Upcoming Programs


  • Wed
    11
    Jan
    2017
    6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.2808 Rice Blvd, 77005 (Map)
    Program events

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    On Wednesday, January 11, 2016 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Visual Arts Alliance will hold an art talk and tour of the Lester Marks Collection, courtesy of LCM Partners, Ltd. at 2808 Rice Boulevard, Houston. Lester Marks, President of LCM Partners, Ltd., and a represented artist himself, has been collecting contemporary art for 25 years. He has served as a trustee for both the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, among others.

    Mr. Marks has been included in Art News as one of the top 200 collectors in the world, and in Art & Antiques as one of the top 100 “collectors making a difference” in the art world. Most recently, American Art Collector featured the collection in the Winter 2016 issue of Iris Covet Book.

    The home of Lester Marks is a “mini-museum” of contemporary art. The home is built around an outdoor courtyard displaying the stone sculpture of the British environmental artist Richard Long. There are passageways to three small gallery spaces, a studio, and even a “subterranean playroom” for the adventurous. The collection features museum-quality works from internationally renowned artists as well works by hundreds of regional and Houston-area artists.

    Space is limited to 45 people. Email Programs@VisualArtsAlliance.org to reserve space.

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  • Wed
    01
    Feb
    2017
    5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m.Box13 Artspace, 6700 Harrisburg Blvd, 77011 (Map)
    Program events

     

    Join Visual Arts Alliance (VAA) on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, at 5:45 p.m. for a studio visit and tour of BOX 13 ArtSpace, hosted by ceramic artist Jessica Kreutter.

    BOX 13 ArtSpace is an innovative art space located at 6700 Harrisburg Blvd., Houston TX 77011. It is an artist run nonprofit space dedicated to the creation and advancement of experimental contemporary art in Houston. BOX 13 offers affordable work spaces for emerging and established artists, dedicating four interior spaces to the exhibition of artistic explorations, a window gallery for installations and an outdoor courtyard space. 25 residents, artists working in all media, participate in BOX 13.

    Kreutter works in parts and pieces and is interested in creating objects and spaces that are in transformation These transformations speak about a potential to be between, to be more than what contains us. It is both a connection and dissolution, something between remembering and forgetting that opens up a space for reality to be intersected with something other. In 2013, she designed an ice sculpture in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art (Denver) and created an unfired clay installation for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Project Space. Her clay installation work was featured in the January 2014 Issue of Ceramics Monthly. In 2016, she was a recipient of a Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grant.

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  • Sat
    04
    Mar
    2017
    10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Freed-Montrose Neighborhood Library, 4100 Montrose, Houston, Texas 77006 (Map)
    Program events

    Visual Arts Alliance presents discussion
    of jurors’ criterion for art competitions Saturday, March 4
    Rare opportunity to get first-hand comments on selection process
    from three well-known jurors

    HOUSTON, TEXAS ~ On Saturday, March 4, Visual Arts Alliance (VAA) offers members and guests a rare insight into a juror’s selection process for art competitions with a free discussion by three prominent figures in the Houston art world: Jennifer Justice, Executive Director of Galveston Arts Center; Lester Marks, Mayor's Ambassador to the Arts.; and Zoya Tommy, owner of Zoya Tommy Gallery. The free presentation begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Freed-Montose Neighborhooud Library, 4100 Montrose, Houston, 77006.

    The three speakers, all of whom have been jurors for VAA, will discuss their selection processes when judging a competition. Previously submitted works will be projected for the audience, and panelists will discuss the selection/elimination process applied to each work. Artists will discover the whys and hows of selection from a juror’s point of view, including the constants of technique and presentation as well as the unique personal biases of jurors.

    “VAA is so pleased to be able to present this first-hand look into a juror’s thought process. Every artist who has ever entered a competition wonders what makes a piece worthy of selection. What does a juror look for? How does a juror’s background affect the selection process? These are the questions the morning’s session will investigate,” says Matt Adams, President at VAA. “This is a rare opportunity for artists to get inside the mind of a juror and learn how to make each submission the best.”

     

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  • Sat
    01
    Apr
    2017
    11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Houston Museum of African American Culture, 4807 Caroline St, 77004 (Map)
    Program events

    On Saturday, April 1, Visual Arts Alliance (VAA) offers members and guests a guided tour of the Houston Museum of African-American Culture. The free tour begins at 11:15 a.m. at 4807 Caroline St., Houston, 77004.

    The mission of the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations.

    Faith Ringgold, painter, writer, speaker, mixed media sculptor and performance artist lives and works in Englewood, New Jersey. Ms. Ringgold is professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego where she taught art from 1987 until 2002. Professor Ringgold is the recipient of more than 75 awards including 22 Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degrees.

    Ringgold’s art has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. Her art is included in many private and public art collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, The Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, The Baltimore Museum, Williams College Museum of Art, The High Museum of Fine Art, The Newark Museum, The Phillip Morris Collection, The St. Louis Art Museum and The Spencer Museum.

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  • Mon
    22
    May
    2017
    10 a.m. - 2 p.m.Silver St Studios, #323 2000 Edwards St 77007 (Map)
    Program events

    VAA Program Committee Chairwoman Chell Vassalo

    Details forthcoming.
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  • Wed
    07
    Jun
    2017
    7 - 8:30 p.m.The Silos at Sawyer Yards #308 1502 Sawyer St 77007 (Map)
    Program events

    Details forthcoming.
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  • Sat
    15
    Jul
    2017
    2 - 4 p.m.Next Wall Gallery 1717 Michigan St 77006 (Map)
    Program events

    Emerging artists are oftentimes bewildered on how to price their work. Matt Adams, VAA president, art blogger and avid collector will share his years of observations from a collector's point of view in this workshop. It will start with an overview of strategic pricing that he has developed, followed by case histories and concluding with one-on-one consultations.

    By using the structured pricing model, you can easily explain to collectors/galleries why your prices are what they are. Also, you will see how and when to increase your prices.

    Attendance will be limited to the first 12 VAA members that arrive. Attendees must bring data about their own artwork for review. To do this, make a table with the following columns: Title, Height, Width, Asking Price.

    Your membership must be up to date prior to arrival; email Membership@VisualArtsAlliance.org if necessary.

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  • Sat
    04
    Nov
    2017
    11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.The Montrose Centre, 401 Branard St., room 107
    Program events

    New art collectors in Houston face an imposing variety of viewing and purchasing options. To help eliminate confusion and intimidation, Visual Arts Alliance has assembled a panel of 3 experienced collectors who will share their passion for the visual arts. Intended for new and experienced collectors alike, this panel will provide insight into personal tastes, experiences and opinions regarding the collecting of artworks. The discussion will also let artists discover what collectors look for when considering acquiring a new piece. Moderated by VAA Vice President, Erik Hagen, the panel will consist of Chris Higham, Henry Hunt and Professor Donna Tennant.

    Mr. Higham is a co-founder of an annual exhibition at Spring Street Studios and is a regular volunteer with the Bayou City Arts Festival, KUHF/Houston Public Media and Lawndale Art Center. Additionally, he conducts interviews of artists for Houston Art Showcase, a local organization that strives to ignite art appreciation and increase artistic standards in the local community, while providing opportunities to reach, develop and stimulate artists.

    Mr. Hunt is a reformed academic, longtime graphic designer and branding professional. He describes himself as a usual suspect in the art community.

    Professor Tennant is a former Houston Chronicle art critic, lecturer in Art History at UH-Downtown and Lone Star college, longtime art writer and editor for various local and national magazines and currently writing for Arts & Culture, the online publication Visual Art Source and recently Art Limited.

    The free discussion will take place at The Montrose Centre, 401,Branard St., room 107, on Saturday November 4th, starting at 11.00. There will be Q&A session at the end of the meeting.

     

    Visual Arts Alliance (VAA) is an educational organization for serious practitioners of the visual arts and interested members of the general public. Founded in Houston, TX in 1981, VAA is an all-volunteer-run, 501(c)3, nonprofit organization. In addition to educational and recreational programs, VAA also produces professionally juried art exhibitions providing opportunities for members and non-members to have their work professionally judged and viewed by the general public.  For membership details and more information, visit www.VisualArtsAlliance.org.

     

     

  • Thu
    07
    Dec
    2017
    6:30 - 8:00 p.m.Houston Studio Glass, 610 Jackson Hill, Houston, 77007
    Program events

    On Thursday, December 7, at 6:30 p.m., Visual Arts Alliance will be given a private demonstration of Italian glass blowing by DIck Moiel and Kathy Poeppel of Houston Studio Glass. Dick and Kathy will explain the art of Italian off hand or free hand blowing as done in Murano, Italy for hundreds of years. Sitting on a gaffer's bench, they will work the glass while hot and demonstrate the process of gathering, blowing and punting the glass. They will finish by putting the piece in the annealing oven or kiln. There the temperature is stabilized and over a period of hours the glass is brought down to room temperature.

    Dick Moiel and Kath Poeppel's interest began with collecting. After taking their first glass blowing class in 1994, they build a basic hot shop and began melting glass the following year. The couple blows both decorative and functional objects during climate friendly months (October through April.) They continue to take more classes during the summer months. The retired physician and his PA/RN wife are nationally known in glass blowing circles.

    Many of Dick and Kathy's pieces will be on display as well as for sale. Houston Studio Glass is located at 610 Jackson Hill, Houston, 77007.