RESURRECTION OF THE UNHOLY STAR
Jennifer Free. Photo by Hilary Scullane.
This Saturday, performance art, visual art and music collide at the Resurrection of the Unholy Star, a festival in celebration of all things dark and magical.
Taking place from 7 pm to midnight at The Houston Foundry, proceeds from the event go towards funding Lone Star Explosion, Houston’s international performance art festival, which is currently getting getting ready for its third biennial festival.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of the city’s performance art events — including the resurgence of Performance Art Night at Notsuoh, led by Lone Star Explosion co-director Julia Claire Wallace — or have never witnessed performance art before in your life, the event promises to be exciting and enlightening for all.
“I feel like it’s really important to showcase performance art because it is rarely shown in Houston’s traditional art spaces,” says Evan McCarley, the event’s co-organizer — along with Wallace — as well as the assistant director for Lone Star Explosion. “It can be really off-putting to people because performance art makes you face what’s going on with other people’s ideas and the concepts they’re working through. You’re there with them and it’s shocking and it can be unpredictable. I see the beauty in that.”
Featured performance artists include Bastard Mysticism, Papier Blanc, Jeremiah Carroll, Unna Bettie, Andrew DiMatteo, Jennifer Free, Brittani Broussard, Jonatan Lopez, Emanuel Arámbula, Jana Whatley and Stoo Gogo.
“I think doing things like putting on this fundraiser and making festivals like this happen is really important to this community, especially because I feel like performance art in Houston has ebbed and flowed but I think that right now is a big time for it,” McCarley adds.
In addition to performances by a dozen artists, the event features a demonstration of shibari — an artistic form of Japanese rope bondage — by ShatteredPulse, as well as DJ sets from the likes of Pfaff, Floods (a new collaboration between Birdmagic and android genius), Slacktivist, America_Online and Dad’s Records.
Since the venue features indoor and outdoor spaces, performance art and DJ sets will happen simultaneously, adding to the festival dynamic.
Additionally, Maria-Elisa Heg is responsible for curating the visual art component, which includes works by artists such as Sarah Welch, Jessica Griffin, Vincent Fink, Rene Cruz and Katie Mulholland.
The event features a cash bar and general admission is $10, although dressing on-theme — which can loosely be described as “dark and occult” — will reduce admission to $5. If you really want to go all out, showing up nude (“skyclad,” as it were) will get you in for free.
Resurrection of the Unholy Star takes place on Saturday from 7 pm to midnight at the Houston Foundry (1712 Burnett).
