Join us as we honor 2011 TIF Grantees

It's finally here! The Idea Fund reception honoring the latest recipients will be held this Wednesday at The Eldorado Ballroom (2310 Elgin St., 77004) from 6:30-8:30p.m. There will be complimentary food and drinks provided by Cabo and Real Ale Brewing Co.

So come by Wednesday night to meet the newest grantees and enjoy free appetizers and beer!

--Tracey

Industry Night

Tomorrow night kicks off the first ever Industry Night at DiverseWorks!

Dear Art Community and for those people who love all things arty. This night is just for you. We are inviting artists from all disciplines and those who work in the arts to stop by and enjoy a tasty drink at our happy hour from 6-8pm. Bring your business card and receive exclusive drink specials for one night only (or at least until our next Happy Hour on May 17). Plus, if you are a DiverseWorks member you can enjoy those perks too!

The idea behind Industry Night...
The idea came about as a way to show our appreciation for the arts community in Houston. We live in a spectacular city full of arts and culture and what better way to give back then to host a happy hour just for you! Our hope is that it will be a chance for artists/ art groups to meet one another, an opportunity to plant the seeds for potential collaborations, and a chance to catch up with old friends.

The Extras...
Plus, our good friend Graham Gaskill will be DJing, Oh My! Pocket Pies! Food Truck will be here and Saint Arnold Brewing Company & Whole Foods are supplying the drinks!

Thanks to CultureMap and KUHF (88.7FM) for their support.

-Shawna

Thomas Kinkade: A Primer

It is estimated that one in twenty American homes contains a product adorned with an image by Thomas Kinkade. If that’s true then Kinkade, the self-professed Painter of Light, is onto something. No matter what you think about the work, there are LOTS and LOTS of people who gravitate towards Kinkade’s highly romanticized, gauzy depictions of serene landscapes, country churches, quaint cottages, and NASCAR tracks and they've collectively spent more than 4 billion dollars scooping up Kinkade merchandise over the past two decades. It’s often said that taste in art is subjective. But this isn’t really about art. It’s about commerce. Kinkade operates completely outside of the arts ecology--eschewing galleries for franchised storefronts in malls, replacing retrospective exhibitions with programs on QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Such is the nature of Kinkade’s thoroughly modern marriage of creation and consumption.

DiverseWorks takes a look at this phenomenon with the help of Houston-based artist Patricia Hernandez. Parody of Light, which runs from January 14-February 26^th in the main gallery, dissects Kinkade’s corporate empire using humor and wit with a heaping helping of irreverence thrown in. Mimicking the display techniques used in Kinkade's "Signature Galleries" and recreating the suburban home environment of an imagined Kinkade collector, Hernandez sheds light on the strategies, methods and savvy use of marketing and mechanization that have propelled Kinkade to billionaire status and earned him the mantle of "America's most collected living artist."

-Diane Barber