| Year Three 2002-03
VBB started its fourth year with a bang. The political climate
around the US was getting increasingly frightening and the organization’s
Board as well as volunteers felt that it was an urgent time to
speak out. We opened the year with Words for Peace 1,
through which we used telephone lines and speakers and brought
in live voices of writers such as Arundhati Roy and Ahmed
Rashid. Since then, Words for Peace has become a tradition
and people all around Houston and beyond expect our organization
to host a dynamic event through which we connect current issues
to art.
Other new traditions were begun: all shows were curated by the
Board (since there was no paid staff at this point) and each show
had a theme rather than just names of artists. Additionally, VBB
set out clear guidelines for our curators through which each show
had to include at least 3 artistic disciplines, include young artists
and remain true to the mission of the organization.
Overall, VBB continued its tradition of hosting one event a month
and most events were held at DiverseWorks,
unless otherwise indicated below. We also hosted a second South
Asian Film Festival and some of the highlights of the year included Flow,
a dynamic multi-media show curated by Norwegian artist and volunteer Lise
Bjorne, and Crossing Kalandia, a documentary
film screening by Palestinian filmmaker Sobhi Zobaidi,
who we flew in for the event.
Words for Peace
Sunday, September 22, 2002, 1:00-4:00 pm
General admission $8/ students and seniors $5
Spoken word, dance and music from Houston and around the
globe will tackle the inseparable forces of art and politics
in Words for Peace. Special features of
this multi-media event will include live telephone readings
by 1997 Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, Jewish poet Irena
Klepfisz, Palestinian American poet Naomi Shihab Nye and
award-winning journalist Ahmed Rashid. Curated by Troy
Gooden, Chuck Jackson, Rich Levy, Sehba Sarwar, Oskar Sonnen,
Sandra Tarlin and Michael Woodson. |
Between the Lines
Sunday, October 20, 2002, 7:00pm
General admission $6/ Students & seniors $5
Brown Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston
1001 Bissonnet, Houston TX 77006, 713.639.7515
Between the Lines is a powerful
documentary film that explores conflicts in language and
culture through interviews with Asian American women poets
and writers who share their own journeys with language. The
evening, hosted by VBB Artistic Director Sehba Sarwar, will
feature readings by Filipino artist Kokoy Severino and a
panel of young Asian writers—Francine Di, Anita Wadhwa,
and Kathy Nguyen—who will share their writings and
lead a discussion on the challenges immigrants face when
confronting language and cultural barriers. Co-sponsored
by the Museum of Fine Arts. |
Celebrating
Cubanos
Friday, November 1, 2002, 8:00pm
Admission: Free
This special multi-media arts performance will feature Cuban
American poet Evelio Grillo who has performed and written
extensively about Black Latinos and his work is published
by Arte Publico Press. Other performers include local poet
Icess Fernández and Cuban-American visual artist Maria
Elena González, who is based in New York. A
collaboration with Arte Publico Press and Nuestra Palabra;
and co-sponsored by DiverseWorks. |
Crossing Kalandia - A Film Screening
Thursday, November 21, 2002, 7:00 pm
Rice Memorial Center, Rice University, Grand
Hall
General admission $5
When discussing, Crossing Kalandia, a
video journal based on his life in Ramallah, Palestinian
film-maker Sobhi Zobaidi, says, “The
motivation was not much the intifada and the war but the
fact that our first baby Kenza was born in these difficult
times … I wanted to show that Palestinians are like
any other normal society, they are diverse, complex and very
misunderstood.” Co-sponsored by DiverseWorks, KPFT
Pacifica Radio and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee. |
Age Speaks
Sunday, December 8, 2002, 4:00 pm
General admission $5/ students and seniors $3
In Age Speaks, VBB will showcase poets
and performance artists across the spectrum of age, ranging
from seventeen to seventy. Among the afternoon’s lineup
will be Dodie Meeks, a senior poet and writer who served
as a reporter for the Houston Chronicle during the
sixties, Jack Thomas, a writer and veteran of the Vietnam
war, young artists Chetan Kumar and Adelle Rodriguez as well
as dancer-writer Laura Lopez. Curators Debi Bryant and Susan
Levy look forward to hosting an afternoon of art through
the lens of different generations. |
Living Art
Sunday, January 19, 2003, 4:00 pm
General admission $5/ students and seniors $3
Voices Breaking Boundaries skates the thin line between
life and art through Living Art, a performance
that explores the beauty of everyday existence—from
the simplicity of the beating of the heart to the surreal
industrialism of oil refineries. Featured work include drumming
and dancing by Luna Nueva, video art by Kayte Young and Matt
Radune, and spoken word by Hank Hancock and young artist
Francine Di. The afternoon, curated by Michael Woodson,
Chuck Jackson, and Francine Di will close with an open mike. |
Flow: A Collage Of Sights And Sounds
Sunday, February 23, 2003, 4:00 pm
General admission $5/ students and seniors $3
DiverseWorks Artspace and Dramos Studio (next to DW)
Continuing along its theme of showcasing a rich variety
of artists, VBB presents, FLOW, a nontraditional
staging of visual and performance art to enhance communication
across art forms including painting, videography, dance,
and poetry. All artists, especially upcoming young voices
are invited to bring their artform to share in the open mike. FLOW is
curated by visual artist, poet and playwright Donna Perkins,
Norwegian visual artist Lise Bjorne, fiction writer Diana
Wolfe and Urdu poet and performance artist Shaista Parveen. |
La Voz Femenina: Artists Celebrate
International Women's Month
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston-Main, 6-8:00pm
Arte Público Press and VBB celebrate International
Women's Month with a reading by award-winning author Graciela
Limón. The evening includes an open mike
and music and dance by University of Houston students. Curators
for this event are VBB Board Secretary Marina Tristán
who also serves as Assistant Director of Arte Público
Press and poet and activist Carolina Monsivais from HAWC.Co-sponsored
by the Houston Area Women's Center (HAWC). |
Wading In The Water: Africa And Beyond
Sunday April 13, 2003, 4:00 pm
General admission $5/ students and seniors $3
Through a vibrant mix of spoken word, music and dance, Wading
in the Water will explore and celebrate links
between the African American culture, its African continent
roots and ties to the Caribbean islands. As always, an
open mike will give audience members a chance to share
their work. This exciting show is curated by local slam
artist Cedric Ary, African dancer Tonya Pennie and Jamaican
poet Michele Rainford. |
Crossing Borders: Films From South
Asia
May 15-18, 2003;
Brown Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston and Aurora
Picture Show
1001 Bissonnet, Houston TX 77006, 713.639.7515
VBB and the Museum of Fine Arts will bring to Houston a
diverse collection of films from South Asia. This weekend
of films is hosted and curated by radio show host and VBB
Board President Nusrat Malik and VBB Board Member Surender
Talwar. Co-sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. |
Amalgamation: Hear What Teenagers Have
to Say
Poetry, jazz, photography and drawings by Houston teenagers
7:00pm, Friday, June 27, 2003
Admission: $5.00 requested donation; free for students
DiverseWorks Artspace
1117 East Freeway, Houston TX 77002
AMALGAMATION is a show that presents teenage jazz artists,
songwriters, poets, visual artists and much more. The production
is a result of a multidisciplinary workshop held at Furr
High School during June 2003. Artists include: Jim Arnold,
Antaeus Austin, Carlos Aviles, Emaneli Cintron, Wilfredo
Galeano, John Gonzalez, Allison Hammons, and Bethany Leon.
Open mike to follow performance. Curated by high school
graduate Eric Hester and Furr High School student Jorge Canales. |
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