Arts districts nurturing creativity are popping up in all quadrants of the city. On Wednesday, September 2, Visual Arts Alliance (VAA) gathers art leaders and district directors for a talk titled The Power of Three: New Arts Districts in Houston. The panel will address the impact of three of the city’s newest art developments, including the East End Arts District, the Midtown Cultural Arts and Entertainment District and the Washington Avenue Arts District. The presentation will begin at 5:45 p.m. in The Printing Museum, 1324 W. Clay Street, Houston, 77019.
The Director of the East End Cultural District, Diane Barber, will discuss Houston’s newest cultural district, which is rooted in one of the city’s oldest communities near Buffalo Bayou and the recently re-designed Guadalupe Plaza Park. The East End Cultural District is home to a number of historic sites and an impressive and ever-growing collection of visual and performing arts venues, artist studios, maker spaces, urban farms, iconic restaurants, outdoor murals and reimagined parks and public spaces such as The Esplanade at Navigation that serve as hubs for cultural activity.
Cynthia Alvarado and Vikki Trammell will represent the Midtown Cultural Arts and Entertainment District. Established in 2012, every form of art is represented in this community. Midtown has more than 170-art-based venues including studios, museums, galleries, theater groups, artist-in-residence programs, culinary arts, live music venues and art-related retailers. Midtown continues its commitment to the arts while working toward creating Houston as an arts destination.
The Washington Avenue Arts District will be represented by its Director, Susannah Mitchell. Home to several converted warehouse studio buildings with more than 250 studios of artists and creative entrepreneurs plus exhibition and event space, this District boasts what is believed to be the highest concentration of working artists in Texas. The area is also home to many individual artists’ residences, studios and arts-focused institutions such as Crockett Elementary, an award-winning fine arts school, and Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), a multicultural arts education and performance center.
As part of its educational outreach, VAA presents monthly programs, which are open to the public. There is no charge to attend and registration is not necessary.
The presentations are available via the following links:
Washington Avenue Arts District small
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- VAA President Matt Adams and the panel of presenters
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- The room filled beyond capacity