Corazón de Mujer by Juan Torres-Zavala

The 18th Annual El Corazón Art Exhibition
Bath House Cultural Center
February 4 through March 3, 2012

The Bath House Cultural Center presents the 18th Annual El Corazón exhibition, a show that features diverse creations inspired by the heart (El Corazón), an important symbol in Mexican and Latin American art, and a significant theme in western culture. The exhibition will run from February 4 to March 3, 2012. An opening reception with the artists will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 7 to 9 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public.

When Jose Vargas, a visual artist and independent exhibition curator from Dallas, first saw a picture of a heart pierced by an arrow depicted with the number 27 and the words El Corazón on the playing card of the Mexican game, Loteria, he knew that his next project would be related to such a powerful and inspiring symbol. After seeking and finding artists who were also fascinated by the aesthetics and cultural and artistic relevance of the heart, Mr. Vargas curated and presented their artwork in the first El Corazón exhibition in 1993 with great success. The show soon became an annual tradition and an extremely popular event for the Bath House Cultural Center and for the vast number of regional artists who have participated in this passionate and delightfully eclectic art show throughout the years.

The artwork included in the 2012 El Corazón includes paintings, sculptures, photography, and mixed-media art.

The artists featured in the exhibition are:

ARTners Group, Kerian Babbitt-Massey, Awadh Baryoum, Carley Blackman, Angie Bolling, Eunice Bridges, Debbie Buie, Rebecca Collins, Liz Conrad, Ray-Mel Cornelius, Patricia Curry, Katrina Doran, Lori Dudley, Gina Marie Dunn, Brett Dyer, Jacque Forsher, Tyra Goodley, Cindy Gray, Rebecca Guy, Kimberly Harris, Hayden Harris, Anna Hernandez, Lizzett Herrera, Antoaneta Hillman, Suzan Kumar, Katrine Kyhnel, Joanna LaGrone-Headrick, Rachel E. Lord, Eli Lorenz, Roberta Masciarelli, Julia McLain, Julie Mortillaro, Teri Muse, Lauri Osburn Thomas, Becky Phillips, Evy Pitcher, Adam Ramirez, Marty Ray, Richard Ray, Alfredo Rodriguez, Lesley Rucker, Lowell Sargeant, Kate Schatz, Armando Sebastian, Heather Shoulders, Pam Stern, Linda Stokes, Diane Torres, Juan Torres-Zavala, Melissa Jane Wertz and David Zarazúa II.

About the Exhibition Curator

In addition to his duties as exhibition curator, Mr. Vargas is also an active visual artist. He has displayed his art photographs and paintings extensively in local and regional art venues. Mr. Vargas conceived the annualEl CorazonandVirgen de Guadalupeexhibitions, two popular exhibitions in Dallas, and has curated both shows for the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs with great acclaim since 1993.

Please visit www.bathhousecultural.comfor more information and to preview selected art pieces from the exhibition.

The Sacred Heart of Mary by Carley Blackman

Girl with a Pearl Necklace: Portrait of Rosalie Fragonard by Jean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1785-88

The Reclusive Image: Works from Texas Museums
Bill DavenPort (part of the Cell Series of Exhibitions)
The Old Jail Art Center
February 4 through May 20, 2012

The Old Jail Art Center will present two new exhibits in February, The Reclusive Image: Works from Texas Museums and works by Bill Davenport, as part of the Cell Series of exhibitions. Both exhibits open February 4, 2012, and run through May 20, 2012.

The Reclusive Image: Works from Texas Museums

The Reclusive Image: Works from Texas Museums presents art objects rarely, or never, seen by the general public. For a number of reasons, such works have found themselves consigned to the inner vaults of Texas institutions. Their “reclusiveness” may simply be due to a lack of information on the work, making it difficult to place within an exhibition of related pieces. Its seclusion may be due to fragility or condition. The piece may be considered an inferior example within the context of other works by the same artist in a given collection. At times, institutions may change the focus of what they exhibit so that works no longer “fit” within the scope of the collection and are indefinitely stored. A work may have even been acquired or accessioned as a result of misguided political reasons—yes, this happens even in the most well-intentioned institutions. The more subtle and subjective reason some works are rarely exhibited is that those making the choices of what to exhibit—normally curators—have their own educated likes and dislikes. Or, perhaps most often, the museum’s holdings may simply exceed its ability to show the entirety of its permanent collection in a timely manner.

For this exhibition, the Old Jail Art Center invited Texas museums to look within their own vaults and “re-discover” works to loan to The Reclusive Image. The diverse range of artists include: Jean Honoré Fragonard, Charles M. Russell, Arthur B. Davies, Thomas Sully, Richard Diebenkorn, Eugenio Hermoso, David Brownlow and others. Accompanying the work is a short description explaining the piece and its reason for infrequent exposure. The hope is that this exhibition will find a new audience for these works as well as enlighten the visitor to the somewhat enigmatic process of museums.

Museums generously participating in this exhibition include:  Art Museum of South Texas, Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Amarillo Museum of Art, McNay Art Museum, Meadows Museum, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum of the Big Bend, Museum of Texas Tech University, Panhandle Plains Historic Museum, San Angelo Museum of Art, San Antonio Museum of Art, Sid Richardson Museum, The Grace Museum, and The Old Jail Art Center.

Interior of Bill's Junk, Houston, Texas (photo courtesy Bill Davenport)

Bill Davenport

Bill Davenport is a Houston-based artist whose work shifts back-and-forth between two and three-dimensional. Davenport is known for transforming and engaging spaces by creating witty but substantial looking objects from common materials such as latex house paint and Styrofoam. These faux objects have included an oversized cuckoo clock, wagon wheel, treasure chest, a large piñata stealth fighter, and wooden rafter beams installed in a pre-existing space to make it appear as the interior of a Tudor mansion. Davenport delights the viewer with the object’s simplicity and his ability to represent and execute grand objects and concepts in “low-tech” materials.

For the Old Jail Art Center Cell Series installation, Davenport takes his ongoing endeavor in Houston, “Bill’s Junk,” on the road and creates a virtual junk store in the confines of the museum’s historic 1877 old jail structure. He states he is conceptually “repurposing the museum, just as your museum is repurposing the old jail.” The question, is it art, junk, or a comment on the art market should be considered. Regardless of the answer, Davenport concludes “people can make the site-specific connections where they occur, but won’t miss them when they don’t. Art can be disappointing, but junk always exceeds expectations.” On opening night Davenport will “man the store,” allowing visitors to make purchases directly from his installation.

Bill Davenport was born in Greenfield, MA and received a BFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Sculpture from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. In the late 1980s he moved to Houston and participated in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Core Artist in Residency program from 1990-1992. He has had numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the US and abroad including: Arthouse Prize Exhibition, Austin, TX; Forever Rafter, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX; The Searchers, White Box, NY, NY;  Spectaculess, Homeroom Gallery, Munich, Germany; Drive Friendly at Ibid Gallery, London, England.

Girl with a Pearl Necklace: Portrait of Rosalie Fragonard by Jean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1785-88

Peg by Angie Fitzgerald

Fresh Faces 2 X 2
Bath House Cultural Center
December 3, 2011 through January 28, 2012

The Bath House Cultural Center presents Fresh Faces 2 X 2, an art exhibition featuring artworks in a variety of media by more than forty local and regional artists. The exhibition runs from December 3, 2011 to January 28, 2012. The Bath House will be closed for the Holidays on the last week of December.

The Bath House will host an opening reception with the artists and curator on Saturday, December 3, from 7 to 9 PM. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public.

Fresh Faces sets out to highlight the exceptional talent and innovation of discovered and yet-to-be-discovered artists from the Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) region in a diverse mixed media invitational exhibition organized by Dallas curator, Rita Barnard.

For years, the Bath House Cultural Center has demonstrated a consistent interest in and support for local talent. One of the goals of the center is to create exhibition opportunities for established and emerging artists who have never exhibited at the center before. Many artists, correspondingly, also seek a chance to find new venues to present their works of art to increase their professional growth. The Fresh Faces exhibition accomplishes the objectives of both the cultural center and the visual artist by introducing unseen and new talent to the Bath House artistic community and by creating an opportunity for artists to share their works with new audiences in a new art place.

The artists participating in the 2011 Fresh Faces exhibition are:

Ray Alvarez, Vicki Barringer, Carol Beesley, Coral Bourgeois, Todd Camplin, Michael Christopher, Dan Colcer, Brian A. Crawford, Dave Cudlipp, Kiki Curry, Chance Dunlap, Brett Dyer, Suzanne Edmonson, Peggy Epner, Angie Fitzgerald, Brad Ford Smith, George Fowler, Frankie Garcia III, Mary Gargour, Lydia Gowens, T.J. Griffin, Jeremy Hahn, Luke Haynes, Ellie Ivanova, Brian Keith Jones, Sonali Khatti, Dave Klucsarits, Bonny Leibowitz, Michael Longhofer, Laurie Mahoney, Jeanne C. Neal, Lisa Yelizaveta Nersesova, Ricardo Paniagua, Dean Pettit, Carolyn Rekerdres, Mike Salcido, Clint Scism, Brian Scott, Kasten Searles, Caroline Shaw Ometz, Jane Sublett, Steve Uriegas, Robin A. Walker, and Douglas Winters.

The Curator of the exhibition, Rita Barnard, is an accomplished visual artist in Dallas with a long career in visual arts management and design. Ms. Barnard has also been in the freelance graphic arts business for more than twenty years. She has worked on site at advertising agencies, in communications departments of several corporations, and has a home office where she serves her clients.

Gaboon Viper by Chance Dunlap

Peg by Angie Fitzgerald

SDCC needs two dynamic young singers to be part of this program, one girl and one boy. If you are or know a young person who fits this description, then they should be at the audition on Saturday, December 3, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Lyrics and music can be picked-up prior to the audition.

The South Dallas Cultural Center is located at 3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave., Dallas, Texas.

Add to the content of the GENDER book!

The creators will also post the “Gender Identity Board Game!” along with a video documenting the GENDER book‘s process of “How Illustration Works” by resident artist Mel Reiff Hill. “Our hope,” the creators state, “is to change the face of gender education in a way that is approachable, easy to understand, and even beautiful.”

About the GENDER book Project

The project began when creators Boston Davis Bostian, Mel Reiff Hill, Jay Mays, and Robin Mack started to educate each other about what it means to live and express and perform one’s gender. The more they learned, the more they wanted to share with everyone else.

Their solution: the GENDER book. A fun and colorful resource, and similar to educational children’s books, the GENDER book illustrates the beautiful diversity of gender. It will be as pertinent and useful for someone in primary school as it will be for a senior citizen. Roughly 50 pages in length, it will contain hand-drawn graphics, lots of color, and will be readable in one sitting.

The project’s 6-page “teaser,” the GENDER book(let), has already begun to create a dialogue across disciplines and communities around the goal of education and social justice for gender minorities, providing a much-needed resource for guerrilla and formal educators alike across the country.

The GENDER book will: educate community members about gender concepts and concerns; make available a free and widely disseminated resource that lists additional comprehensive resources for further learning; confirm and spread awareness of a universal vocabulary around gender; clarify common misconceptions and misunderstandings in order to promote acceptance of gender diverse people; and alleviate societal oppression of gender minorities through education and tolerance-based learning.

For more information on the GENDER book, please visit:

• thegenderbook.com
• facebook.com/thegenderbook
• thegenderbook.tumblr.com
• www.genderpedia.net
• www.houstonartsalliance.com
• www.theideafund.org

The GENDER book is made possible via grants from The Idea Fund and by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

In recent years, overtone singing has become more widely known and appreciated. Overtone singing can be heard in pop music, movie soundtracks, and even prime time television commercials. This rise in popularity is largely due to successful tours and recordings by musicians representing the two major styles: Tibetan Buddhist chant and Tuvan/Mongolian throat singing. In the West, an increasing number of musicians are employing the techniques in their work. All these styles have in common an essentially drone-based musical texture with an unchanging fundamental pitch and a melody of overtones.

Stuart Hinds is unique among overtone singers for the level of technical mastery and fluency he has achieved. Hinds takes overtone singing to a new expressive level. In a quantum leap beyond traditional drone-based singing, Hinds is able to vocally produce two distinct musical lines at the same time. His original compositions stretch the boundaries of overtone singing into a completely new genre of music that can embrace any musical style. Hinds work reflects his classical training, with influences from many musical cultures a unique style that appeals to a broad range of listeners.

Stuart Hinds

Stuart Hinds is active as composer, singer, choral conductor, and teacher. The majority of his compositions involve the use of overtone singing, including works for solo voice, for voice with instruments, and choral works. Hinds has presented concerts, lecture-demonstrations, and workshops throughout the US and Europe. He is a published author and composer, with articles in the Journal of Singing and Choral Journal, and choral compositions with Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag. Hinds earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition from The University of Michigan.

Artwork by Pastor García, Lugina Stanley, Fred Hight, and Rebecca Guy

Art lovers can get a head start on holiday shopping during the 2011 Winter Art Mart and Silent Auction, November 18-20, at the Bath House Cultural Center on White Rock Lake. In the Center’s galleries, theater, and lake-level spaces, more than 60 fine artists will offer their photography, paintings, pottery, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry and other creations.

The Bath House Art Mart and silent auction benefit the Bath House Cultural Center’s year-round visual and performing arts programs. Purchases benefit everyone: The lucky owner will take home one-of-a-kind artwork, while local artists and arts lovers will be able to continue enjoying the arts at the neighborhood cultural center on White Rock Lake.

This year Art Mart goes Underground—a more informal, eclectic collection of arts vendors in the lower level of the Bath House. Crosby Cafe Catering will offer dinner al fresco, 6-7 PM, Friday, November 18, and will provide casual dining for the rest of the weekend. For more information about making dinner reservations, please call (214) 670-8723. Also, throughout the weekend, musicians will entertain in Art Mart Underground and artists will display their wares.

Parking and admission to the 2011 Winter Art Mart is free and open to the public.

Art Mart Artists

Art mart Underground Artists

Artwork by Pastor García, Lugina Stanley, Fred Hight, and Rebecca Guy

All you chicks out there grab your boas and all you mugs, thugs and coppers your best fedora … it’s the 1920′s and Prohibition is in full swing! There’s a murder, gangsters galore and rumor has it that Dick Tracy will be around to solve the crime! Looking forward to seeing you at Fort Worth’s best Speakeasy and Casino; Saturday, October 29th at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. Join us for amazing food, an open bar, live music and gambling in a prohibition era cocktail party. If you have been looking for a way to support the Arts in Fort Worth, our Murder, Mayhem, and All That Jazz event is the perfect opportunity.

Guests are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Prohibition era fashion and dance the night away! Proceeds from the event support the Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County’s grant program.

Visit mysteryfortworth.com or call 817-298-3037 to register for the event or for more information.

Date: October 29, 2011
Place: Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St. Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Price: $125 for individual tickets

Drive a Brand New Car!

Mac Churchill Acura will be giving away one year’s use for any new 2011 or 2012 Acura on the lot via their Acura for the Arts initiative, and tickets for the giveaway are $50 each, or 3 for $100.

1 ticket enters you into 2 drawings. The first drawing will be the night of the Murder, Mayhem and All That Jazz event, and the second drawing will be held on December 3!

Click here for your chance to win!

Start the Murder Mayhem party off at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History!

Enjoy drinks and face time with the Founding Father, then to the Community Arts Center for dinner, drinks, casino and more! The progressive party begins at 6:15 p.m. with a private viewing of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s George Washington exhibit. You’ll have approximately an hour to learn about the real George Washington through more than 100 original objects from Mount Vernon. While you’re at the museum you can also see the acclaimed art exhibition, Alexandre Hogue, An American Visionary: Paintings and Works on Paper.

A mad scientist will be present making wild concoctions of Prohibition fame and screen printers from Fort Worth Screen Printing will show you how to make your very own Murder Mayhem event poster! Plus you’ll find a few other surprises as well!

Savor your hour at the museum because the fun moves to the Fort Worth Community Arts Center at 7:00 p.m. for dinner, drinks, casino, murder and mayhem.

West 7th Late Night After Party

West 7th will be the final stop in the progressive party / fundraising event. Ticket holders will receive a Mayhem Map leading them to the official after party at Hacienda San Miguel where guests will enjoy Latin jazz and revelry! Hugo Galvan of Hacienda San Miguel has graciously offered Happy Hour drink prices all evening for Murder, Mayhem & All That Jazz attendees. Additional West 7th bars, restaurants and eateries will offer Mayhem specials to be identified on the Mayhem Map that all guests will receive before they leave the Community Arts Center.

Press Conference & Formal Designation

With: Texas Commission on Arts and El Paso Arts District Partners

Date: Friday, October 14, 20011, 2:00 p.m.

Location: Outside Mills Building Across from San Jacinto (due to Chalk the Block setup, streets around San Jacinto will be closed.  The Mills Plaza garage will be open)

Background on El Paso Downtown Arts District Designation

Prior to the designation, El Paso was the largest city in Texas without an official arts or cultural district. “The growth of the cultural sector and tourist amenities downtown within the last decade were a natural fit with which to pursue official designation” states MCAD Director Sean McGlynn who authorized MCAD staff to begin the process in spring of 2010.  Community surveys early in the process showed that El Pasoans were also ready for MCAD to pursue designation: 85% of respondents felt that a recognized cultural district would improve quality of life; and 90% felt it would improve El Paso’s image regionally and nationally.  McGlynn also notes that “Designation was important—it places a ‘Seal of Approval’ on all of the public and private sector investment in El Paso’s cultural core.”

A Steering Committee of community members with backgrounds in the arts, downtown development and tourism was convened and was tasked with developing a footprint for the proposed district, inventorying existing assets, analyzing incentives and gaining support from boards and commissions within the footprint.  Steering Committee member Rida Asfahani, Principal of Root Architects, says that “Receiving a cultural arts district designation is an important step in the continuing growth and evolution of El Paso, putting our city in league with other major metropolitan areas. Containing the district within a designated area helps facilitate the creation of density in the area. A defined arts district increases the appeal of El Paso not only to our residents, but to visitors to the city as well.”

Even though 14 cultural organizations and venues had either moved or expanded within a specific area of downtown, collaborative partnerships were also a major component to demonstrating the vitality of the district, which draws 1.5 million visitors each year.  MCAD Cultural Program Supervisor Ben Fyffe found that, “Museum programming and symphony concerts are huge draws, but it’s exciting to see that relatively young events like Kidspalooza, the Plaza Classic Film Festival and Chalk The Block are all driven by partnerships and collectively responsible for 88,000 El Pasoans and visitors coming downtown annually.”

Partnership with Downtown Management District

The Downtown Management District (DMD) was the first to be approached for support by MCAD, but discussions quickly moved to partnership to achieve designation.  Partnership plans centered on a shared commitment to downtown with a vision of arts being as an essential component to a robust downtown.

“As downtown edges closer to one of the greatest transformations our community has seen in 30 years, the importance of an officially designated Downtown Arts District cannot be understated as one of the single most important elements for downtown revitalization and growth,” said DMD Executive Director Veronica Soto.

The DMD’s recent surveys have demonstrated that one of the biggest amenities drawing people downtown are cultural and arts events.  Recognizing this, the DMD’s new marketing efforts are underway to creating a comprehensive marketing plan that will increase downtown’s profile and help generate economic activity.  “Downtown’s new cultural arts designation will bring more business and visitors to the city’s center of cultural and civic life. This will also open the doors to future district designations that will help unify our downtown’s image and foster new commercial and housing opportunities.”

Uninhabited by Ninotchka Beavers

The Lady
Bath House Cultural Center
October 15, 2011 through January 28, 2012

The White Rock Lake Museum presents The Lady, a mixed media art exhibition inspired by the old myth of the Lady of White Rock Lake. The exhibition will run from October 15, 2011 to January 28, 2011. An opening reception with the artists will be held on Sunday, October 16, 2011 from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

A legend that is well know by residents of Dallas—particularly those who live in the neighborhoods surrounding White Rock Lake—is the story of the Lady of the Lake. The story has elements of mystery, enchantment, and allure that would make it a perfect choice for artists of all types to capture its narrative in a variety of artistic forms. The seventeen local artists featured in this show found the story and its mystifying protagonist extremely appealing and created paintings, photographs, and mixed media small-scale works of art for display in this exhibition.

According to the story, the ghost of a young woman appears at night, dripping wet in eveningwear. A car that passes along a road near White Rock Lake stops when the mysterious young woman tells the driver that she had an accident and needs to get home. The driver takes the woman to the address given, and when they arrive, the girl has disappeared, leaving only a seat covered with water. Later, the driver learns, after knocking on the door of the house, that the young woman drowned many years ago when she fell out of a boat on the lake at night.

Depending on whom you ask, some people will tell you that the story of the Lady of the Lake is based on true facts; others will say that the story is nothing but an urban legend conceived by the overactive imagination of an anonymous author. The artists in this exhibition, however, will simply tell you that the Lady of the Lake is truly a mesmerizing source of inspiration.

Participating Artists

Juan M. Aguirre, Rita Barnard, Ninotchka Beavers, Angie Bolling, Jan Byron, Cuyler Etheredge, Essie P. Graham, Barbara Lee, Laurie McClurg, Sharon Neel-Bagley, Melia Newman, Brenda Robson, Elisabeth Schalij, Brandi Solomon, Rhoda Sterling, Mitzi Watts, and Michele Wertz.

Enrique Fernández Cervantes, Curator of Exhibitions for the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, curated this exhibition.

Please visit www.bathhousecultural.com for more information and to preview selected art pieces from the exhibition in the Photo Gallery.

About the White Rock Lake Museum

The Bath House Cultural Center is the home of the White Rock Lake Museum. The museum’s mission is to preserve and present the human and natural history of White Rock Lake Park and its surrounding environment. The White Rock Lake Museum was inaugurated in September of 2004.