Christie Blizard
Texas Tech University (TTU) in Lubbock is hosting the 2021 Texas Painting Symposium, this year titled Is Texas Painting?, from September 2-4. Built on the concept that painting “has no forum” (like International Sculpture Conference, NCECA, or SGC International, which annually assemble sculptors, ceramists, and printmakers, respectively), the conference will focus on painting in Texas.
Is Texas Painting? programming includes the following: Artist Christie Blizard will deliver a performance; a panel will discuss Houston Painting—Past & Present; Victoria Suescum and Christina Fraiser will present on San Antonio’s West Side storefront painted signage; TTU’s Dr. Kevin Chua will discuss Globalizing Fresh Paint; University of Texas Rio Grande Valley affiliates will present Understanding Painting along the US/Mexico Border; the University of Texas El Paso will present Modest Power: El Paso’s Lessons On Painting; and Keynote speaker Dr. Natilee Harren of the University of Houston School of Art will give notes toward a historiography answering “Who is a Texas Painter?” Other sessions include themes of painting and technology, sustainability and environment, and more. For a full schedule and registration, please click here.
Artists Joey Fauerso, Dana Frankfort, Robert Hodge, Marcelyn McNeil, Daniel Rios-Rodriguez, Carlos Rosales-Silva, and Vincent Valdez will be part of the Landmark Arts exhibition Everyday, curated by Chad Dawkins.
The Texas Painting Symposium has received support in part from a grant from the City of Lubbock, as recommended by Civic Lubbock, Inc. Additional support comes from the Ryla T. & John F. Lott Endowment for Excellence in the Arts, administered through School of Art.
*As cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus continue to spread across the state, Texas Tech University is actively monitoring the situation and updating University guidelines as necessary. TTU School of Art is still planning an in-person Texas Painting Symposium on September 2nd and 4th. As most of the sessions will be held indoors, we will strongly encourage the use of face coverings during all of the proceedings. We will also provide masks and hand sanitizer stations at all the symposium venues. Updates will be provided as soon as we receive them from the University. We believe that we can benefit greatly from an in-person gathering to exchange views on the state of painting today, but we must also strive to assure that everyone’s health is safeguarded.
