labotanica presents
public projects that are often collaborative, participatory,
site-specific, cross-disciplinary, open-ended, and/or forms and content
that are difficult to present anywhere else.
2010
April 9 - May 15, 2010La Lengua Muerta (The
Dead Tongue) was an exhibition of new works which were developed from private conversations
about deciphering how Latin we still are. A
panel of established artists, curators and critics: Elia Arce,
Margarita Cabrera, Aisen Chacin, Delilah Montoya, Ruben Cordova and
Surpik Angelini, participated in dialogue at labotanica, with
emerging artists including: Daniel Adame, Aisen Caro Chacin,
Claudia
Cruz, Sebastian Forray, Jonathan Lopez, Angel Quesada, Cheyanne Ramos,
Stephanie Saint Sanchez, and Alex Soares. At the core of these
dialogues lie the need to move beyond traditional categories of “Latin
American Art” and to frame new definitions, visual languages and
creative practices among these artists in Houston. Based on these conversations emerging artists developed new visual and performance works which were as diverse (in form,
subject, aesthetics, and influences) as being Latin American.
Konk PackApril 3, 2010Presented by Nameless Sound, Co-sponsored by labotanicaTim Hodgkinson(UK)-lap steel guitar, electronics, saxophone, clarinet Thomas Lehn(Germany)-analog synthesizer Roger Turner(UK)-drums, percussionThe
British/German trio Konk Pack handles a gritty, writhing mass of
electroacoustic sound/noise with the rare finesse and skill that one
would expect from veterans of the European improv scene. Puckish and
virtuosic, Konk Pack has created a music that is as detailed as it is
massive. It is potent, thrilling, and completely unpredictable.
February 26 - April 3, 2010
States
of Exchange
was a
participatory exhibition in which artists of all
backgrounds and disciplines proposed and developed new artistic
collaborations. labotanica mediated the process of
collaboration by presenting an evolving
installation at labotanica, in which
participants’ profiles were exhibited for
potential collaborations; and collaborative works were developed in
the
space through conversations, art installations, and performance
rehearsals. Completed works were exhibited or presented in many
forms throughout the duration of the “exhibition”. States of Exchange
addressed the need to provide platforms and opportunities for local
artists to dialogue, create, and present new works in Houston. It fills
the need
for artistic incubation in the community, and frames how these artistic
collaborations, or “states of exchange” activate us individually and as
a community.
January 15 - February 20, 2010
Tropical Depression was
a four-channel audio installation accompanied by mixed-media
collages. The audio piece combined electronics with remixed and
distorted music blended to create a submerged, aquatic,
ambient
environment. The collages were inspired by technical diagrams
illustrating the path of hurricanes cutting across the Caribbean
towards Texas. The intent was to evoke a sense of dread,
foreboding, and doom while still retaining the feel of a "tropical"
paradise. The installation hoped to explore the idea of the tropics
as a state of mind and the way hurricane anxiety ("tropical
depression") affects the mental state of the inhabitants of hurricane
prone areas. This work was inspired by disorientation and
claustrophobia experienced during power outages after Hurricane Ike
(2008) and a house flood during tropical storm Allison (2001).
2009
November 27, 2009 - December 31, 2009
Screwed
Anthologies moved beyond linear time to feature work by
artists who
framed time travel, sampling and appropriating, stopping and freezing
time and slowing paces to create new states of existence. Screwed
Anthologies was a disjointed “exhibition” of videos,
audio
fragments, sound art, and performances that drew inspiration from the
art
of “screwed and chopped” music, also known as Screw music. Based in
Houston, Texas, the home of screw music, Screwed Anthologies
challenged traditional ideas about art, its location, its practice, its
players and its curation.
Art
Swap October 1-3, 2009
Art Swap, was a
participatory exhibition in which artists of all
media exchanged art
with other artists for free. Art
Swap
centered on reciprocity and re-negotiated value and commerce in art
production and presentation. The exhibition examined how art is
presented, which artists are presented, what type of art is presented,
and who has access to own art. Art Swap was an
exhibition in which artists could hang and install their artwork
and walk away with another artists’ work in their collection. Art was
exchanged 1 for 1, irregardless of value, material, or maker.
Low
Lives August 8, 2009
Curated
by Jorge Rojas,
Low
Lives was a one-night exhibition of live performance-based
works transmitted via the internet and projected in real time at three
venues throughout the U.S.– labotanica,
Houston in partnership with
Project Row Houses; FiveMyles, Brooklyn; and Diaspora Vibe Gallery,
Miami. Participating
artists and artist collectives transmitted their performances from
countries including Argentina, Austria, Canada, England, France,
Germany, Macedonia, Mexico, United States, Vietnam and Wales.
Links:
Neverland July 17, 2009
Neverland, was an
art happening in memory of Michael Jackson at El Rincon Social. Featuring live music, video art, visual art, dance,
and performance art, Neverland was a DIY celebration of the
fantastic---- sequined gloves, the moonwalk, bubbles, and
soulfulness. The event featured music
by
Nectarine, DJ Shundrick, amd dance by Sweft Feet Dance Company. Participants could take
pictures at the Michael Jackson photo booth. Neverland was presented by labotanica
and SPAMMO in collaboration with El Rincon Social, Objectif Magazine,
& The Akire Group.
2008
Space
is the Place (July 2008)
Featuring, video,
installation, sound, and performance, Space is the Place
presented new artworks that reside primarily in the memory, as opposed
to more concrete and tangible art forms. The exhibition examined the
move by many artists to locate meaning in ephemerality, and the social
and cultural implications of this act. Highlights
included a live low frequency radio broadcast by Miami collective
Talking Head Transmitters on opening night; new sound art by Odie
Rynell Cash, Elizabeth Ross, Russell Watson site-specific installations
by Miami-based artists Patrick de Castro, Jamilah Abdul-Sabur, Juan
Griego; mixed-media works by D. Denenge Akpem, and Rosamond S. King;
new video by Rosemary Berríos, Bibi Calderaro, Diana-Sofia Estrada,
Fulana , Claudia Joskowicz, Lara Stein Pardo, and Carolina Vasquez; a
film installation by Miami-based artist Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez;
live interactive video feed by New York/ Chicago based artists Inge
Hoonte and Michelle Tupko; and sonic sculptures by Brooklyn-based
artist Jorge Rojas.
Links:
download Space is the Place PDF
catalogue
Polvo
Magazine: TBA (Time-Based Art) Issue (Summer 2008) presented by Polvo in
collaboration with labotanica
The
TBA/ Time-Based Art issue discusses memory, the limits of time,
time-travel, and the role of art that is non-tangible and lives in the
memory.
The Resource Room
The Resource Room is a burgeoning collection of
printed, audio,
and video material on creative and social transformation. The Resource Room
is accessible in person at our Resource Room and via an
online archive, currently in progress. Individuals
will be able to read, watch videos, and
listen to audio material. Programs will be developed out of the Resource Room including workshops, proposals, symposia,
residencies, and educational programs. Themes:
The Resource Room will feature material on
creative and social transformation such as public
art, installation art, land/ environmental arts, 3rd cinema,
experimental
film/ video, experimental music, social sculpture, criticism,
biographies, professional development opportunities, and more.
The IThe I is the window space located within labotanica's Resource Room
that presents an artist's work and an interview on their process. The
I is the convergence between labotanica and the greater community, and
the artist and viewer.
Community-Driven Grants ProgramThe
Grants program offers small support for
creative projects that intersect creativity and social transformation.
Offered twice a year, grants are supported by ten dollar donations from
the public. Grant awards vary depending on total donations contributed
by the deadline. The grants program is developed from a belief that
funding should be accessible and reciprocal. This money is seen as seed
money to develop one time projects or projects that could seek more
funding in the future. Works of all media and genres are considered,
and applicants of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Potential
projects could range from community gardens, murals, research,
activism, writing, interventions, and workshops, among others. Grant
deadlines are twice a year in January and July.
background
image: space is the
place exhibition
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