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

“What’s Left?” Participating FotoFest 2016 Biennial

Jane Seam 4

What’s Left?
Participating FotoFest 2016 Biennial

 

Curated by Jane Seam and Yvonamor Palix

 

Saturday March 5, 1-5 p.m.
Open house to general public
Workshops for art creation available for adults & children

 

French Consular Residence
1904 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX, 77019

 

                  A moment of reflection, a moment of silence, a moment of life – WHAT’S LEFT? raises the question of how long we will continue to enjoy these distinct and seemingly immutable pleasantries of life. Nothing in nature is ever without consequence, yet our apathy towards the state of the planet, our disregard of how we treat the earth and how we treat each other as humans raises questions that need to be examined…
                                                                                                                                                                                  — Yvonamor Palix

 

Jane Seam

 

For more information, contact Yvonamor Palix at yvonamor@gmail.com / ypalix@yvonamorpalixart.com or 281.467.6065

Five Funny French Films 2016

Five Funny French Films video still

 

We are excited to promote the 2016 edition of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Five Funny French Films. All five films are shown in French with English subtitles. This year’s schedule is as follows:

Friday, March 4th

  • 7 p.m. – “Sex, Love & Therapy” / “Tu veux… ou tu veux pas?” (2014)
  • 9 p.m. – “Daddy or Mommy” / “Papa ou Maman” (2015)

Saturday, March 5th

  • 7 p.m. “Home Sweet Home” / “Un village presque parfait” (2014)
  • 9 p.m. – “The Elk” / “L’élan” (2015)

Sunday, March 6th

  • 5 p.m. – “Chic!” (2015)

For more information about these films, and to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.mfah.org/films/series/14/.

“Healing Arts” – ArtHouston Magazine

ArtHouston TCH article mosaic (2)

 

“Healing Arts” – ArtHouston Magazine

 

Check out the online Spring/Summer issue #2 of ArtHouston Magazine, and flip to page 69 to read the “Healing Arts” article about our Mural Project at Texas Children’s Hospital, in partnership with Little Wonders Learning Center and Eyeful Art Murals and Designs! A huge thank you to John Bernhard for including us in his amazing magazine!

ArtHouston magazine is dedicated to promoting art of all disciplines in Houston, from performing and visual arts to music and film.
https://issuu.com/johnbernhard/docs/arthouston_magazine2

This work was made possible with the help of many sponsors, partners, volunteers and professionals including Marjon Aucoin, Julie Preston, Dandee Warhol, Sebastien Boileau, Liza Carlos, Audrey McKim, Carol Herron, Jena Guajardo, Erin Overhouse, Karine Parker-Lemoyne, Britain Venner, Leila Kengueleoua, Dr. Paul Gerson, Elisabeth Caucheteux, Lina Corinth, Patricia and Dimitri Pilenko, Ghislaine Thomsen, Florence Pomarede, as well as the Board of Directors of Texas Children’s and TFAA who are supporting our programs. Thank you all for your continuous and dedicated support!

“Hug the Hood” Block Party

“Hug the Hood” Block Party – “From a Space to a Place”

 

Congratulations Promiss, Ideyia, Mykedra, Max, Ryan, MJ, Ta’Cobie, Dashawn. DaJuan, Jonathan, Kobie, Eric and CJ for unveiling your vibrant poetic mural this past Saturday! You are strong and generous spirits. Our TFAA-AGAPE-SEHTA “From A Space To A Place” team believes that your voice is important, and that you can make this world a better place. We believe that you can do anything if you’re willing to work hard enough for it.

The TFAA team and the FASTAP guest educators & artists (Marjon Fatemizadeh Aucoin, Dandee Warhol from Little Wonders, Noel Bezette-Flores, Layla DaCosta, Naiyolis Palomo, Patricia Pilenko, Sacha Lazarre and Chloe, Erik Calderon, Johnny Hanson, Sebastien Mrd Boileau, Thomas Granovsky) feel blessed to have been able to work with you and support your poetic vision for your neighborhood. We look forward to continuing in the future!

It was also a privilege to partner with Anne Vickers, Breanna Cotton, Gwendolyn Fedrik, Verda Gaines, Priscilla Kennedy, Carroll Parrott Blue, and Ellis Johnson from Agape Development and Southeast Houston Transformation Alliance who work tirelessly every day to invite positive change in the students’ lives.

Many thanks to all of you who allowed the Youth Council students to bring their positive vision to life and to all of you who support and encourage us every day: our amazing volunteers, sponsors, family members, facebook friends…

“A Proust Sonata”

“A Proust Sonata” – A sensational event not to be missed

Transporting viewers to the dreamy realm of Proust

Please join us for the world premiere of Sarah Rothenberg’s “A Proust Sonata: 7 tableaux en musique.” This very unique Da Camera of Houston production will be performed this  Thursday, February 11th and Friday, February 12th at 8:00 p.m. at Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center.

Please enjoy an interview with Sarah Rothenberg, the Artistic & Creative Director of Da Camera, in anticipation of her upcoming Marcel Proust Project.

Da Camera - Sarah RothenbergPlease click the photo to watch Sarah Rothenberg’s interview

Visit http://www.dacamera.com/…/sarah_rothenberg__the_marcel_prou… to purchase tickets.

We hope to see you there!

Citizenship Month – November 2015

Citizenship Month – November 2015

 

Join us in celebrating the 6th Annual Citizenship Month during the month of November. This month long celebration of Houston’s civic diversity launches next Thursday, November 5th at the Asia Society. Visit http://citizenshipmonth.org/ for more information. Come to the events, give back, serve others, and help make Houston a better place!

UH-Downtown

In partnership with the University of Houston-Downtown for the Citizenship Month Artist Initiative, we have been teaching origami butterfly workshops at schools and organizations around Houston. This citywide Butterfly Project will result in beautiful art installations at City Hall, the Houston Public Library, the Asia Society, as well as at the participating schools and organizations around Houston.

“From a Space to a Place” at Agape – Mind-mapping

“From a Space to a Place” at Agape – Mind-mapping

 

This week in our “From a Space to a Place” program at Agape Development, the teens began mind-mapping their ideas for positive change in the community. First, they needed to learn the importance of having a clear vision of the future, and, to their surprise, we brought in renowned graffiti artist and muralist, Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau and his film maker friend, Thomas Granovsky. Having seen the “Biggest Mural in Houston” in person, the teens were full of questions for Mr. D. He revealed to them that he had started as a “street kid” in France, with big dreams of going to America to be a graffiti artist. Mr. D, now French-American, has made his dreams come true with Eyeful Art Murals & Designs, but with big dreams comes a lot of planning; if you don’t have a clear path, you can easily get lost.

Planning for the future is important on both a personal and communal level. We asked the teens to think about and answer the question, “How can I make a positive impact in my community?” Through this brainstorming session, they were able to start seeing the individual ideas of their peers while working towards a collective goal. Next week, the students will collaborate to define a clearer vision of how they want to create lasting positive change in their community through an urban outreach project. Stay tuned!

Mr D (2)Mr D 2 (2)

 

The Butterfly Project – Spreading Hope at Harmony

The Butterfly Project – Spreading Hope at Harmony

group3

This October, we taught two origami workshops at the Harmony Schools in Northwest Houston. We visited a high school class at the Harmony School of Advancement first, followed by a middle school class at the Harmony School of Excellence. In many ways, these schools personify the diverse, yet harmonious, population of our city. We asked each class to share their names unnamed2and cultural backgrounds with us. A few of the students were born in other countries, and many were the first of their family born in the United States.

Harmony School of Excellence - middle school (2)This Butterfly Project, a collaboration with Citizenship Month Houston, will result in several butterfly installations around the city, including at City Hall, the Asia Society, and the Houston Public Library. The students that we worked with were very excited to learn that their butterflies would be a part of this citywide movement of hope. Many of them shared what butterflies symbolized to them, including freedom, transformation, beauty, and strength. It is the compassion and acceptance of our youth that will continue to spark change, and spread hope, for a beautifully diverse future.

Opening Doors to the Imagination – Texas Children’s Hospital

Opening Doors to the Imagination – Texas Children’s Hospital

 

tree house“In the tree house, there are magic butterflies that spread love.” -Natalie-Jareli

On Wednesday, October 21st, we had the pleasure of revisiting Texas Children’s Hospital for our second creative workshop of the Mural Project. We set up our tables and then walked around the waiting area, asking any children if they wanted to work on an art project with us. As with our first workshop, we had quite a few unnamed 14 (2)interested youngsters. After asking the children if they had heard the story of Alice in Wonderland, and telling them the story if they hadn’t, we asked them what they would see in their own wonderlands. Carnival rides, talking cookies, ice castles, and more lay beyond some of these magical doors. One door was even guarded by giant mustached pumpkins.

Because we are temporarily holding onto the children’s art pieces as inspiration for the final mural, we wanted to give them something to take home, too. As they finished their work, we asked each of them to choose a special key from our collection. Each magical key, strung onto a necklace, is a reminder to its holder to open the door to his or her imagination. It is an invaluable moment to see the faces of these children light up with joy, realizing that they have a world of endless possibility inside of them, as long as the door of creativity is unlocked.