PHILIP GLASS, ‘ARTISTS UP CLOSE’
AMONG HIGHLIGHTS OF MITCHELL CENTER AT UH
Blend of Performing, Visual and Literary Events Featured During
2006 – 2007 Season
HOUSTON, Sept. 6, 2006 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center
for the Arts (CWMCA) at the University of Houston is offering its
first full year of public events featuring performances and lectures
from a host of internationally renowned composers, performers, authors
and artists.
Noted avant-garde composer Philip Glass, poet Anne Waldman, choreographer
Douglas Dunn and critically-acclaimed string quartet ETHEL are among
the artists who will perform on campus during the CWMCA’s
2006 – 2007 season.
“Our upcoming season represents the Mitchell Center’s
development as an artistic force in our community,” said Karen
Farber, the center’s director. “Artists like Philip
Glass, Anne Waldman, ETHEL, and Big Dance Theater embody the center’s
mission to bring world-class artists to campus with their unique
collaborative projects, as well as workshops, lectures and master
classes with the next generation of artists here at UH. Each 2006
– 2007 artist will also have direct interaction with UH students
through workshops, master classes, and lectures.”
The center also will debut the series “Artists Up Close.”
Presented by the center in collaboration with Blaffer Gallery and
the UH School of Art, the series offers free public performances,
readings and demonstrations by artists featured in Blaffer Gallery
exhibitions. Among those scheduled to participate in this series
are artists Siemon Allen and Ingrid Mwangi from the fall exhibition,
“A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary Africa Abroad,”
and artists Jean Shin and Mika Tajima from the spring show, “One
Way or Another: Asian American Art Now.” In addition, these
artists will work with UH art students through studio critiques.
“This is an excellent opportunity for students and the public
to interact with these artists and learn about their work processes,
how they became artists and why they make certain creative choices,”
said Terrie Sultan, director of Blaffer Gallery and chair of the
Mitchell Center’s board of directors.
THE CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL CENTER FOR THE ARTS 2006 –
2007 SEASON
• “Tanks Under Trees” – Anne Waldman and
Douglas Dunn
Author, poet and spoken word performer Waldman joins forces with
New York choreographer Dunn (artistic director, Douglas Dunn &
dancers) for an original one-time performance that fuses physical
movement with text and film projections. Based on Waldman’s
book “Structure of The World Compared to a Bubble,”
the performance also features live music from Houston musicians
Max Dyer and Coronado “Charry” Garcia. 7 p.m., Wednesday,
Oct. 11, Jose Quintero Lab Theatre.
• Philip Glass – “Creativity and Collaboration”
On the occasion of his 70th birthday, composer Glass will deliver
a multi-media presentation about his career in artistic collaboration
and creative innovation. Included in this event is a short film
and live demonstrations on piano by the artist. 6:30 p.m. Monday,
Feb.19, Moores Opera House.
• “In the House of Ethel” – ETHEL
The amplified string ensemble ETHEL brings its improvisational musical
installation to campus. This site-specific performance has been
performed at the U.S. Library of Congress, the Whitney Museum, the
Staten Island Ferry Terminal and other grand locations. No performance
is the same, and audiences are encouraged to roam freely throughout
each performance space. 8 p.m., Saturday, March 3, Gerald D. Hines
College of Architecture Atrium.
• “The Other Here” – Big Dance Theater
New York’s Big Dance Theater blends music, contemporary visual
design and Eastern dance in this striking performance. Featuring
Okinawan pop music and inspiration from Japanese author Masuji Ibuse,
the production offers a unique vision of contemporary dance theater
and complements the Blaffer’s spring exhibition, “One
Way or Another: Asian American Art Now.” 7:30 p.m., May 2
- 3 at., Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre.
OTHER COLLABORATIVE EVENTS AT UH, SPONSORED BY CWMCA
• “Death of a Salesman” – UH School of Theatre
with original music by Marcus K. Maroney
Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer and Tony award-winning classic comes
to life on the stage of the Wortham Theatre. Broadway veteran Ken
Ruta stars as Willie Loman, the suffering father and failed salesman.
An original music score will be provided by composer Maroney and
performed live. 8 p.m. March 30 – 31, 2 p.m. April 1, 8 p.m.
April 6 - 7, Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre.
• Annual Concert of Music and Dance – AURA Contemporary
Ensemble and the UH Center for Choreography
UH musicians and dancers team up for this annual concert blending
sound and movement. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, Moores Opera House.
CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL CENTER FOR THE ARTS: LECTURES, TALKS
AND PRESENTATIONS
• Raphael Rubenstein
Visiting Scholar, author, arts journalist, and poet, Rubinstein
will read from his book “In Search of the Miraculous: 50 Episodes
from the Annals of Contemporary Art.” 1:00 pm, September 12,
Dudley Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building.
• Dick Hebdige
Visiting Scholar, British cultural critic and theorist, Hebdige
is an expert in the study of subcultures and their resistance to
mainstream society. He will conduct three public lectures, each
at noon in Fine Arts Building Room 110.
• Tuesday, Oct. 3 “Becoming Animal: Race, Terror and
the American Roots”
• Wednesday, Oct. 4 “Un-imagining Utopia: Framing the
Sixties”
• Tuesday, Oct. 10 “The X Syndrome: Vertigo and Autobiography”
• “Artists Up Close” – Ingrid Mwangi
African-born artist Mwangi delivers self-reflective physical and
aural performances and multi-media installations. Blaffer Gallery
is hosting her very first works to be on view in the United States
in the exhibition, “A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary
Africa Abroad.” She will deliver a slide presentation and
lecture at 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 7 in Fine Arts Building, Room
110. Mwangi will also conduct a performance at 2 p.m., Saturday,
Sept. 9 in Blaffer Gallery.
• “Artists Up Close” – Siemon Allen
South African artist Allen often focuses on the concept of national
and individual identity as defined by constructed environment and
historical representation. Allen will have work featured in the
Blaffer exhibition, “A Fiction of Authenticity: Contemporary
Africa Abroad.” He will present a lecture and slide presentation
at 1 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 5 in Fine Arts Building, Room 110.
• “Artists Up Close” – Spring Artists from
Blaffer exhibition “One Way or Another: Asian American Art
Now”
January lectures and performances in conjunction with the exhibition.
See
www.mitchellcenterforarts.org later this fall for details.
About the Center
Funded by a recent $20 million grant from George and Cynthia
Woods Mitchell, the Center combines the forces of UH’s Creative
Writing Program, Blaffer Gallery and Schools of Theatre, Music and
Art for collaboration and experimentation. The center offers public
programs such as performances, exhibitions, lectures and symposia;
residencies with visiting artists for creative development and teaching;
courses in collaboration for UH students. All Mitchell Center projects
hinge on the power of collaboration to foster innovation and generate
new forms of creativity.
For more information about the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for
the Arts at the University of Houston, visit www.mitchellcenterforarts.org.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit
the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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