March 26–June 19, 2016
Opening & market: March 26, 4–7pm
Artists’ walkthrough: March 26, 2:30–4pm
Project Row Houses
2521 Holman St.
Houston, TX 77004
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday noon–5pm
Can art change the world? This question is often asked in moments of frustration and despair for many artists. Yet, art has been at the center of political and social movements for decades. Throughout much of the strife in the 20th Century, artists used the tools of their times as a means of informing and instigating communities while calling attention to injustice. Over the past century, the form of artistic involvement has evolved from the practical to the conceptual, finding new ways to educate and activate the populace, shift the dominant paradigm and challenge existing policy.
Project Row Houses (PRH) is excited to present Round 44, titled Shattering the Concrete: Artists, Activists and Instigators. This Round explores the role that art and artists play in challenging today’s sociopolitical paradigm in order to stimulate change.
Curated by Raquel de Anda and co-organized by Public Art Director Ryan N. Dennis, Round 44 presents site-specific installations and programs by artists active in movements around language and identity, artistic equity, environmental justice, affordable housing, prison reform, and police brutality. “These movements, and the many artists who contribute to their richness,” says de Anda, “have brought renewed focus to the relationships between art and politics, between narrative-shifting and policy and between creating meaning and building power.” Many of the artists in Round 44 will collaborate with Houston-based groups, hoping to inspire conversations and action that extend beyond the Round and the PRH site.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Raquel back to Houston to organize this important Round,” Dennis stated. “Given the current events that are taking place nationally, it would be remiss not to address them. Art and activism is alive and well, and I am happy that PRH is providing a platform to host and engage with what the artists are bringing to the table.”
Participating artists include The Argus Project (Gan Golan, Ligaiya Romero and Julien Terrell), Charge (Jennie Ash and Carrie Schneider), Nuria Montiel & John Pluecker, The Natural History Museum (a project of Not An Alternative), People’s Paper Co-op (Courtney Bowles and Mark Strandquist), Storyline Media (Rachel Falcone and Michael Premo), and Verbobala (Adam Cooper-Terán and Logan Phillips). In conjunction with the Round, a series of public programs will be presented to stimulate dialogue about art and activism as well as the individual movements connected to the installations and foster a connection between the work and the Houston community.
About the Artist Rounds
Artist Rounds are a biannual event, with openings in March and October. Each session lasts approximately four months. During this time period, seven row houses are opened to visiting artists to create installations and display their works. Either individual artists or art collectives are welcome to apply. The artist(s) are given two weeks before and one week after each Round to install and de-install their work. Row houses are open to the public Wednesday–Sunday from noon to 5pm. For more information, visit projectrowhouses.org.
Media contact
Michael McFadden, Communications and Marketing Manager:
[email protected], T 713 526 7662
