State Of The Arts

Singer, actress and community leader Laura Tate is adding another title to her resume — philanthropist.  Laura will headline a benefit concert for the new arts fund that bears her name at 8pm Saturday, June 2 in the McKelligon Canyon Amphitheater. Laura will be backed by her LA Band, and will perform a wide-ranging repertoire that spans Broadway hits, pop standards, blues, rock and country.

Carlos Corral is creating more opportunities to showcase films made in the borderland and filmmakers from the borderland.  He’s created the El Paso Film Festival, a new festival that hopes to bring the best from the El Paso area to the big screen, while also showcasing emerging indie filmmakers from around the country, and perhaps the world. 

The Las Cruces UkeFest is hosted by the Las Cruces Ukes, a non-profit community group of ukulele enthusiasts in southern New Mexico. Last year they held their first full-scale festival to rave reviews and a sold-out venue!

For 2018, they’ve arranged for a larger theatre to fit all the ukulele lovers they expect to host. Here to tell us all about it are Cheryl Fallstead and Bob Hull.

Life in West Texas has inspired El Pasoan Jason Brewer to open Jackrabbit Trading where he creates hand crafted furniture and goods.

While he came to discover his talent for carpentry in a round about way, his Terlingua Chair has become a best seller. Here to talk Jackrabbit Trading is Jason Brewer.

The Great American Trio is made up of Celeste Shearer on French horn, Jim Shearer on tuba and Dena Kay Jones on piano. They will perform a concert featuring the music of composer James Grant at the UTEP Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall, Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 7:30 pm.

The concert will also feature the world premiere of “Two Lovers Dream” by Memphis composer Tom Clary. Here to tell us all about it is pianist Dena Kay Jones and tube player Jim Shearer. 

Los Silver are one of the most important groups to come out of Ciudad Juarez and they are playing a special Mother’s Day Concert at Café Mayapan on Thursday, May 10, 2018. You're invited to reserve your seats to celebrate mom with the legendary group.

Here to tell us all about it are Carolina Franco, Valerie Rivas and Cemeli De Aztlan. 

The El Paso Museum of Art will unveil the newly renovated galleries of the Samuel H. Kress Collection of European Art on Friday, May 11, 2018. This is the first time that the Kress Collection has been comprehensively reinterpreted and reinstalled since the Museum moved to its current downtown location in 1998. 

On Saturday May 5, the El Paso Opera presents Mozart by Moonlight!

You're invited to experience the magical music of Mozart under the moon and stars and enjoy highlights of Mozart Operas sung by the opera’s quartet. Mozart by Moonlight will also feature a 30 piece orchestra under the direction of Bohuslav Rattay, musical director for El Paso Symphony Orchestra. 

The El Paso Choral Society presents one of the most popular musical works of our time: Carmina Burana by Carl Orff on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at 7:30pm at the Abraham Chavez Theatre.

This passionate and thrilling music will be performed by the 100-voice El Paso Chorale and it’s orchestra including the professional orchestra of Juarez along with several soloists.  Prentice Loftin previews the program.

Ladies, Wine and Design is a salon night held monthly for creative and professional ladies. They wine, dine, and have casual conversations on a wide variety of topics relating to creativity, business, and life. These monthly gatherings are open to female creatives and professionals in any field.

This month’s event is called “Curating our Border” featuring an exchange of experiences working with the border community focusing on leadership, empowerment and how the border is portrayed. The event will be held at Montecillo at Nuhda on Friday April 27 and it begins at 6pm.

Author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña have come together to collaborate on the book Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide, from Getty Publications.

The book is “an evocative and poetic graphic biography about renowned Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide and her adventures around the world.” 

Metamorphosis: Trash to Treasure II is an exhibit of recycled art created by El Pasoans of all ages and backgrounds. It will be on display at the El Paso Museum of Art from April 21 to May 13, 2018 with a reception on Saturday, April 21 at 2pm. Here to tell us all about it are Kevin Burns and Candie Printz.

Animals make art, too! Alongside the El Paso Museum of Art's newest exhibition, Ethics Excess Extinction, view works painted by orangutans, seals, elephants, and tigers in collaboration with the El Paso Zoo’s Animal Enrichment Program.   Families are invited to tour the exhibition and drop in anytime for art-making activities in the museum's studio classrooms.  

The 2018 Nuevo Siglo Drama Festival takes place April 7 - 14, 2018. This year will feature performances by theater companies from Mexico, Cuba, Spain and El Paso. Tickets are free and will be distributed at the door on a first-come first-served basis beginning at 6 pm on the day of each performance. All performances begin at 7 pm. 

The El Paso Museum of Art is currently showing Papel Chicano Dos: Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin.  In celebration of this exhibition, State of the Arts recently held a roundtable discussion with Cheech Marin and several community members at the El Paso Museum of Art.

The Porous Borders Symposium, will take place March 29 – April 1, 2018 in El Paso and Juarez. This  gathering brings together prominent scholars and architects to the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss a timely topic. 

A solitary 60-foot flagpole hoisting a large-scale white, cotton flag can now be seen on the El Paso–Juárez horizon. Embroidered on either side of the flag is the illustration of a “Mexican” golden eagle and an “American” bald eagle, each emblematic of their respective nation’s patriotism.

 This site-specific artwork, created by Texas-based artist and Black Cube Fellow Adriana Corral, stands as counter-monument for the Rio Vista Farm, a facility most notably recognized as a key processing center for the Bracero Program. 

Senior Curator at the El Paso Museum of Art, Dr. Patrick Shaw Cable discusses a current exhibition titled Ethics Excess Extinction, in which contemporary art explores the reality of endangered animals.

While visiting her home in El Paso from her second home in Paris, France, international award-winning artist, Ann James Massey discusses the completion of her latest masterpiece, The Blessing of the Animals.

Long-brewing rancor between authors Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy bubbled over when McCarthy called Hellman a liar on The Dick Cavett Show. “Every word (she) writes is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the,’” McCarthy claimed. Hellman sued. The nasty literary feud is the inspiration for Hellman v. McCarthy, the next presentation in the El Paso Community Foundation Jewel Box Series at the Philanthropy Theatre. 

Photographer, Richard Baron previews The Empire of Texas – the first museum showing of 39 black and white images opening at the El Paso Museum of Art in March. 

EPCC Theatre Ensemble presents The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. The production is directed by Ted Karber Jr. and runs from March 2nd through 11, 2018 at the EPCC Forum Theatre at the Transmountain Campus. Here to tell us about it is Director, Ted Karber Jr.

El Paso Mission Trail Association presents Danzas Espanolas, a night of Flamenco music and dance, Zarzuela Arias, poetry and sangria.  The performance takes place at 4pm today, February 24, 2018 at La Cueva Theater at 10180 Socorro road.  Director of Danzas Espanolas, Nina Gomez, details the performance.

Artist Humberto Hernandez known as DECK has tirelessly been working on a unique and distinct style for years.  For his first solo exhibition at Dream Chasers Club, titled DEConstruction, he chose to focus on abstract pieces.

DECstruction is a project created to show the correlation between color, shapes and lines. 

Artist Diego Martinez, best known for his “Robot” paintings, was born and raised on the El Paso/Juarez border.  His work features bright colors and is based on random thoughts and emotions that he’s feeling, or metaphors depicting a personal experience or tribulation he’s gone through.

Oscar Macchioni is a piano professor in UTEP’s Department of Music. He’s also a part of a trio called Piazolla da Camera who will be performing on February 17 at the Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall to promote their self-titled CD. 

Tino Ortega is an El Paso artists that combines elements of street and fine art to create colorful works of art. It could be said that the self taught artist creates a series of smaller paintings to make up a large image.