VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Houston is a remarkably diverse city — and in no domain of city life is that diversity more apparent than in its faith communities. Both the long-lived communities of Houston, as well as more recent immigrants to the city, have sought membership in churches, mosques, temples, and the like that represent their religious traditions but also aspects of their cultural, national or ethnic identity.

The photographic exhibition: Seeing the Unseen: The Folk Arts of Houston’s Faith Communities begins the massive process of exploring these communities and their artistic traditions. Through photographic documentation of distinctive sacred spaces, important ritual events and diverse religious communities, Seeing the Unseen shares aspects of the visible and artful manifestations of religious life in the Houston metropolitan area.

From architecture to ritual, procession to celebration, attire to handcrafted objects and other forms of visual culture, Seeing the Unseen provides not only a vantage on the folk arts of faith, but the role they play and the relationship they have to each other in complex festive and religious events. The exhibition opens Thursday March 31, 2011 and continues until June 30, 2011.

Part of Seeing the Unseen will be a four-part lecture series held on various Wednesday nights at 6:00pm in the gallery and featuring noted speakers on topics central to the exhibition’s themes.

These include:
*Altars and Offerings: The Art of Religious Devotion  by Dr. Kay Turner, Brooklyn Arts Council
*Putting Beauty to Work: Thinking about the ‘Look’ of Religious Experience by Dr. Anthony Pinn, Rice University
*Sacred Sounds: Communing with the Divine in Islam by Dr. Ali Asani, Harvard University
*Houston's Religious Mosaic: Religion in Immigrant Communities by Dr. Rose Helen Ebaugh, University of Houston

Seeing the Unseen will be celebrated with an opening reception on Wednesday April 20, 2011 at 7:00p, immediately after the lecture by Dr. Anthony Pinn of Rice University at 6 pm.

Photographers represented by images in the exhibition are Debra Ham, Ananta Patel, Tracey Rubio and Regina Vigil. All documentation was conducted in 2010-2011.

Seeing the Unseen: the Folk Arts of Houston’s Faith Communities is part of Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites, a major project of the Folklife & Traditional Arts program of the Houston Arts Alliance. It involves concerts, onsite presentations of diverse artistic traditions by several faith communities, educational workshops, lectures, and a photo exhibition. At its core, Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites addresses religious and cultural tradition as central to community identity, history and heritage, as such, a truly significant way to introduce Houstonians to their many neighbors.

The exhibition, lectures and reception are free and open to the general public.

Visit Houstonartsalliance.com for more information on upcoming Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites programs.

The Houston Arts Alliance is the official local arts agency for the city of Houston, providing funding, technical assistance and leadership to non-profit arts organizations region-wide. Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites is part of HAA’s new Folklife and Traditional Arts Program, the only one of its kind in the state of Texas. Sacred Songs, Sacred Sites programs are funded in part by the Houston Endowment, Inc., the National Endowment for the Arts, Sara and Bill Morgan, His Highness The Aga Khan Council for the USA and Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston.

Pictured:

BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir
Nun in procession at the Vietnam Buddhist Center (pictured above)
Matachine dancer in traditional wear

All photos by Debra Ham, 2010.