Society for the Performing Arts Presents Houston Artist Commissioning Project LIVE: Part Two

Society for the Performing Arts presents Houston Artist Commissioning Project LIVE: Part Two, on November 12th - 13th at Jones Hall.

These performances feature new works by local Houston artists, including South Asian music, Saint Kabir's Poems in Qawwali by Riyaaz Qawwali, the latest from Harrison Guy entitled the Colored Carnegie, and a new one act play, The World's Intermission by former poet laureate of Houston, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton. All works are World Premieres commissioned by SPA.

Performances begin at 7:30 pm and will run for approximately 75 minutes. Tickets are $25 and seating is both general admission and socially distanced. Masks will be required. Tickets and more information at spahouston.org.

Launched in 2020, the Houston Artist Commissioning Project (HACP) promotes and sustains Houston's working artists and artist communities by supporting the creation of new works across all performing arts disciplines.

Meg Booth, SPA's CEO, shares, "The Houston art scene is as diverse as the city itself. We aim to highlight the talents of underrepresented local artists with the Houston Artist Commissioning Project, expanding their influence and the perspectives of our patrons," said SPA CEO Meg Booth. "SPA's Houston Artist Commissioning Project will continue annually, featuring talented Houstonians, celebrating our city and its creative possibilities."

Kabir Das was a prolific poet of the Bhakti Tradition from South Asia, loved by the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities. This is true even today, evidenced by the fact that his poetry is sung in Hindu Bhajans, Sikh Shabads and Sufi songs. The new work, Saint Kabir's Poems in Qawwali features Saint Kabir's poetry performed in a newly composed qawwali by the ensemble Riyaaz Qawwali. The selected lyrics will tease out interfaith themes and the need for introspection for a worshiper.

The last several years have divided the South Asian immigrants settled in the Greater Houston area. The tumultuous political rifts that have transpired in South Asia impacted the communities here. Taking inspiration from the region's pluralistic heritage and the poetry of Saint Kabir, Riyaaz Qawwali looks to celebrate what each of these different communities has in common. The musicians' hope with the commissioning is to activate art to facilitate healing. Perhaps the music and the subsequent community dialogue can act as a balm for the wounds of the past, allowing us to build afresh for a better tomorrow.

Guy Harrison is both creator and director of the Colored Carnegie, a dance theater work that showcases and explores Houston's rich African American history. The story began in 1907, when Houston's Public Library denied service to a group of African American teachers. In response, they decided to advocate for their own library. It opened in 1913 in Houston's Fourth Ward and was one of the first public libraries for African Americans west of the Mississippi River. It was also one of twelve segregated public libraries originally funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie between 1908 and 1924.

Through her company A Deep Ink Production, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton explores the upheaval and challenges of the past 19 months with The World's Intermission. As the world shutters under the weight of a global pandemic, members of one family find themselves considering the looming and lingering dangers they encounter in quarantine. While the greatest threat to some may be the virus, this 25-minute, one-act play which blends poetry, projections and storytelling elements, considers how fragile mental health conditions, rising racial tensions and the coming Texas Spring serve as the perfect storm for imagining a new beginning.

(All works approximately 25 min in length.)

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