| MAY/JUNE 2010 - Volume 2, Issue 3 |
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CONTENTS:
1. In Honor of Mother and Father
2. Whirl Re-Dedication and ArtWalk Launch
3. CAP Residencies Educate, Entertain Communities
4. Oak Cliff Cultural Center Sneak Preview
5. 2009 Report to the Community
In Honor of Mother and Father
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This season, the Bath House, Latino and South Dallas Cultural Centers feature art exhibitions in honor of mothers and fathers.
 The Bath House Cultural Center (BHCC) presents Todo Sobre mi Madre (All About my Mother) , a collection of mixed media artwork by Dallas artist, MarÃa Teresa GarcÃa Pedroche. In this emotional exhibition, GarcÃa Pedroche drew inspiration from her loving relationship with her late mother, Maria Pedroche GarcÃa, and her mother's passion for nature. GarcÃa Pedroche was most influenced by the final days of her mother's life during hospice care. Here, they revisited memories and spoke about her mother's love of nature and all the beauty that surrounds us. Tending her mother's garden, GarcÃa Pedroche was moved by a bird of paradise with two flowers blooming from one stem and photographed the flowers against the sky. It's these photographs that GarcÃa Pedroche used as inspiration for the series of work in Flora .
GarcÃa Pedroche looked to her mother's wisdom in a proverb she often used, "Cuida tu casa y deja la ajena" (Take care of your home and don't meddle in others'), to create glass soldered houses featured in this exhibition. Fond childhood memories also guided GarcÃa Pedroche through the creation of other pieces, reflecting a life of religion, tradition, family.
At the South Dallas Cultural Center, Henry Howard's exhibition, Like Father Like Son: The Works of Henry Howard Senior and Junior , features artwork by both the Dallas artist and his late father. Well-known in Dallas for his murals, most especially at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Howard Jr. came by his artistic talents in his mid-teens, gradually improved his skills through Skyline High School's art program and continued to study art at community college and Southern Methodist University.
Although both lived in Dallas, Howard Sr. and Jr.'s relationship was distant, mostly due to a divorce w hen Howard Jr. was 10 years old, then his father's passing four years later. Howard remembered his father working on s ketches and paintings at times, and after his father's passing, he hung onto his father's oils, paints and brushes, but it was not until years later that he discovered sketches and paintings created by his father that had been hidden for years.
Throughout his life, Howard has remained connected with his father's spirit through his artwork. In this exhibition, Howard shows examples of his father's early portrait paintings and work that demonstrates how he, as a self-taught artist, grew in his technical ability. One can easily notice the similarities in style and technique between the father and son artists. Others who have influenced Henry Howard and his art work include Arthello Beck, Nathan Jones, Walter Winn, William Johnson and SMU's Roger Winters and Lawrence Scholder.
 At the Latino Cultural Center, Celia Alvarez Muñoz is featured in her one-person exhibition, A.T.M! y P! A Toda Madre y Padre!: Manchas y Marcas (Stains and Marks) . In this exhibition, she goes back to her early love of the mark, using the "mother tool" (pencil) for a series of superb drawings of maternal figures and tattooed arms. In her artist statement, Celia describes this work as meant to go beneath the skin – surface marks that can go deep. She poses the question, "will these marks blur into undecipherable spots, blots, or lines leading towards the marks we make for ourselves and those we leave behind?" Also featured in the exhibition is her seminal work "El LÃmite," two large-scale photo murals that combine the image of a toy train made by her father and text relating to the artist's childhood memories of her father.
Celia's exhibition is this year's installment of the LCC's Maestros Tejanos series, conceived in 2008 to honor Texas Latino visual artists who have blazed a path and opened doors for the next generations. At the Latino Cultural Center, she is "family": her public artwork, Orientaciones , was commissioned specifically for the center through the City's Public Art Program and is an integral component of the building.
Todo Sobre Mi Madre runs through June 5. For more information on this exhibition and other BHCC events, please visit www.bathhousecultural.com
Like Father Like Son: The Works of Henry Howard Senior and Junior runs through July 3. For more information on this and other SDCC events, please visit www.dallasculture.org/SDCulturalCenter.
A.T.M! y P! A Toda Madre y Padre!: Manchas y Marcas (Stains and Marks) runs through August 28; an artist talk is being planned for later this summer. For more information on this and other LCC events, please visit www.dallasculture.org/latinocc .
Whirl Re-Dedication and ArtWalk Launch
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 May was fluttering with excitement for the Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program with the re-dedication of a sculpture in east Dallas and the launching of a partnership program in downtown Dallas.
On May 8, OCA staff, along with The Friends of the Bath House Cultural Center, the Dallas County Master Gardener Association and District 9 City Councilman Sheffie Kadane, gathered at the round-about in front of the Bath House Cultural Center (BHCC) for the dedication ceremony of a new butterfly garden and re-dedication of an OCA public art piece, Whirl .
The bronze sculpture, Whirl , by Austin artist, John Christensen, sits in the middle of the turn-around and was installed in July 2008. The creation of the surrounding garden began in 2005 when Dallas resident, Janet  Smith, while in training to become a master gardener, envisioned a butterfly garden for White Rock Lake. In 2007, Smith and the Master Gardner Association received approval from the Dallas Park and Recreation Department to design and install such a garden at the Bath House. It was at this time that Christensen had been selected to create the public art piece, allowing him to work in partnership with the garden's designer, Carmel Womack, to formulate a way for the artwork and garden to compliment each other. City of Dallas staff later installed a drip irrigation system for easy maintenance and built an accessible ramp into the garden.
"The Bath House is a fitting home for this stunning piece of public art in an earth-friendly, model public garden" boasts Karen Casey, president of Friends of the Bath House. Patrons and guests of the center will certainly agree as they can now enjoy a beautiful sculpture accompanied by the radiant colors of seasonal flowers and fluttering butterflies.
Two weeks later on May 15, with the assistance of some perfect weather from Mother Nature, The Business Council for the Arts, in conjunction with their corporate sponsors and the Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program launched Public ArtWalk Dallas, at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas' Arts District. ArtWalk Dallas, developed and implemented by the Business Council for the Arts 2009-10 Leadership Arts Class, is a program that combines fitness with art appreciation. Walkers can down load the ArtWalk guide at www.publicartwalkdallas.org and begin their journey along the 3.3-mile route that includes 30 pieces of artwork and architecture. OCA public art pieces included in this route are The Dallas Piece by Henry Moore, The Trail Boss, The Cutter, The Vaquero by Robert Summers at Pioneer Plaza and de Musica by Eduardo Chillida, along with several others. The website also includes audio files on each artwork and the ability to calculate how many calories are burned along the walk.
This program accomplishes something quite unique and inventive by promoting a healthy lifestyle through art appreciation, and is another reason why downtown Dallas is a great place to visit and explore.
"Public art is an important component of downtown's walkability," notes Maria Muñoz-Blanco, director of the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. "We invite Dallas families to embark on the ArtWalk on a weekend afternoon and discover the variety and diversity of public art in downtown Dallas."
For more information regarding the OCA Public Art Program, please visit www.dallasculture.org/PublicArt .
CAP Residencies Educate, Entertain Communities
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One of the most vibrant and intimate aspects of OCA's Community Artists Program (CAP) are residency programs, where select artists propose services that are tailored to a specific neighborhood or community, utilize arts education for community development, and have positive and sustainable outcomes. This summer, CAP will offer two unique and educational neighborhood residency programs in Dallas.
The Conversational Quilts Project, led by Alicia Holmes-Busby is bridging generational gaps in one West Dallas neighborhood. A group of seniors has been working on this project with Ms. Holmes-Busby since January 2010, and now, sixteen stud ents have joined the project to interview the group of elders and to assist in documenting stories about their lives. Doing so is not only exposing the students to documentary technology and techniques, but is more importantly creating human bonds between program participants. Ms. Holmes-Busby states, "They (the elders) told of their favorite songs growing up and of their dearest friends whom they've known longer than most of us have been alive. I've found that this experience reaffirmed something vanishing ever so quietly in our neighborhoods; the opportunity for communion and communication between child and elder."
With the information learned and experiences gathered, the students and elders will create a Conversational Quilt. The students will help in creating this "quilt" that binds together the snapshots of life and culture that seem so different and so long ago. The "quilt" will be on exhibit at The Hamptons at Lake West Housing Community at the end of this summer and will include the form of a book, as well as video and audio samples.
Working with some of the same mediums of technology and journalism, Dave Herman of Preservation Link, Inc. will lead middle school students through the Youth Media Leadership Club. Preservation Link has spent a decade providing programs that utilize literacy, art, and technology as tools to address social issues. This year's program, funded by CAP and in collaboration with Project Still I Rise, will continue in this great vein. Project Still I Rise is a youth development agency headed by Executive Director Kevin Mondy, with a deep commitment to serving at risk youth and families.  Based out of Eban Village in South Dallas, Project Still I Rise will bring a group of boys to work for eight weeks with Preservation Link's program. The Youth Media Leadership Club focuses on developing leadership skills, team work, and self esteem. The students explore paths to success by interviewing community leaders and documenting their stories of building a career. The students will build three-minute videos of the elders that they interview. The students are also challenged with the task of how to archive and share this information with their peers, in an effort to inspire future career options for each other. Preservation Link founder Dave Herman states, "I feel as though the important aspect of this summer, working with middle school students in particular, is that these students will have learned to create media. What I'm talking about is from an idea; what it sounds like, looks like, and what it means, and being able to share that work with their peers throughout the year." As an added incentive, students will receive continuing education credits at El Centro College.
The Conversational Quilts Project and Youth Media Leadership Club are just two examples of how CAP exemplifies the attributes of artists building community. In 2010, CAP will fulfill its mission of providing the citizens of Dallas with cultural performances, workshops and residencies by conducting over one hundred of these cultural events in all 12 City Council Districts and reaching tens of thousand of citizens of all ages. The City of Dallas is distinctive in the nation for programs such as the Community Artists Program supplying arts education funding directly to local artists who teach and perform in their own neighborhoods. This type of leadership and service promotes constructive community development through the joy and sustainability of arts and cultural projects.
For more information on CAP events and programs, please visit www.dallasculture.com/CAP.
Oak Cliff Cultural Center Sneak Preview
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In October 2009, our OCAffairs issue included an article regarding the closing of the cherished Ice Hose Cultural Center in Oak Cliff and the beginning of renovations at an old furniture storefront on Jefferson Boulevard, into what will be the new Oak Cliff Cultural Center (OCCC). This May, the City of Dallas issued the certificate of occupancy and handed over the keys to the Office of Cultural Affairs, officially completing construction of a new home for arts and culture in the Oak Cliff community.
 The completion of construction came just in time for the Oak Cliff Cultural Center to host a Thriving Minds summer camp throughout June. The center will come alive Monday through Friday for four weeks, as 26 students, grades 1-3, will use the visual and performing arts to explore both their cultural and community heritage. Additionally, a group of 8 teens from Trinity River Mission will work with artist Sal Barron, on a community mural project.
Adjacent to the historic Texas Theater, facing Jefferson Boulevard, in the heart of Oak Cliff, the location of the center is ideal for showcasing the art and culture in this vibrant neighborhood. The 5,000 square foot facility is divided into two main programming areas; one to serve as a gallery and meeting space, and the other to serve as a dance rehearsal studio able to host performances. Equipped with a kitchenette and dressing areas, the center boasts a generous area for OCA staff that may also serve as incubator offices for arts groups.
The OCCC will serve as the center for cultural activities and celebrations in the heart of Oak Cliff. "We are thrilled with our new space in Oak Cliff, in the midst of the vibrant commercial district of Jefferson Boulevard," notes Maria Muñoz-Blanco, director of the Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. "The Oak Cliff Cultural Center will serve as a family-oriented arts venue, bringing a variety of dance classes, arts workshops and exhibitions that showcase the diversity and creativity of Oak Cliff."
The grand opening of the OCCC is planned for later this summer. Look forward to reading more news about the exciting programs, exhibitions and events planned at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center in future issues of OCAffairs.
2009 Report to the Community
 Fiscal year 2008-2009 marked the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and its advisory group, the Cultural Affairs Commission, by Dallas City Council. In honor of this milestone OCA is pleased to issue its 2009 Report to the Community. The report highlights the many varied accomplishments, and related impact, the City's support for the arts and culture made - and continues to make - possible.
Read and download the full report at www.dallasculture.org/annualReports.asp.
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