The Mother Drum

The Mother Drum – Connecting the circles in our lives and communities

 

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The Texan-French Alliance for the Arts’ summer program is coming soon! We are excited to announce that we will be partnering with YES Prep Northside and the MD Anderson Family YMCA this June for the next installment of our “From a Space to a Place” program. We have been hard at work securing new partnerships and gathering resources to maintain and build on our program’s innovative and engaging nature.

 

One of these newly acquired resources is the symbolism and tradition of the Native American “Mother Drum, which encourages a deep level of connection between students and their community. To introduce this concept to the children, we invited French educator Claire d’Eau, who has been trained in many Native American traditions, to help us facilitate seven drum circle workshops for children ranging from 1 to 16 years old at Little Wonders Learning Center and Agape Development. We look forward to bringing this workshop to the core program!

 

Thank you Little Wonders Learning CenterAgape Development and Southeast Houston Transformation Alliance for partnering with us on this meaningful program!

 

Heroes of the Community

Heroes of the Community – Introducing the “From a Space to a Place” follow-up program

 

FASTAP video still

 

As the school year is coming to an end, the TFAA team is gearing up for our summer “From a Space to a Place” programs. In fact, one of these programs – a follow-up with the teen Youth Council at Agape Development – is already off to a positive start!

The students have started to show interest in certain career paths and are honing their interview skills to gather real life success stories from members of the community who are involved in those fields. The teens are also learning about portraiture, and how to visually capture a person’s personality, with the help of one of FotoFest Literacy Through Photography’s wonderful teaching artists, Angie Dornier. Through this project, the students will highlight the “everyday heroes” of their community, documenting the engaging stories and photographs that they collect along the way to be publicly exhibited throughout the community at a later date.

Stay tuned for more updates on their exciting new project as well as our upcoming summer program in the Northside!

We are very excited to announce and share our newly created video and website featuring our signature “From a Space to a Place” program! Please visit www.fromaspacetoaplace.org to learn more!

This program is supported by the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts, Agape Development, SEHTA, and City Connections, which is funded in part by the City of Houston, CASE for Kids, and Harris County Department of Education.

 

MaxRylo

 

 

Photos taken by “From a Space to a Place” student, Promiss

FotoFun Family Day

FotoFun Family Day – Celebrate Earth Day with FotoFest LTP and TFAA

 

FotoFun 2016 photo

 

Mark your calendars for FotoFun Family Day from 12-4 p.m. this Sunday, April 17th! This day of free, eco-creative fun is hosted by FotoFest International’s Literacy Through Photography and will be located at Silver Street Studios (1501 Silver St, Houston, Texas 77007).

The Texan-French Alliance for the Arts will have a booth at FotoFun Family Day where you and your children can learn how to make art and clothing out of recycled materials – who knew trash bags could be fashionable! All of the activities are inspired by the FotoFest International 2016 Biennial, CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES: Looking at the Future of the Planet.

We hope to see you there!

Opening Doors in Bellaire

Opening Doors in Bellaire – A public art installation coming to a park near you!

We are very excited to announce that the City of Bellaire has recently purchased five doors from our “Open the Door” public art project!

These five doors will be installed at the City of Bellaire park in the near future, so keep an eye out for their arrival. We will announce the names of the artists who painted the featured doors closer to the installation date.

Thank you to the City of Bellaire for supporting our community, as well as our “Open the Door” art program!

Stay tuned!

Ice and the Sky

Ice and the Sky – Investigating the impact of global warming

 

Ice and the Sky image

 

As part of Fotofest 2016 Biennale, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will screen French filmmaker Luc Jacquet‘s documentary, Ice and the Sky, set in Antarctica which delves into the incredible story of Dr. Claude Lorius, a pioneering French glaciologist who began studying Antarctic ice in the 1950s, and in 1965, was among the first scientists to become concerned about the impact of human activity on our climate.

This screening was organized by the Office for Science and Technology of the French Embassy in Houston and the Rice University Baker Institute for Science and Technology Policy.

Next screening: Saturday, April 16th from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Where: Law Building, MFAH (1001 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas 77005)

 

Dallas Art Fair

Dallas Art Fair – Touring the world through art

 

Dallas Art Fair image

 

If you’re in the Dallas area this weekend, make sure to stop by the Dallas Art Fair! Prominent national and international art dealers and galleries will exhibit paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photography, videos, and installations by modern and contemporary artists at the eighth annual Dallas Art Fair, including 3 galleries from France: Galerie Frank Elbaz, Galerie Perrotin and Galerie Valentin.

When: April 14-17

Where: Dallas Art Fair (1807 Ross Ave. Dallas, TX 75201)

Healing Arts – ArtHouston Magazine

Healing Arts – ArtHouston Magazine

 

The Texan-French Alliance for the Arts was recently featured in the second issue of ArtHouston Magazine!

Please visit https://issuu.com/johnbernhard/docs/arthouston_magazine2 to read our article “Healing Arts” (page 68-69) for more information about our creative workshops and Mural Project at Texas Children’s Hospital. This project is a partnership between TFAA, Little Wonders Learning Center, and Eyeful Art Murals & Designs.

Thank you to John Bernhard for including us in his impressive magazine!

 

Artful Prayers for France – AdDeum Dance Company of Houston

Artful Prayers for France photo

Artful Prayers for France – AdDeum Dance Company of Houston

Choreographed by Randall Flinn, Founder and Artistic Director.

Location: Heights Church of Christ (1548 Heights Blvd. Houston, Texas 77008)

Date: Sunday, March 20

Time: 7:30 p.m.

The performance “Artful Prayers for France” will be for hope and humanity and will emphasize a memorial for the victims of Paris of last November.

 A time to experience beauty for ashes and a time where mourning is turned into new hope. As a form of inspirational and healing expression, the gifts of dance, music, song, poetry and visual art will be presented as a memorial to its victims of terrorism and in honor and dignity for France and its people.

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Le spectacle « Artful Prayers for France » sera dédié à l’espoir et à l’humanité en mémoire aux victimes de l‘attentat terroriste survenu à Paris le 13 novembre 2015.

Une soirée d’art-en-révérence, offrande sacrée de prière et d’intercession pour la France et son peuple. Un temps pour découvrir la beauté des cendres et un temps où le deuil est transformé en nouvel espoir. Sources d’inspiration et de guérison, les dons de la danse, de la musique, de la chanson, de la poésie et des arts visuels seront offerts par les artistes en mémoire aux victimes du terrorisme et dans l’honneur et la dignité pour la France et son peuple.

Entrée gratuite… Les dons en espèces sont toutefois appréciés et possibles durant l’évènement.

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This performance is part of the month of the Francophonie and will be held at Heights Church of Christ, a Texas landmark protected by the City of Houston. It was designed by Architect Albert Finn who also designed the Chase Bank Tower downtown. The site is now 101 years old.

Consul General of France, Sujiro Seam, and his spouse will be present, as well as the founder of Project Dance, Cheryl Cutlip. During the evening, the official announcement for the Project Dance Paris, scheduled for July in Paris, will be made.

Thank you AdDeum Dance Company Dancers,  Randall Flinn, Sujiro & Jane Seam, Matt Soper, Ann Bayliss, Heights Church of Christ and all our Volunteers!

A special thanks to our Partners:  Jean-Francois & Nathalie Bonnete, the Epicurian Beverages for their « Val-de-France”.  Ghislaine & Henrik Thomsen, Houston-Nice Sister City, Lina Corinth Sister Cities Networking Dinner Series, Karine Parker, TFAA, Nancy Mendoza, Kim Martinez, Linda Burham.

For more information, please visit http://www.danceaddeum.com/th_event/artful-prayers-for-france/ and like Ad Deum Dance Company on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/addeumdance/

French Cultures Festival 2016

French Cultures Festival 2016 logo

 

French Cultures Festival 2016

 

Each year in March, on the occasion of the Francophonie celebrations, the Cultural Service at the French Consulate in Houston organizes the French Cultures Festival (FCF) in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. This celebration brings together people who not only speak French, but also feel, in one way or another, connected to French cultures and the Francophone community.

The French Cultures Festival features numerous events including lectures and talks, film screenings, performances, concerts, encounters with artists and writers, training sessions for teachers, exhibits and many other educational activities.

SAVE THE DATE!
Free FCF kick-off concert
Discovery Green Park
Friday, March 11
6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

For more information, and to see the official FCF 2016 calendar, please visit http://frenchculture.org/frenchculturesfestival2016