CineSol Call for Artists and Poets

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Much commotion and talk has stirred among the Brownsville political and arts communities since the passing and the recent cease of the $2 PUB fee passed by the City Commission a few weeks ago. For more information, check out The Herald's report "PUB stops billing new $2 fee" from this past Saturday.

The City Commission will be holding a special meeting this Tuesday, July 31st at 6pm to be held at City Hall (the former Federal Courthouse on Elizabeth street, acorss the Majestic Mall.)
Whatever your opinions or passions about the $2 fee may be, this is an opportunity for your voice to be heard and to become civically enaged in policy that is impacting the local arts community.

Obviously, this proposal is bringing the art community into the public eye and I think that whatever the decision may be on Tuesday, the art community must remember that we are ONE community and that if don't always agree with one another, we should always remain interested in one another and to learn from one another. In the end, isn't our common interest art; our love and passion for art and wanting to share it with others? If we want support from our Brownsville residents, be it in the form of funding from a $2 fee or higher attendance at programs or more benefactors of local artists, then I think it vital that the public view the art community as a strong and active force with a common interest in mind.

So again, I encourage you to attend the special City Commission meeting this Tuesday to let your voice be heard!

BMFA Call for Art

The future of Art

Castorena, perhaps maybe the last true local Chicano artist of our times. The "Mevale" in my opinion, speaks a visual language well known and heartfelt in our community. Perhaps it will someday be said Castorenas art is the voice of our local culture. "Nah", who would believe that you might say, you never know, the history of art is always in the making. I would like to say that I thought the show was indeed a great show. Some of the art pieces seem and should be destine to the permanent collection of the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts. If ever that was considered by the BMFA go ahead and add Eduardos Cheeto Painting which deserves recognition. Not to get of track there...The greatest question for me will then stand will Castorena follow up with a sequel to "Mevale" and remain true to his roots or will he change his style ?
What is the future of Art in Brownsville for that matter ? The continuing of regurgitated art like "Anonymous" states or Mecca of the art scene post 911 ? You wish? You wonder? It can happen....sky is the limit.

July Masterpieces 2007

Everyone is welcome to the reception this Friday, July 20th from 7:00-9:00 PM.
The exhibit will be inside the Paseo Plaza Buliding. 1805 E. Ruben Torres Blvd. in
Brownsville, TX. This show will run from the 20th through the 22 of July. Free Admission
to the public. For more info call (956) 574-0088.

"Mevale"

Mevale, an exhibition of painting, ceramic sculpture and drawing by George Castorena will open in the Richardson Gallery located in the Art Building of the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

Opening Reception: Monday July 23 at 6:30pm

Exhibition continues July 24 through August 9

Gallery Hours: 10:30am to 5pm, Monday through Thursday

Single Admission for all Summer 2007 events: $1.00

George Ruiz Castorena: Mevale

The title of the exhibition, Mevale, evolved from George Castorena ’s interaction with a one of his special education students at Pace High School . He suggested that she employ a particular drawing technique and her response was "Mevale," which mean "whatever I do is what intend to do." Later, she recommended a change to one of George’s color pencil sketch and replied, "Mevale."

George Ruiz Castorena’s art is drawn from his life. He engages memories of the struggles of family and friends from "El Barrio" through his narrative works of art. The artist states:

"I believe the most powerful and profound in aspiration can come from the simplest things in our immediate surroundings. To me, great artists strive to find something extraordinary within the ordinary context of their lives. My images must be powerful enough to grab the viewer’s attention yet make the subtle connections that trigger curiosity about what the artist is doing and why. Once intrigued, they will return repeatedly, attempting to discern the meaning."

The exhibition Mevale features drawings, painting, ceramics and sculpture. Mr. Castorena uses longhorn red clay to create his sculpture. He prefers the interaction of longhorn white with underglaze to achieve the painterly coloristic effects of his tiles. He has recently begun exploring the possibilities of using commercial tile as a base for his work. He says "There are advantages and disadvantages to total glazing. However, I am looking for an outlet that offers self expression."

Of his painting, George Castorena says, "I work spontaneously, using the quick gesture which results in energetic brushwork. Color is an important element in my work, with ambiguous or vague color shaping both figure and space. I am challenging people to think about Chicano art in my paintings or drawings and to decide whether they thought it was right or wrong. It had much to do with raising ethnic consciousness.

My first concern with the relevance of art is the emotional impact that it carries. I wish to reach my audience in a strong and emotional way by the use of color, mood, tone, and subjective composition. My paintings are my statements, by reaching into the past of the Chicano community. The influences and interactions help me give concrete visibility to the Chicano experiences in the southern part of Valley."
George Ruiz Castorena

For further information contact George Castorena at: jrcast05@yahoo.com

Brownsville Awarded White House "Preserve America" Grant

TAOB Note: Pretty Good News! Not only is Brownsville's heritage getting national recognition (from the White House no less), but it is obtaining funding to help preserve our heritage for the education of our community, its visitors and for generations to come!

Brownsville-The City of Brownsville was one of 43 communities across the nation recently recognized in the first round of 2007 Preserve America grants. Brownsville was awarded the grant for a project in collaboration with the Brownsville Historical Association and the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.

The grant awards ceremony took place on Thursday, July 12, 2007 at 9 a.m. in the Cannon Caucus Room in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington D.C. Mrs. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States and Honorary Chair of Preserve America; Rep. Brad Miller (North Carolina), and Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio), co-chairs of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus; Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne; John L. Nau, III, chairman, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation were there to present Brownsville with the grant award. The honorable Mayor Patricio Ahumada received the grant award on behalf of the City of Brownsville. Delina Barrera, Executive Director of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, Gail Bruciak, City of Brownsville MIS Director, and Priscilla Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Brownsville Historical Association were also in attendance.

The City of Brownsville was awarded $132,870 for Brownsville-21 Project: Discovering Brownsville’s Historic Places. This project will develop an interactive web-based description of historical sites in the City of Brownsville using GIS technology, related audiovisual media including CDs and DVDs and brochures and signage. A series of walking and driving historical tours that will be accessible on the internet and placed in informational kiosks in various historic and strategically located buildings in downtown Brownsville will be developed by the Brownsville Historical Association.

The goal of Brownsville-21 is to promote and enhance the heritage of Brownsville while attracting visitors to the region and making Brownsville’s historic sites and information more readily available to the public via technology and in various media. The kiosks will provide up to date information on the building’s history, its architectural significance, as well as the plot location and cause of death of the individuals buried at the Historic City Cemetery. This information will be a valuable historic resource for genealogists, the general public, scholars and tourists to Brownsville. The goal of this project is to merge historic resources with 21st century technology, thereby introducing the study of history to a whole new generation of visitors and public.

The nine sites selected to house the kiosks in the downtown area preserve and interpret local, state and nationally significant aspects of Brownsville history and have the potential to be among the most visited places in the city. “It is our hope that this grant might help launch a new era of commitment to our heritage,” said BHA Executive Director Priscilla Rodriguez.

“We are extremely pleased that the White House has recognized the importance of the historic treasures that are in Brownsville and their potential to attract heritage tourists,” said Charlie Cabler, City Manager. “We look forward to working with the Brownsville Historical Association, and Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation and others as the plan for Brownsville-21 transforms from idea into reality.”

Preserve America is a White House initiative developed in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Department of the Interior, and other federal agencies. Mrs. Bush serves as Honorary Chair. These grants are awarded on a biannual basis, and approved by both the House and Senate.For more information on this project and other projects of the Brownsville Historical Association please call 956-541-5560 or email info@brownsvillehistory.org

IMAGENES: JULY MASTERPIECES

PUB CUSTOMERS TO SUPPORT THE ARTS @ 29K PER MONTH

Anyone out there reading the Brownsville Herald.."Commission approves PUB bill hike by Emma P-Treviño " ?

Check out the comments section....my goodness the squible squable....


TAOB readers, What do you think ? yay or nay...Is this the way to go ?

Art Garage Sale TODAY

Local university students will have an Art Garage sale this Sunday. There will be paintings, ceramics, photography and more on sale.

Starts at 10:00 am
Where?: 3481 Chablis Dr.
Brownsville, Texas

Don't miss out the opportunity to collect work from your
local artists at rock bottom prices!

See you there!

"LET LOCAL ART LIVE AND PROSPER"

MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED THE ART GARAGE SALE AND STENCIL WORKSHOP BY RENE GARZA..THERE WAS NO WAY THE BIT OF RAIN AND HOT SUN WAS GOING TO STOP THE EVENT FROM HAPPENNING. PARTICIPATING ARTIST: RENE G., LUCY Q., TONI H., MIRIAM H., ELIDA , K. OHLINGER, WENDY G., G.T. ..
MANY THANKS FOR BELEIVING IN THE EVENT AND GIVING IT A CHANCE......................."IF ART CAN EXIST IN OUR MIND, SOUL AND HEART, IT CAN EXIST ANYWHERE ELSE".GT