Public Trust: The Hidden Agenda
Paul Ramírez Jonas, “His Truth Is Marching On.” Courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
This week brings in a number of impressive arts events, including a unique projection-based film event at The Menil Collection and the opening of Paul Ramírez Jonas’ survey exhibition the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
Wednesday, April 26
Performance — Station Sound Series at The Station Museum of Contemporary Art
Starting at 6:30 pm, The Station Museum of Contemporary Art (1502 Alabama) hosts the third of a series of experimental sound and music performances. For this installment, artists include Abinada Meza, Chin Xaou Ti Won, Illicit Relationship, White Flower, Ak’chamel, and Kathryn Fay Mitchell. You can expect dynamics to run the gamut from electronic, ambient and industrial to avant garde, noise and drone.
Performance — Nameless Sound Presents Amina Claudine Myers: Piano and Voice at Christ Church Cathedral
Amina Claudine Myers.
Starting at 8 pm, Nameless Sound presents the first of two concerts by Amina Claudine Myers at Christ Church Cathedral (1117 Texas), with this performance centered around her piano and vocal works. Myers, who came to prominence in the 1960s, is one of the first-wave artists comprising the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), encompassing what would later become the organization’s motto: “Great Black Music, From Ancient to the Future.” A talented pianist, organist, vocalist and composer, Myers has collaborated with countless greats, including Archie Shepp, Lester Bowie, Charlie Haden and James Blood Ulmer, to name a few. The appearance is her first in Texas since her teenage years spent in the church. Her second performance, focused on her pipe organ works, will take place on Thursday, April 27 at 8 pm. Tickets are $13 for one concert or $20 for both.
Thursday, April 27
Presentation — Masks and Modernité: Dogon Now at The Menil Collection
Starting at 7 pm, The Menil Collection (1533 Sul Ross) will host a presentation by Curator of Collections Paul R. Davis regarding the institution’s exhibition, ReCollecting Dogon. The Dogon peoples of Mali are renowned for crafting surreal, colorful masks worn in dances during agricultural and funerary ceremonies. Davis will present film excerpts of these dances as well as talks with scholars on the visual history of Dogon masks and their contemporary significance.
Friday, April 28
Paul Ramírez Jonas, “The Commons.”
Opening Reception — School of Art Annual Student Exhibition at Blaffer Art Museum
From 6 to 9 pm, the University of Houston School of Art will host the opening reception for their annual student exhibition at Blaffer Art Museum (4173 Elgin). Every spring, this exhibition introduces the UH campus and the city of Houston to the varied work of the School of Art undergraduate seniors and first- and second-year graduate students. The exhibition, which features painting, photography, sculpture, video and graphic design work, will be on view through May 13.
Opening Reception — Paul Ramírez Jonas: Atlas, Plural, Monumental at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
From 6:30 to 9 pm, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (5216 Montrose) hosts the opening reception for Paul Ramírez Jonas’ first survey exhibition, Atlas, Plural, Monumental. The exhibition, which includes sculptures, photographs, videos, drawings, and participatory works made from 1991 to 2024, demonstrates how the artist redefines what public art means in terms of what constitutes the public and what brings them together. The exhibition will be on view in the Brown Foundation Gallery through August 6.
Saturday, April 29
“Public Trust” by Paul Ramírez Jonas at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
From 1 to 5 pm, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston will present “Public Trust,” an interactive artwork by Paul Ramírez Jonas. The piece asks museum visitors to examine the value of a word by declaring a promise, the words of which are recorded in a drawing that is shared with them and posted on a marquee board alongside similar pronouncements made by notable figures from the week’s headline news. Additionally, from 11 am to noon, the artist will also participate in a discussion with curator Dean Daderko about Ramírez Jonas’ exhibition Atlas, Plural, Monumental.
John Slaby, “A House Divided.”
Opening — The First 100 Days: Artists Respond at The Silos on Sawyer
From 6 to 9 pm, The Silos on Sawyer (1502 Sawyer) presents The First 100 Days: Artists Respond, a group exhibition of works responding to President Trump’s first 100 days in office. Although there is no pro-Trump work presented in the exhibition that features more than 30 artists, the theme of the show itself is not “anti-Trump.” Artists present their statements on the current administration through paintings, photographs and more.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer) at The Menil Collection
From 8:30 to 10:30 pm, The Menil Collection and Aurora Picture Show are co-hosting the fourth annual BYOB: Bring Your Own Beamer event at the Menil campus (1533 Sul Ross). The event brings together a new wave of filmmakers and videographers aiming their beamers (projectors) at the museum’s exterior, creating a free-form display composed of an array of media types. Admission is free.
Sunday, April 30
Performance — Threshold: A Site-Specific New Music Work at The Silos on Sawyer
Starting at 7 pm, the Silos on Sawyer hosts Threshold, a site-specific music performance conceived by Misha Penton. Presented within the cavernous silos, the new work features music by Penton, George Heathco and Luke Hubley and aims to explore the concepts that surround our existence within our communities. Admission is free.
