottery, Bernard Sleigh, Stella Sullivan, Trudy Sween, Ruth Pershing Uhler, Van Briggle Pottery, and Sidney Van Ulm. EXPLORE THE COLLECTIONSE. Richardson Cherry Papers (MSS 0027)Emma Richardson Cherry resided in Houston between the years of 1892 and 1954. Her works, primarily created in oil or watercolor, depicted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. She was perhaps the city's best-kown artist for half a century. This collection of correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia detail her family's history, her own travels and artistic achievements as well as her role in the founding of what has become the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Houston Public Library Records (RG A 0013)The Houston Public Library Collection contains records of the institution's history and activities. Included are reports, photographs, internal and external correspondence, budgets, publicity, scrapbooks, branch building construction documents, brochures, borrower's registries, strategic plans, agendas and meeting minutes. Also included are documents relating to partnership initiatives, contracts and purchase orders, and technology additions and upgrades to the library system.Houston Municipal Arts Commission Records (RG A 0033)The Houston Municipal Art Commission Collection contains artwork and operational records from approximately forty years of the Commission's existence. The artwork records consists of background information on proposed artists and pieces of art, conservation histories, and other published and unpublished information about artwork owned by the City of Houston. The operational records consist of financial data, personnel records, correspondence, minutes, and other information about the Commission as a whole. SUGGESTED READINGCamfield, William A., More Than a Constructive Hobby: The Paintings of Frank FreedEdwards, Katie Robinson, Midcentury Modern Art in TexasGeorge, Mary Carolyn Hollers, Mary Bonner, Impressions of a PrintmakerKeightley, Patricia John, Grace Spaulding John, Artist, 1890-1972McEvilley, Thomas, Bert Long: The Artist's JourneySchiwetz, Edward Muegge, Buck Schiwetz' TexasTheisen, Ollie Jensen, Walls That Speak: The Murals of John Thomas BiggersWardlaw, Alvia J., The Art of John Biggers: View From the Upper Room Emma Richardson Cherry (1859-1954): Houston's First Modern Artist, previously on view February 1 - May 4, 2013Planned, Organized and Established: Houston Artist Cooperatives in the 1930s, previously on view August 12 - November 9, 2017South and North of the Border: Houston Paints Mexico, previously on view August 25 - November 10, 2018Texas Modernism(s): Houston/Dallas in the 1930s, previously on view August 27 - November 5, 2022 RELATED MEDIA This exhibition is generously supported by City of Houston, Houston Public Library, and Houston Public Library Foundation ...

Straight Flexin', No Plexin': A Hip Hop Exhibit

Lester Roy, Blindside, Chamillionaire, Archie Lee, Paul Wall, Michael "5000" Watts, Lil Ron, and Le Marcus. Image courtesy of Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University. | Big Pokey, Paul Wall, and Big Hawk at the Sittin' Sideways video shoot. Image courtesy of Mike Frost. June 1 - November 9, 2024Vinson Neighborhood Library Once considered a fad by early detractors, hip hop honored its 50th anniversary on August 11, 2023. Promoters, historians, fans, libraries, and media outlets across the United States sponsored celebrations, events, and concerts to pay homage to the art form. However, the global impact of hip hop is undeniable and worthy of celebration beyond this milestone. Straight Flexin’, No Plexin’: A Hip Hop Exhibit, on view at Vinson Neighborhood Library, includes memorabilia, artwork, and photos of hip hop artists and creatives from Houston, Atlanta, New York, and California (Bay Area). The items on display are from the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) Hip Hop Archival Collection, housed at Rice University's Woodson Research Center at Fondren Library, and from private collectors. Although 2023 marked the 50th birthday of hip hop, the growing music genre is still young and has more milestones to reach. This exhibit serves as a reminder that as the culture continues to evolve and influence the world, it will be showcased and celebrated. Yes, yes y’all. SUGGESTED READING AND MEDIAFaniel, Maco L., Hip-Hop in Houston: The Origin and the LegacySerrano, Shea, The Rap Year BookWalker, Lance Scott, DJ Screw: A Life in Slow RevolutionWalker, Lance Scott, Houston Rap Tapes: An Oral History of Bayou City Hip-HopWesthoff, Ben, Dirty South: Outkast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-HopWilkins, Langston Collin, Welcome 2 Houston: Hip Hop Heritage in Hustle Town Don't forget that you can check out music! Exhibit Director: Dr. Anthony Pinn Curators: Chinara Butler, Corey ‘Co’ Garrett, Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL), Woodson Research Center at Fondren Library Strategic Panel: Dr. Portia Hopkins, Maya Reine, Corey ‘Co’ Garrett Collaborating Organizations: CCM Foundation Special thanks to CERCL Hip Hop Archive members: HaviKoro Crew, Swishahouse, Pimp C, Mike Frost, K-Rino, Scotty ATL, Damon ‘Dame’ Dash, KRS-ONE...

THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show

Gem Hale, The Protest Before the Protest, 2023, digital photograph. Gem Hale, Brick Maker, 2023, digital photograph artworks courtesy the artist. Photography by Sean Fleming, courtesy Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. June 8 - November 10, 2024Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy Visitor Center and The Row House Galleries at the Gregory School | 1204, 1206, and 1208 Victor Street Located in Houston’s Fourth Ward, Freedmen’s Town is as deeply captivating as it is distinctly contested. The first settlement of freed Black people in the city, at one time the boundaries of Freedmen’s Town extended from the banks of Buffalo Bayou bordering downtown to present day Montrose.This origin place once consisted of 500 historic structures within a vast swath of city streets. These structures were aggressively and systemically reduced, building by building, street by street, resulting in the much-diminished footprint of present-day Freedmen’s Town. When artists are concerned with place, reality finds poetic form, to uplift communities such as Freedmen’s Town/Fourth Ward.Working against the ongoing erasure of Freedmen’s Town, the artists within this exhibition lend their vision to frame the memory of what was and stretch the boundary of what lies ahead. THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show articulates themes of time and memory that offer their own evocation as collaboration to stir thought, dialogue, and perception, initiating an environment for rebirth and restoration. The exhibition offers not only a connection to a place but also to the legacy of others connected to its origin: historically and at present, Freedmen’s Town.In this moment in Houston’s history, 12 Black artists were invited to shape the unseen at a critical time in which Freedmen’s Town’s sacred archives and assets must be protected. These artists were invited to examine innovative ways to participate in the storytelling of Black legacy and heritage in Houston Freedmen’s Town. Navigating what Freedmen's Town might have become had systemic forces not smothered the community's abundance means that the artwork in this exhibition is part archival and part first responder. These artists resuscitate the pulse of memory to fortify the archives while decelerating the momentum of erasure in this place of Freedom.THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show was developed throughout the planning and engagement process of Rebirth in Action and organized through a grant partnership with the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, curated by Mich Stevenson, CAMHxHouston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy Project Manager with support from fifth-generation Freedmen’s Town resident Charonda Johnson, CAMHxHouston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy Engagement Manager.THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show showcases new work from Berlin, Imhotep Blot by way of Amaechina Blot; Colby Deal, Nahtan (Nate Edwards), Dom Elam, Priscilla T. Graham, Gem Hale, Ann Johnson, Charonda Johnson, Jaylen Pigford, and Jason Woods (Flash Gordon Parks). They were invited to examine innovative ways to participate in the storytelling of Black legacy and heritage in Houston Freedmen’s Town. EXPLORE THE COLLECTIONSElbert Howze Collection (MSS 0171)The Elbert Howze Collection contains newspaper articles, photographs, drawings, and his “Fourth Ward” photography book. The contents of the collection primarily focuses on structures, people, and life in Fourth Ward, Houston during the 1980s.Freedmen's Town Association Collection (RG 0052)The Freedmen's Town Association Collection contains documents and published materials pertaining to the efforts of the Freedmen's Town Association in preserving the Fourth Ward from 1983 to 1986.General S. and Mary L. Johnson Collection (MSS 0129)The General S. and Mary L. Johnson Collection is reflective of Mrs. Johnson's life and career, spanning mostly through the 1920s to the 1970s. The papers include original writings, correspondence, biographical material, and newspaper clippings. Significant portions of the collection represent her time as a teacher and educator, showcase her editorial writings, and signify the Johnson's involvement with the Antioch Baptist Church in Houston. Other items in the collection include photographs and objects, such as a paddle board from Phillis Wheatley High School, a swagger stick, and school ribbons from Mrs. Johnson's time as a student at the Houston Colored High School in 1917.Ken Breisch Photographs (MSS 0187)The Ken Breisch Collection consists of 60 35mm slides showing buildings and streets in Fourth Ward Houston, Texas between 1983 and 1999. The collection includes images of Ruthven, Mathews, Andrews, and Robin Streets.Records of the Gregory School Project (RG 0008)The Records of the Gregory School Project contains records, plans, meetings, reports, and correspondence that document the collaborative process of the City of Houston, the Mayor's Office, the Houston Public Library, architects, contractors, and the surrounding community in their efforts to completely restore the building into the African American Library at the Gregory School.Reverend Jack Yates and Antioch Baptist Church Collection (MSS 0281)This collection is an assortment of church and school ephemera such as programs, memorials, yearbooks, and directories; correspondence and documents; along with historically important photographs of Reverend Jack Yates and Fourth Ward scenes and people. SUGGESTED READINGGraham, Priscilla T., 150 Years, Standing StrongNational Register of Historic Places, Freedmen's Town Historic District, Houston, TexasThe Red Book of Houston: A Compendium of Social, Professional, Religious, Educational and Industrial Interest of Houston's Colored PopulationWilliams, David A. (Editor), Bricks Without Straw: A Comprehensive History of African Americans in Texas Major support for THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show is provided by the Mellon Foundation. Rebirth in Action is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts....

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