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Marfa Dialogues/Houston Full Schedule Announced

21 Mar 2016

pollinators2 Sarah Rara, still from The Pollinators, 2014. Video with sound. 65 minutes
Sound by Luke Fischbeck

Ballroom Marfa, FotoFest International, and the Public Concern Foundation present the fifth Marfa Dialogues as part of the FotoFest 2016 BiennialChanging Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet. Marfa Dialogues/Houston is a three-day symposium that considers the scale of climate change from the perspective of artistic practice, public policy, critical theory, and environmental science. All events are free and open to the public. 
 
Marfa Dialogues was conceived in 2010 by Ballroom Marfa Artistic Director Fairfax Dorn and Hamilton Fish of the Public Concern Foundation with the aim of bringing together artists, scientists, writers, and critical thinkers to consider a range of social issues, from immigration to the environmental crisis. Marfa Dialogues has taken place in Marfa, Texas; New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and now Houston, Texas.
 
The mission of Marfa Dialogues is to discover new perspectives on social issues by examining them through the lens of artistic practice. Marfa Dialogues/Houston brings together participants from diverse fields, continuing the program’s open and creative approach to some of the most pressing issues of our time.
  
THURSDAY, MARCH 24 – Menil Collection
 
7:00 pm 
Introductions by Menil Collection Interim Director Thomas Rhoads & Ballroom Marfa Executive Director Susan Sutton
7:15 pm              
Keynote address by Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.

7:45 pm
Performance by Lucky Dragons
 
 
6:30 – 8:30 pm
“Imaging Futures”
Panel discussion with scientists Dr. Trevor Williams, Dr. William Stefanov and artists Jamey Stillings and MPA. Moderated by FotoFest Executive Director Steven Evans. “Imaging Futures” will coincide with MPA’s solo exhibition, THE INTERVIEW: Red, Red Futureon view at CAMH.
 
SATURDAY, MARCH 26 – Museum of Fine Arts Houston
 
1:00 pm              
“Inundation and Desiccation: On the Edge in America”
Matthew Coolidge and Aurora Tang of the Center for Land Use Interpretation in conversation with Steven Badgett of SIMPARCH.
 
Short video: The Center for Land Use Interpretation, Houston Petrochemical Corridor Landscan, Texas, 2008. HD Video, 14 minutes 12 seconds. Courtesy the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Commissioned by the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston.
 
2:15 pm              
“Metabolic Landscapes”
Conversation between Dr. Geof Rayner, environmental justice advocate Juan Parras, and artists Gina Glover and Dornith Doherty.
 
Short video: Sarah Rara, excerpt from The Pollinators, 2014. Video with sound, excerpt 10 minutes; TRT 65 minutes. Sound by Luke Fischbeck. Courtesy of the artist.
 
4:15 pm
“From Hyperlocal to Hyperobject: Art, Ecology, and OOO”
Professor Timothy Morton in conversation with artist Mandy Barker. Moderated by author Erik Davis.
 
Short video: Rachel Rose, Sitting Feeding Sleeping, 2013. HD Video, 9 minutes and 49 seconds.