LITERATURE + LECTURES

Houston’s mayoral candidates will participate in a discussion on land use on Thursday, July 9, 2009, at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 5216 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, TX 77006. Doors will be open to the public starting at 6 p.m., and the 90-minute Mayoral Forum will begin at 7 p.m. The evening will be moderated by conceptual artist and professor Mary Ellen Carroll, who has been conducting research on land use in Houston and other expanding urban centers and recently taught the seminar NOZONE at Rice University’s School of Architecture. This event is free and open to the public.

Carroll will pose five questions to the candidates pertaining to land use in the following areas: Legislation and Policy; Education; Transportation; Quality of Life; and Growth. The inquiries have been conceived by Carroll in collaboration with local experts and the general public, and include a question on education by the noted urban theorist and Harvard Law Professor Gerald Frug. Following the responses, a panel of respondents will then provide comments or raise further questions for the candidates.

The following mayoral candidates have confirmed their participation: Peter Brown, Houston City Councilman; TJ Huntley, local businessman; Gene Locke, Partner, Andrews Kurth, LLP; Roy Morales, Trustee, Harris County Department of Education; and Annise Parker, Houston City Controller.

Confirmed respondents in the Mayoral Forum include Garnet Coleman, Texas State Representative; Jordan Fruge, SVP, Business Development, Standard Renewable Energy; Robin Holzer, Chair, Citizen’s Transportation Coalition; Jenny Hyun, Attorney; Hugh Rice Kelly, Attorney; Janet Kohlhase, University of Houston Professor of Urban Economics; John Mixon, University of Houston Law Alumni Professor; and Reid Wilson, Chair, Urban Land Institute.

This forum will take place in conjunction with the exhibition No Zoning: Artists Engage Houston, organized by CAMH’s Senior Curator Toby Kamps and Curatorial Associate Meredith Goldsmith. The discussion will be held at Carroll’s prototype180:table, which was designed specifically for negotiation and for staging these types of public forums and presentations.

“We’re excited to have the mayoral candidates and respondents participate in this forum on land use, especially within the context of our current exhibition No Zoning. Houston’s landscape has been influenced by its rejection of zoning ordinances. This ‘anything goes’ approach that permeates architecture, function, and economy makes Houston—for better or worse—unique among the most populous United States cities. We’re looking forward to a lively, stimulating, and productive discussion,” says CAMH Director Bill Arning.

About No Zoning: Artists Engage Houston:
Free from the land-use and zoning ordinances that shape other large American cities by separating residential, commercial, and industrial areas, Houston allows a mixed-use approach where disparate architectures and functions blend. In this often chaotic, jarring urban topography, many Houston artists have been able to carve out spaces and opportunities for themselves, their work, and their communities. No Zoning: Artists Engage Houston is the first museum exhibition to consider the current and past efforts of regional artists working in the urban environment, and includes work by 21 artists. On view through October 4 at the CAMH.

About the presenting organizations:
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is an idea and a place shaped by the present moment. The Museum exemplifies the dynamic relationship between contemporary art and contemporary society through its exhibitions, public and educational programs, and publications. The CAMH provides the physical and intellectual framework essential to the presentation, interpretation, and advancement of contemporary art; it is a vibrant forum for artists and all audiences, and for critical, scholarly, and public discourse. www.camh.org

Innovation Territories (it) is a problem solving process and consortium of public/private organizations that frames fundamental questions about how we work and live in order to identify and achieve policy and practical solutions. (it) develops strategies for ambitious propositions through the creation of partnerships between the public and private sectors that result in considered and direct action. Research and program development is currently underway in Sharpstown, Houston, Texas, and downtown Detroit, Michigan. www.innovationterritories.com

Houston. It’s Worth It.SM (HIWI) began as an unsolicited campaign created by the design firm ttweak for the city of Houston in summer 2004. The first phase of the campaign was a website, providing a forum in which Houstonians can voice their enthusiasm and passion for a city that’s often misrepresented and misunderstood by outsiders. In fall 2007, Houston. It’s Worth It. released HIWI: The Book, a selection of photographs of Houston taken by Houstonians. Their next book, HIWI: Ike is scheduled to be released on September 13, 2009, the one year anniversary of Hurricane Ike. www.houstonitsworthit.com

Rice Building Institute is a part of Rice University which has a distinguished track record in establishing and operating interdisciplinary collaborations in teaching and research. The creation of the built environment accounts for 8 percent of the total US GDP and touches every aspect of our economy, both national and local. The modern building process has become so complex that innovative approaches are required to reintegrate what has become a fragmented process. The Rice Building Institute, a university/industry partnership, provides the requisite forum in which this interdisciplinary search for innovation can come to life.
www.ricebuildinginstitute.org 

About the Moderator:
Mary Ellen Carroll conducts ongoing research on land use, and she recently taught the seminar NOZONE at Rice University’s School of Architecture. Carroll has a practice as a designer and conceptual artist in Houston and New York. Her forthcoming monograph is being published by Steidl/Mack and will be available this fall.

Pictured:  George Hixson,  detail Shark Car, 1993, Gelatin silver print, 20 x 24 inches.