Charge!!! Houston Area Artists Learn How to Take Charge and Charge!

The Art League Houston (ALH) has been doing a good job of promoting its upcoming two-day seminar “charge: practicum” to take place on November 8 and 9. In fact, it is already threatening that it’s almost full (register now here!). The event includes lectures, workshops, and panel discussions on the economics of being an artist (practically, socially, and politically).

While the title “charge” may imply electric energy, a call to battle, or a plea to artists to ask for proper compensation, there will also be a charge of $10 to participate. But the fees go towards a “charge grant.” All participants will be invited to submit written project proposals online by January 4, 2015. The grantee (winner take all) will be selected through online voting by participants.

For cynics turned off by the term “practicum,” the use of lower case letters, or the overall off-putting academic language (we just discovered the term “hackademic” on another website this morning)—have no fear! The list of discussion topics and presenters sounds pretty interesting (see below); the whole thing starts with laughing yoga (doofy, but highly recommended!) led by Houston artist Tony Day; and there’s a rocking dance party on Saturday night.

Presenters: Michelle Barnes (The Community Artists’ Collective, Houston), Nestor Topchy (TemplO/Zocalo, Houston), Beth Secor (The Effemera Museum, Houston), Lauren van Haaften-Schick (Non-Participation, New York) and Helena Keeffe (Standard Deviation, San Francisco), Gabriel Martinez (Alabama Song, Houston), Dawn Weleski (Conflict Kitchen/City Council Wrestling/Bus Stop Opera, Pittsburgh), Zach Moser (Shrimp Boat Projects/Workshop Houston/The Big Parade, Houston), Aay Preston-Myint (Chances Dances, Chicago), Robert Pruitt and M’kina Tapscott (H.O.S.T – Houston), Lise Soskolne (W.A.G.E., New York), Alison Gerber (Yale), and Ayanna Jolivet McCloud (artist/writer, Houston).