Diverseworks Presents Before (During) After 8/29

August 29 marks the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Join DiverseWorks as we kick off the 2010-2011 season with several events in September and October that commemorate this historical event.

Before (During) After: Louisiana Photographers Respond to Katrina
& Under-Standing Water
September 10-October 23, 1010
Opening Reception: Friday, September 10, 6-9pm
Co-presented by DiverseWorks with Louisiana State Museum

Before (During) After and the accompanying Under-Standing Water provide a visual narrative of how one of the U.S.'s largest manmade natural disasters transformed the lives of artists from Southeast Louisiana. Before (During) After specifically explores the changes in subject matter, media and technique from the work created before the storm to after in an effort to investigate how shared experience is individually captured, filtered and re-conveyed.

Photographers participating in Before (During) After include Eric Julian, Elizabeth Kleinveld, Rowan Metzner, David Rae Morris, Thomas Neff, Samuel Portera, Frank Relle, Jennifer Shaw, Mark J. Sindler, Zack Smith, Jonathan Traviesa, and Lori Waselchuk. Under-Standing Water features sculptural installations by Rondell Crier, Jana Napoli and Rontherin Ratliff with a monumental photographic work by Jan Gilbert, Debra Howell, and Krista Jurisich. The works connect viewers to the perceptions, experiences, and memories of six artists whose lives were impacted by the storm.

Special Thanks to our sponsors:
Saint Arnold Brewing Company and Whole Foods

Symposium for Before (During) After & Under-Standing Water
September 11, 2010, 1-4pm
Join DiverseWorks for a symposium to discuss the impact of Hurricane Katrina on some of the artists from Before (During) After along with scholars: Director/photographer Elizabeth Kleinveld; Art historian/curator Tony Lewis, Folklorist/oral historian Carl Lindahl, and artist Jan Gilbert. The panel will be moderated by visual sociologist Tracy Xavia Karner and a question & answer session with selected photographers and installation artists will conclude the Symposium.

*Please note, the wonderful folks at Schipul will be hosting a webcast of the symposium for those of you who can't make it to the event. Stay tuned for details!

flickerlounge: A Loud Color & Still Standing
September 10-October 23, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, September 10, 6-9pm
Co-presented by Aurora Picture Show
Flickerlounge begins the season with 2 short films that follow New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina.

A Loud Color by Brent Joseph follows Louis Harding as he rebuilds the community center he opened just one month before Hurricane Katrina hit and destroyed his work. Despite the setback, 72-year-old Harding refuses to give up on his mission to combat poverty in New Orleans. He discusses the importance of history, heroes and self-esteem in the black community and explains why making his dream a reality is more important now than ever before.

Still Standing is an intimate portrayal of the challenges faced by Hurricane Katrina survivors six months after the storm. Ms. Gertrude, a determined New Orleans homeowner and grandmother, travels regularly from temporary housing in Houston, TX to what remains of her home. Caught in the midst of a real-estate frenzy without insurance money or federal assistance, Ms. Gertrude fights for the right to rebuild. Her story reveals familiar issues in urban American communities: the neglect of poor and minority neighborhoods, the inadequacy of public assistance to provide long-term solutions, and the struggles necessary to make positive change. Produced by The Educational Video Center's Youth Organizers Television (YO-TV).

For more information on Aurora Picture Show

Universes: Ameriville
September 30-October 2, 2010, 7:30pm
Ameriville follows in the groundbreaking footsteps of Universes' Slanguage, which the New York Times called "a work of heart and soul that distills the essence of the city." Inspired by the panic induced by the 1939 Orson Welles War of the Worlds radio broadcast, Ameriville maneuvers through contemporary issues including censorship, patriotism, the Katrina disaster, and the narrowing divide between church and state to expose "a disrobed Lady Liberty as she lies in the arms of mass media and technology, no longer sure of her own beliefs."

For more information, call 713-223-8346.

From our Friends at Foundation for Modern Music...

Electic Cabaret
Friday, August 27, 2010, 8pm
First Unitarian Church
Foundation for Modern Music invites you to the first night of the Life After Katrina celebration: Eclectic Cabaret! Presenting musical gems from contrasting eras, this fundraising concert includes artists participation from Divas World Productions, Greenbriar Consortium, Society of Musical Artists (SOMA) and FLAMART (Featuring Latin American Music and Arts), a mosaic of melding cultures and a vivid reflection of our beloved sister city of New Orleans. From Gershwin to Lecuona to Broadway to jazz standards to Ravel, great music for a great cause: raising money for arts educational outreach programs. Proceeds of the events will benefit NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) and FMM's Instruments in Schools Program

The Katrina Ballads
Saturday, August 28, 2010, 8pm
The Hobby Center for Performing Arts
Zilkha Hall
The Katrina Ballads is a powerful new piece of music by TEd Hearne, performed by 5 singers and an ensemble of 11 musicians, drawn entirely from primary source-texts from the week following Hurricane Katrina; Katrina Ballads creates a vivid look into one of America's darkest hours. Like American music and New Orleans itself, Katrina Balladsis an omnivorous and multi-stylistic work. It is rhythmic and dramatic music, with an edgy post-minimalist drive and a deep jazz influence. This new production features the work of renowned filmmaker Bill Morrison. Katrina Ballads is a riveting full-body experience, challenging us to remember that devastating and telling week in September 2005, and calling us to reflect upon our own history. Katrina Balladswas performed by the New York City Opera as part of their VOX: Showcasing American Opera Series. Too, it was the winner of the 2009 Gaudeamus International Festival Award and was performed in Amsterdam as one of the competing works in September 2009.