DON’T MISS THE NEXT HYPA EVENT WITH THE CATASTROPHIC THEATRE ON APRIL 1!  CLICK HERE 

Friday through Sunday

Bayou City Arts Festival - Houston’s one-of-a-kind outdoor art gallery.  Stroll the 1.1-mile tree-lined Picnic Loop & enjoy 300 Fine Juried Artists from around the U.S. and the world. 1,100 Artists — the most in Festival history — competed for the 300 positions. One-third will be exhibiting their art for the forst time at Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park; two-thirds will be returning. Buy gifts for yourself, family and friends!  www.bayoucityartfestival.com

Dance | Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. (8p, Friday and Saturday; 2p, Sunday)  SOLD OUT.  As part of a 50-city global tour in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater brings the beauty, power, passion and artistry that are its hallmarks to Houston for three performances. Led by renowned Artistic Director Judith Jamison, the Company will perform AAADT company member Hope Boykin’s new Go in Grace, featuring Grammy-Award winning female a cappella musical group Sweet Honey In The Rock performing their original score live onstage with the dancers and a new production of Suite Otis (1971) by Tony-Award winning choreographer and former AAADT company member George Faison set to the timeless songs of Otis Redding. The program’s celebratory finale will be Ailey’s timeless masterpiece Revelations performed in its entirety.  www.spahouston.org. 

Now through April 4

Opera in the Heights: Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi. (Mar 27, 28 & Apr 2, 3, 4).  Falstaff is the supreme, ultimate, transcendental comedy in music. Maestro Verdi at 80+ years old wrote music for the ages. Enjoy seeing the tables get turned on old “Sir John” as, in the end, we will agree: “All the world is a burlesque and man is born a jester.”  Tickets are $35-$45 for general admission seating. Select seats on Thursday and Friday’s are $28 for seniors and $10 for students.  www.operaintheheights.org.

Friday

7:30pm - midnight | Gala: DiverseWorks’ Fire Sale.  Promising an irreverent evening ablaze with amazing art steals, a matchless buffet and sizzling musical selections by DJs Tierney Malone and Danny B.  Honoring The 9@59@9 Gang, Caroline Huber, and Marshal & Victoria Lightman.  Tickets:  Start at $150.  p.s.  go to the after party starting at 10pm for $50 per person.  713.223.8346 or www.diverseworks.org.

8 pm | Dance: Sandra Organ Dance Company - Si Se Puede.  In collaboration with Talento Bilingüe de Houston, Sandra Organ Dance Company presents a full-length modern dance performance inspired by the legacy of Cesar E. Chavez and the history of the migrant farm worker movement. Sí Se Puede (Yes We Can) opens with A Prayer for the Farm Worker, written by Cesar E. Chavez, and also includes Tata Dios, a dance about a couple and their struggles as migrant farmers. Sí Se Puede offers students and adults of all ages a creative and unique perspective on this important issue. Tickets: $18. www.tbhcenter.org (also performed on Saturday at 8 pm)

8 pm-11 pm | Mixed Media: Steel Lounge Underground at the CAMH.  Hosted by DJ Pooks and Josh Zulu and featuring Jaekim, Young Mammals and Ceeplus Bad Knives.  Free.  5216 Montrose Blvd.  www.camh.org.

8 pm - midnight | Critical Mass Afterparty @ Tipping Point Store.  Bikes, beer, and live music. Downtown on Main Street. Catch the Fat Tony on the mic backed by DJ Dave Wrangler. And if you have never seen the kicks at The Tipping Point Store you are missing out. Thomas has got loads of custom Nikes, Onitsuka and more. Free. www.indiehouston.org.

Saturday

12 noon | Live Music: Westheimer Block Party.  See 100+ great, local and regional music all in one area for free.  They have stepped it up this year with bringing in national artists though for a ticket price. The day part is free but the evening part tickets are purchased here. 300-500 Westheimer.  www.freepresshouston.com (Event goes through Sunday).

1-4pm | Workshop Houston Five Year Anniversary Open House.  Celebrating 5 years of innovative programs for the youth of the Third Ward, join the board and staff for delicious food + birthday cake, music and fun times.  Support the programs by getting your own limited edition, hand-printed youth- and artist-designed totes and tees and take part in a silent auction.  Free.  3615 Sauer.  www.workshophouston.org.

4-7pm | Opening Reception: Project Row Houses.  “Round 30”-Featured artists:  Gregory Michael Carter, Stephanie Diamond, Rashida Ferdinard, Lance Flowers, Cynthia Giachetti, Lisa Quells,, Stacy-Lynn Waddell and Yinka Adeyemi.    2505-2521 Holman Street.  www.projectrowhouses.org.

5-10 pm |  Aerosol Warfare Gallery & Boutique + CKC START Street & Urban Arts is a Houston-based organization whose mission is to promote street, urban & alternative forms of art as a positive and creative force in the community. The exhibition features artwork and a full installation by KIPP Academy students, workshop participants and various supporters throughout the previous 2008-2009 season. Free.  2110 Jefferson @ Hutchins, Suite 113, EaDo.  713.882.6649. www.aerosolwarfare.com  

7 pm | Deja Rendez-Vous: A Respectacle on Buffalo Bayou and Party with CLUI and Simparch.  First, at 7:00pm, join sound artist Richard Lerman and guest performers in the courtyard just outside the UH Mitchell Center building for Travelon Gamelon, a mini-concert of custom-designed “wind harps” (on bikes!). Then at 7:30pm follow the promenade (on bikes!) over to Tony Marron Park for Deja Rendez-Vous: A Respectacle on Buffalo Bayou - a mutli-media celebration of the intersection of Oil and Houston. The event will include the world premiere and unveiling of a new public artwork from SIMPARCH, co-commissioned by the Mitchell Center and Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP). All S.O.S. public programs involving the CLUI and SIMPARCH are co-presented with BBP in conjunction with the new initiative Confluence: Points of View on Buffalo Bayou.  www.buffalobayou.org. Tony Marron Park, 808 North York.  Free.

7 pm | Film:  Gigi.  Houston Grand Opera prepares for the world premiere of Andre Previn’s Brief Encounter.  Previn served as music director for this Oscar- and Grammy-winning film, which takes place in a park. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to the hill at Discovery Green. Free.. For more information, call Discovery Green at 713.400.7336.  www.discoverygreen.com

7pm | Film: Houston Jewish Film Festival presents Love Comes Lately at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Brown Auditorium.  www.mfah.org/films (also plays on Sunday at 1 pm)

7:30pm | Music: Houston Symphony’s Bach vs. Vivaldi Experience - Brandenburg 1 & 3.  Enjoy Bach’s Magnificat along with concertos by Bach and Vivaldi.  Part of Houston Symphony’s weekend-long Bach vs. Vivaldi Music Experience at Houston Baptist University.  For more info visit www.houstonsymphony.org.

9pm | Film:  Houston Jewish Film Festival presents Children of the Sun at MFAH.  www.mfah.org/films  

Sunday

11 am - 12 noon: Dance - Dominic Walsh Dance Theater takes the stage at Bayou City Art Festival performing For the Two of You and sections from his Titus Andronicus  and Amadeus for Anita. Free with festival admission.  www.dwdt.org.

3 p.m. | Music:  Sunday Jazz Series with Houston Grand Opera Studio members.  HGO Studio members in a program of jazz, including music by André Previn at the Sunday Jazz Series at Discovery Green. Admission is free. For more information, call Discovery Green at 713.400.7336. www.discoverygreen.com.

7 p.m. | Film:  The Fortune Cookie.  Showing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Fortune Cookie features Jack Lemmon alongside Walter Matthau, whose performance earned him an Academy Award. Directed by Billy Wilder with a film score by André Previn, this movie was made in 1966, the same year Previn became conductor of the Houston Symphony. General admission is $7 at the MFAH box office. For more information, call MFAH at 713.639.7531.  www.mfah.org/films.

8 pm | Live Music:  DJ SUN at The House of Blues w/ special guest DJ E’s E (NYC) and others.  DJ SUN’S SOULARIUM brings Houston’s House of Blues a flavorful monthly mix of nationally recognized DJs and musicians. Each month’s SOULARIUM will bring the groove-heavy, and versatile sounds you have come to expect and love from dj and producer DJ SUN. Free.  1204 Caroline.  www.hob.com/houston.

Tuesday, March 31 | Opera:  Taste This! with Houston Grand Opera Studio singers.  Enjoy an evening of wine and song featuring the music of Andre Previn with a cabaret-style performance at The Tasting Room in Uptown Park.  www.houstongrandopera.org.

ArtSpace Creates New Life for Crestwood Court Mall
 

Regional Arts Commission partners with mall management to create bustling arts colony for artists & cultural groups

ST. LOUIS—March 26, 2009 — For a theater company that’s been producing shows out of a church basement, having its own theater is a dream come true.  And paying only $100 a month to rent the space sounds like a fantasy.  But thanks to ArtSpace — an unusual new arts colony found in the mostly unlikely environment of a suburban mall in St. Louis — that’s exactly what’s happening for Avalon Theater Company and many other artists and cultural groups.

The unique partnership was developed between Crestwood Court mall, owned by Centrum Properties, and the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) in St. Louis, the largest funder of the arts in the region for the past 24 years.  The mall needed a creative use for its unleased space and called on RAC to work with the cultural community. 

“Adequate space is one of the major challenges artists face,” says Jill McGuire, executive director of RAC, whose mission is to promote and support the arts.  “We knew this would generate excitement and were thrilled when hundreds of people came out for the first open house.”

The ArtSpace community has taken vacant retail space and repurposed it for performances, studios, galleries, classes and offices.  True to their profession, the artists are finding creative ways to use their new homes.

A dance studio, occupying the space of a high end clothing retailer, finds the pristine wooden floors ideal for tap and Irish dancing.  What were once dressing rooms for the Gap, now are dressing rooms for performers to change into costumes.  Artist Jeanne Vogel uses the sinks where hairdressers used to wash clients’ hair to wash paint brushes.  And a former jewelry store has been turned into a gallery where display cases are filled with hand-made bowls.

ArtSpace is believed to be the largest community of its kind in the United States.  “We know of no other mall that has accommodated artists to this magnitude,” says Leisa Son, creator of the project and marketing manager at Crestwood Court, managed by Jones Lang LaSalle.  “We’ve been able to redefine retail space usage with this project,” she says.  “Despite the economy, we’ve created a sense of rejuvenation and excitement.  Suddenly, this mall is a destination once again.” 

In fact, the response has been overwhelming.  More than 60 groups have signed contracts and she receives multiple inquiries every day.

“ArtSpace is a model for how business and the arts can work together,” says McGuire. “To achieve economic success today, business requires a workforce that is creative and innovative in developing products and services.  ArtSpace is reminder that the arts benefit from business and that business benefits from the arts.”

ArtSpace offers perks most artists only dream of.  The rent is nominal, averaging $100 per month, plus utilities.  The enormous spaces provide plenty of room for theaters, galleries, dance classes, work areas and offices.  There’s spacious, well lit, free parking; 24 hour security; and a sparkling clean facility in a safe, centrally located neighborhood.  

The ArtSpace concept is already working.

• After hearing of ArtSpace, the company handling the casting of George Clooney’s new movie “Up in the Air” (which is being shot in St. Louis) conducted its call for extras at Crestwood Court.  Thousands of people showed up, bringing much needed traffic to the mall.
  
• Because of the publicity, new retailers are inquiring about leasing space and the mall is getting inquiries from café and other food related businesses.  
  
• A laid off interior designer, who had long dreamed of opening her own studio, is now happily situated in ArtSpace.  Her first client:  Crestwood Court.  She’s already designing the visual merchandising for ArtSpace.
  
• Local moms are excited that they can drop their kids off for arts classes in a secure environment, while they shop or have lunch.
  
• Cash strapped artists, many who have lost funding, are able to continue their work with greatly reduced overhead costs. 
  
• A local high school art teacher, Marilyn Callahan, created a gallery to display student artwork and sold a student’s painting for $125 in the first week.
  

Judith Newmark, the arts editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, described the new artists’ colony as “decidedly upbeat and apparently good for the mall.” 

Though still in early development, a spirit of excitement and camaraderie has grown in the ArtSpace corridor of the mall.  Already, actors, musicians, dancers, and artists are finding ways to work together to develop audiences and foster appreciation for the arts.

Roy Robinson, Mayor of Crestwood couldn’t be more pleased.  “The City is excited about a new approach for the Mall – it adds a whole new dimension to a very important space.” 

# # #
 

About Centrum Properties
Centrum Properties, a full service real estate firm, specializes in the development of distinctive residential and commercial properties. It is based in Chicago and was founded in 1980.  Centrum Properties has been named a Builder 100 company. In addition to creating innovative residential spaces nation-wide, Centrum has developed major commercial spaces like 600 West, a 1.5 million square foot state-of-the-art office and technology project.  For more information on Centrum Properties, visit www.centrumproperties.com.
 

About Jones Lang LaSalle
As a third-party service provider, Jones Lang LaSalle Retail manages the largest retail portfolio in the country. The firm’s 59 million-square-foot portfolio consists of more than 145 regional malls, strip centers, power centers, lifestyle centers, ground-up development projects, mixed-use centers and transportation terminals across 30 states. Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL), located in Atlanta, has a portfolio of 1.2 billion square feet of property under management worldwide, including more than 10,000 retail locations on four continents. Jones Lang LaSalle is the only global real estate services firm with a team of dedicated, full-time experts who deliver comprehensive and globally integrated services in Energy and Sustainability under one umbrella. The firm offers leading-edge, industry-unique technology, training and tools in energy and sustainability to maximize the benefits for its clients and the greater community. For more information on Jones Lang LaSalle Retail, visit www.jllretail.com.
 

About the Regional Arts Commission
Founded in 1985, the Regional Arts Commission (RAC) is a cultural catalyst in the St. Louis area, providing financial, technical, promotional and other support for arts organizations. Directed by a board of fifteen commissioners appointed by the chief executives of St. Louis City and County, RAC is a pivotal force in the continuing development and marketing of the arts in the region. Since its inception, RAC has awarded more than 5000 grants totaling $65 million. In May 2008, 205 of the area’s arts organizations, consortiums and cultural programs, large and small, received grant awards totaling more than $3.6 million, funded by a portion of the hotel/motel room sales tax. RAC’s four-story facility including the area’s first Cultural Resource Center is located at 6128 Delmar Blvd.  Call RAC at (314) 863-5811 or visit www.art-stl.com.

For more information on ArtSpace visit here.

Don’t Miss This Special Evening!

UPCOMING HYPA EVENT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2009

6:30 pm - pre-reception
8 pm - performance begins

An Evening with The Catastrophic Theatre
Preview of Hunter Gatherers
Pre-and-post-reception included.

Purchase tickets here: http://www.downtownhouston.org/en/cev/630

HYPA Members - $20.88
Non-members - $51.75
*Ticket prices include Paypal ticket surcharge.

All proceeds benefit The Catastrophic Theatre.

Evening includes a pre-show reception with food, beer and wine and an after party with the cast. Reception begins at 6:30 pm and show begins at 8 pm. HYPA members attend for $20. Non-members attend for $50.

To purchase tickets call 713-658-8938 or e-mail heather@downtownhouston.org and I will take your order over the phone or purchase online.

The Catastrophic Theatre presents
HUNTER GATHERERS
by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Directed by Jason Nodler
Starring Amy Bruce, Greg Dean, Charlesanne Rabensburg & Troy Schulze

The 2006 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award winner finds Pam and Richard hosting their best friends, Wendy and Tom, for an annual get-together. An animal sacrifice kicks off the evening, followed by a little more sex, violence, deception, wrestling and dancing than at previous parties. The line between civilized and primal man will be blurred, and not everyone will survive long enough to enjoy the brownies for dessert!

The San Francisco Chronicle called the play’s 2006 premiere “Exceptionally entertaining theater…Outrageously libidinous knockabout farce meets penetrating social satire in Peter Nachtrieb’s hilariously revelatory comedy. An almost two-hour laugh riot… A major achievement… An engaging, astute, no-taboos comedy of contemporary manners that skewers the moral, artistic, spiritual, gourmet and even back-to-nature pretensions of our society.”

Jason Nodler says, “The play ran nearly a year in San Francisco and this will only be the fourth production of it anywhere.  They’ve held the rights very tightly and we’re pleased to be able to present it to Houston audiences.”

Hunter Gatherers will be presented at Stages Repertory Theatre, 2201 Allen Parkway.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

5:30p - 7p - Happy hour with Pink Ribbons Project at Coffeegroundz!  Learn about Pink at the Brown when for the first time ever, Houston Theater District member organizations and special guests will perform on the same stage to raise funds for breast cancer in a benefit gala. All proceeds will benefit Pink Ribbons Project, the local arts-based breast cancer organization. Evening includes performances by Alley Theatre, Da Camera of Houston, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony and Society for the Performing Arts.  Evening also includes Inprint and Stages Repertory Theatre.  Go to the happy hour and learn more!  Coffeegroundz, 2503 Bagby.  www.pinkribbons.org.

5-10 pm - Cultured Cocktails with Dominic Walsh Dance Theater at Beaver’s.  Meet Dominic and the DWDT ballet company at this weekly local art scene fundraiser.  Get happy with drink and food specials with 25% benefiting DWDT.  Beaver’s, 2310 Decatur.  www.dwdt.org.

6-9 pm - Pre-SXSW Party at Caroline Collective.  Let’s send-off our Houston musicians in style at this pre-party.  Meet local Houston Musicians and if you are attending the event, make some friends that will be there too. 4820 Caroline.  www.carolinecollective.cc.