Billing itself as an artistic “happening” of visual and performing art, the CounterCurrent festival presented by the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for Arts will overwhelm Houston, in various venues throughout the city, from April 9-13 with projects by international, national and local artists. Focused on themes of language, environmental stewardship, interdisciplinary collaboration and community identity, the festival will host 10-15 performances, installations and experiences throughout the city. “This festival is all about collaboration and will transform Houston into a hotbed of creative activity, says Karen Farber, Executive Director of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts. “It is my hope to create a groundbreaking event in the same genre of the first-class arts festivals around the world, from Europe to Mexico City, New York to Portland.”
The highlighted artists for the festival were just announced:
- Suzanne Bocanegra, Rememberer. This New York-based artist has created a performance/installation consisting of a weaver, accordionist, DJ, conductor, and a local volunteer 50-piece violin orchestra, who will be taught to play only one-hour prior to the performance.
- Jonah Bokaer and Anthony McCall, ECLIPSE. Bokaer, a choreographer and media artist teams up with McCall, the British-born American avant-garde artist specializing in cinema/projected film, to create a multidisciplinary performance that integrates choreography, light, visual design, and an audio-visual time score.
- Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, El Rumor. This Mexico City-based theatre company has concocted a bold documentary play that reignites the political history of their ancestors. The play incorporates witness accounts, archive film and scale models.
The full schedule and venues can be found here.