November 11, 2020
reader,
If you're new here, well howdy! Welcome to my weekly blog about Houston arts and culture, plus whatever else I wish to share from my brain. Scroll to the very bottom for more about it.
I'm having a blast doing two weekly Facebook Live chats on my Facebook page: MONDAY MEDITATION CHATS at 10am (the latest one is here) and WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE arts & culture chats at 9pm (the latest one is here). Tune in!
As you read, please note that all the words in purple are linked to websites.
WHAT'S ON MY MIND THIS WEEK? This is an arts and culture blog, however, I would be remiss if I didn't remark on the election last week. We now have a new President- and Vice President-Elect, and the very first woman -- a bi-racial woman! -- who will lead us starting in 2021. It's a brand new world, and I feel so optimistic for the arts as we move forward with an administration that prizes diversity. Diverse voices are so important for any institution to thrive, whether it's cultural or political or anything else. Diversity breeds growth and curiosity, and that's good for all of us!
It's also a difficult time in our country, as there is so much division and animosity. Perhaps people you know or love voted a different way than you did. It might be a good idea to reach out to them -- not to talk politics, but just to connect. How about sharing an artistic moment? This is why I love the arts: they bring us together, and they heal us too.
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LET'S CONNECT! If you are wondering wassup with me, my offerings are below. If you'd like to keep up with all my doings, please click here to get a sorta monthly newsletter from me full of info about my events and more, including my IGNITE YOUR LIFE! art project. Be sure to follow my Facebook pages too -- Gish Picks Kids and Gish Picks Adults. I'm always throwing words and pictures around somewhere!
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⬆️CLICK ON IMAGE TO ACCESS WEBSITE⬆️
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My ⭐️ARTS PICKS Spotlight⭐️ this week is the Houston Cinema Arts Festival/HCAF, which runs from November 12 through November 22 and is centered around a virtual platform but will also feature interactive live stream events and drive-in screenings at venues around Houston (you know I love those drive-ins!). HCAF 2020 celebrates “Urbana,” inspired by the globally popular Spanish-language genre música urbana, which has its origin in Africa and the trans-atlantic slave trade. Programming will include over 40 documentary and narrative films, live music, dance, conversations, and participation by artists who embody Urbana. There will also be an emphasis on local places (such as Numbers) and people (such as DJ Screw and Selena) that have enriched our city in unique ways.
The Festival will kick off on Thursday, November 12 with a virtual screening (at 5pm) and a drive-in screening (at 7:30pm) of "Mogul Mowgli" at the MoonStruck Drive In Cinema. It's a riveting film about a British-Pakistani rapper struck down by an autoimmune disease. Other drive-in presentations are "Shogun Assassin" at the Showboat Drive-in Theater (November 13, 7:30pm) and "Ammonite" at the MoonStruck Drive In Cinema (November 19, 7:30pm). The Festival closes out with "Night of the Kings" at the Houston Ballet Drive-In, and "Night of the Kings" virtually (November 22, 7:30pm). The film takes place at the Maca correctional facility in Abidjan run by inmates and dominated by superstition.
You lucky readers of mine will get a 25% discount for a <virtual film festival pass> (not for drive-ins) -- USE THE CODE WORD "gish". Enjoy 12 days at the movies on me! For the full HCAF schedule, click here.
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And now -- the two virtual events I am PICK-ing this week. Please note that even my VIRTUAL PICKS are always Houston-based because I am very committed to Houston arts & culture.
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➡️ Virtual for ADULTS: "Houston 2020 Visions" was going to be the inaugural exhibition at the new home of Architecture Center Houston (ArCH), but it moved online due to COVID-19. The show is the first-ever collaboration between the City of Houston, AIA Houston, and ArCH and celebrates innovative project proposals sought following Hurricane Harvey to help make Houston a more resilient city. There will be a virtual "Rethinking Hubs" panel discussion as part of the exhibition's programs on November 19 at 6pm.
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➡️ Virtual for KIDS: Miller Outdoor Theatre is presenting wonderful virtual and live streaming free performances now (the current schedule is here) so you can see the art they present in the comfort of your home! Next Tuesday, November 17 at 10am, H-E-B presents "Goldilocks & The Three Plays," an engaging show that explores storytelling and characterization. The central character “Tiffany” pretends to be Goldilocks, The Big Bad Wolf, and The Troll as she struggles to tell the familiar stories of the 3 bears, the 3 pigs, and the 3 goats with the reluctant help of 3 boys who resist, question, and eventually embody the trios of characters. It's lively fun and will get your kids to think!
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HIRE ME! If you want help getting centered -- or for focusing your life -- here's how I can help (I'm available for groups too):
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One-on-one labyrinth walks or nature mandala-making sessions (or both!), all done with masks and physical distancing. The fee varies based on what we are doing.
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Virtual Life Path Sessions; see more about those here. It's $50 for 45 minutes during COVID.
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Virtual meditation lessons for up to 30 minutes. I've been doing weekly Monday Meditation Chats and was interviewed on Great Day Houston about fun ways to make sounds for meditation (see that here). The fee varies based on what we are doing, and all ages are welcome.
To book me for anything, please call me at 713.492.1173 or email me. I'd love to help you find PEACE in this crazy time.
In non-pandemic times, and since I started publishing my blog in 2004, it has been a space to promote my curated list of unique live Houston area cultural events (PICKS) on the weekend for adults and kids. Because of COVID-19, those haven't happened since mid-March so I originally re-worked the format to focus on 5 Houston-based arts & culture organizations in my (Almost) Daily Dose of ARTS PICKS blog each of the NINE weeks of quarantine. You can see each edition - and read about 45 arts groups! - here.
And now I'm bringing you an ⭐️ARTS PICKS Spotlight⭐️ each week -- featuring an arts & culture space that is open -- and you'll get info about all of their activities and sometimes a video to bring them to life. Alongside that, I'll also be PICK-ing one local virtual event each for ADULTS and KIDS.
I'll keep doing all of that until public events start happening again on a larger scale and I can start curating live event PICKS again.
In the meantime: please enjoy my weekly Spotlights and VIRTUAL PICKS, and please stay healthy!
Sincerely,
Sarah Gish
713.492.1173
P.S. If you want to IGNITE YOUR LIFE now or anytime, check out my list of "12 Ways to Ignite Your Life Daily" -- and watch the 12 videos I made about each Way here. I'm very proud of that list and my work and I hope it will help you live a fully creative life. Meditation, taking care of yourself, enjoying life, and laughing -- plus more! -- is what will get us through this global pandemic.
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