Lawndale Art And Performance Center

Programs: Exhibitions and related artist driven programs - lawndales programs provide emerging and mid-career artists working in houston and the region an opportunity to exhibit new and experimental work outside the commercial system; educate the public about contemporary art; and support artists professional development. Lawndale art centers activities for this fiscal year included 24 group and solo exhibitions, 2 murals, student exhibitions featuring 22 area schools, over 40 lectures and artist talks, 7 performances, 11 workshops and special programs, 3 fundraising events, a design fair and several community outreach events. A local, national and international audience of 24,490 individuals participated in programs and viewed the works over 500 artists, student-artists, educators and design professionals working in a variety of media, which included traditional painting, photography and sculpture, along with new media: sound, video, installation based work, computer based work and performance. In addition lawndale developed artist-led programs, completed a round of the artist studio program and continued a rotating outdoor mural on a 3,200 square-foot wall. During the 2013-2014 season, 2 murals were produced on the north exterior wall of lawndale. The first mural, titled skywriting, juxtaposed the work of uh art professor and artist aaron parazette with artist daniel anguilu, was on view in january. The mural then transitioned into the peoples plate, by the collective otabenga jones & associates, a collaborative art project that saw the members of otabenga jones d. Jabari anderson, jamal cyrus, kenya evans and robert pruitt attempting to mitigate the ongoing health crisis of obesity and its related risks through re-imagining graphics used for the black panther free breakfast for school children project. The exhibitions on view from november 22, 2013 january 11, 2014, found all female artists exhibiting in lawndales 4 galleries. Sang-mi yoo used laser cut felt to suggest the parallels between residential structures in her west texas home and her native korea in the exhibition superficial outgrowths. Regina agu painted site-specific organic patterning directly onto the wall in her exhibition nerve endings, responding to the space and her delicate paper tracings of the body within the space. Recent university of houston mfa graduates jessica ninci and melinda laszczynski used the opportunity at lawndale to develop work that responds directly to architecture and explore the affinities between their practices outside of a university critique in their joint exhibition this end up. Beth secors deeply personal exhibition the significance of material re-purposed her aging mothers sewing machines and patterns into works that attempt to preserve memory and familial relationships. The exhibitions on view from february 28 to april 12 presented one of lawndale's most ambitious installations to date, when artists otis ike and ivete lucas used reclaimed wood to create a tree-shaped, two story viewing room for their video of a beloved local oak tree being sawn down to a stump. The exhibition, titled love letters in a tree, also included over 50 images of letters exchanged within the tree by two anonymous area residents. Galina kurlats exhibition safe distance resuscitated the art of portraiture with her fragile and delicately rendered large format photographs of personal friends. Krista birnbaums digitally generated images of landscaping and foliage directly addressed houstons year-round growing season and the careful control of the urban environment. Photographer spike johnsons honest and harrowing depiction of houstons community of homeless veterans and the makeshift communities they rely upon for survival. One of lawndales largest annual exhibitions that provides exposure to houston area artists and has served as a launch pad for many emerging artists is the big show. Initiated in 1984, the big show is a juried exhibition of new works recognizing emerging houston area contemporary artists living within a 100-mile radius of the city. In 2014, a total of 115 works by 106 artists were selected by juror erin elder, visual arts director of the center for contemporary arts in santa fe, from the 981 works submitted by 382 artists. An estimated 1,500 visitors attended the opening reception. Lawndale is especially proud that many past big show artists have grown to receive national acclaim.

education-outreach - lawndale art centers location on main street in the houston museum district provides easy access to public transportation and has ample parking. With the exception of fundraising events, all programs are free and open to the public. Lawndale offers tours to schools and to other youth, adult and senior groups, extending hours and developing on-site activities to further the tour experience. Lawndale has restored its art deco facility, completed structural improvements to meet ada code compliance and makes available to the arts community four museum-quality exhibition galleries, a classroom, conference room, three artist studios and offices. Da de los muertos/day of the dead is lawndales largest annual series of programs promoting cultural awareness of mexican folk art practices associated with this celebration of family, life and community. For over twenty years lawndale has presented an open call, non-juried exhibition inviting over 250 texas artists to create their interpretation of the devotional painting practice known as the retablo. Lawndale encourages teachers to educate their students about this important holiday and its related art practices by providing free resource materials on its website and assisting teachers in coordinating student activities. Over 25 area schools display this student work during the retablo exhibition each year. To honor the young artists, lawndale hosts a family day fiesta inviting all to view the works and to learn more about mexican culture. The free fiesta features activities focusing on popular mexican art forms, along with serving traditional refreshments and presenting performances by local musicians and folklorico dance companies. Lawndale encourages understanding between audience and artists with artist talks, informal chats during exhibition openings, and provides educational documentation with the production of brochures publishing artist statements and other information about each exhibition. Lectures and artist slide presentations continue the dialogue. Lawndale also offers programs in support of artists professional development such as workshops on skills and on the business of being a working artist. Lawndale continues its dedication to the museum field through its internship program. Studies related to the arts are not a requisite for internship at lawndale, as lawndale firmly believes that concern and care for the arts should be fostered at all levels and disciplines. Semester and summer internships instruct participants in all aspects of alternative arts space administration and coach them to not only navigate their way through the art world, but also to impact it as well.

lawndale artist studio program - the lawndale artist studio program launched in the fall of 2006 after a careful period of development and the build-out of three fully furnished working studio spaces of approximately 275 square feet each. Now in its ninth round, more than 100 established and emerging area artists responded to the call for applications. The 2013-2014 lawndale artist studio program residents were selected by a panel of three art professionals; joshua fischer, assistant curator at rice university and lawndale programming committee member, kerry inman, owner of inman gallery and seth mittag, artist and former lawndale studio resident. The 8th round of studio artists selected for the program were painter shayne murphy, sculptor jim nolan and photographer emily peacock. All three artists presented work created during their residency in may 2014 in lawndales oquinn gallery. This program pays an initial unrestricted materials grant of $1,500 and a monthly stipend of $500 to each artist in addition to providing 24 hour access to a working studio space for nine months. Round 8 of the lawndale artist studio program ran from september 2013 to may 2014. During that time lawndale, arranged studio visits with curators and other artists, where the artists not only received feedback on their works in progress, but also were exposed to new opportunities, including additional exhibitions, grants and residencies. One of the requirements of the artist studio program is for each of the residents to host a workshop offered free of charge to the public demonstrating a technique or concept particular to their work. Shayne murphy hosted a wall draw, where the public was invited to draw on the walls of lawndale largest gallery (which were covered in paper). Jim nolan offered an afternoon of portfolio reviews, engaging with local artists about their work. Emily peacock offered an awkward family photo day, where peacock hosted the public and took festive and fun portraits in a make-shift portrait studio.