News for Houston Creatives

How New York is working to keep talent

NYTimes.com: In New York, a Business Course Geared to Artists, 2010-Jun-18, by Kate Taylor

It is harder than it used to be to live as an artist in New York City, given the cost of housing, studios and rehearsal space, and the Bloomberg administration does not want artists to leave the city. Culture is a magnet for tourism and a major reason why people in other professions (and often higher tax brackets) want to live here. Ergo, two city-financed courses devised to help artists help themselves. “It’s kind of the teach-a-person-to-fish school of cultural support,” Mr. Pinsky said. The group attending the five-week program includes painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, creative writers, actors, directors, dancers, singers, musicians...

Along with group sessions covering subjects like intellectual property and Internet marketing, each artist has a 20-minute meeting with a New York Foundation for the Arts staff member or an outside adviser to review his or her business plan. At the end of the course, the students can apply for subsidized studio or rehearsal space at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, courtesy of Chashama, an organization that transforms vacant properties into art spaces.

Planning Meeting for Houston Summit for the Creative Economy on June 15 #hsce

The next planning meeting for the Houston Summit for the Creative Economy:

• Tuesday, June 15 from 6 to 8 pm
• Caroline Collective (www.CarolineCollective.cc)
• 4820 Caroline Houston 77004 in the Museum District

If you have never attended one of our meetings, please RSVP to Theresa, (281) 433-2302 or Theresa@QViews.com.

New artist community planned by Nestor Topchy, interview by David Theis at CultureMap

Excellent interview with pictures about an artists' community which could be built in Acres Homes.

CultureMap: A human Hive out of shipping containers ... just your ordinary (Topchy) construction project, 2010-Jun-6, by David Theis

“Hive addresses one of my least favorite things about Houston,” he says. “The lack of community.” He pauses then adds, “But one of my favorite things about Houston is the idea that, if you’re not satisfied with the city, or the neighborhood, you can do something about it.”

You know, How did all those fucked up people end up on the same plane? Awl on Lost

The Awl: 'Lost,' One Week Later, 2010-Jun-2, by Nicholas Jahr

How did all these fucked up people end up on the same plane?

I love this stuff! People kept treating Lost like a mystery. But it was more like a soap opera where the agony can only end when the characters die but the characters really don't die they just time-shop but then it had to end so they did. Nicholas Jahr continues...

The essential question the series asked in episode after episode was: you find yourself on a deserted island with a bunch of strangers. You can be anyone you want. Can you reinvent yourself? Can you leave your past behind? Again and again, the answer the show returned was a resounding: No. When a character made peace with their demons, his days were numbered. It was hard to tell if this was a matter of dramatic convenience or part of a grand design, but the body count rose at an impressive clip.