Leading Change Through the Arts!

December 2024 Issue

Ashé Market/Louise Martin Photography Project/Happy Kwanzaa

We are excited to invite you to the soft opening of The Collective Thursday, December 12...

...at our new creative space dedicated to showcasing emerging and established artists and to providing educational and cultural links among African American artists and all communities. We invite you to explore our new space, meet fellow artists and the community and view local artisans' unique creations at our annual Ashé Market.

WHEN: Thursday, December 12

TIME: 12 noon to 5 p.m.

LOCATION: 4111 Fannin Street, Suite 100, Houston, TX, 77004, at the corner of Eagle and San Jacinto streets (entrance on Eagle).

PARKING: Free parking for up to two hours in the connected parking garage. Free street parking on Cleburne.

As friends and art community members, we would be thrilled to have you join us for this special occasion. Your presence would mean a great deal to us as we prepare to launch this new gallery and create a vibrant community of artists and art lovers.

From left: Exhibitions Coordinator Tamirah Collins, Executive Director Michelle Barnes and Assistant Executive Director April M. Frazier admire their new quarters in the Ion District.

Louise Martin photography collection to be digitized

Leonian Grant supports archival projects

In July we reported that we received a grant from the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation to archive our photography collection. Chief among this collection are some historic photographic works by Louise Martin, an African American photographer from Brenham, Texas, who ran her own photography studio in Houston during the late 1940s for nearly 45 years. She was known for tinting her portraits by hand, a notable skill that added a special touch to portraits before color photography.

CAC Assistant Director April M. Frazier reports that the archiving project is off to a great start with the receipt of three boxes of Martin’s collection from Dr. Sarah Trotty, CAC board member and co-founder, that are filled with hundreds of negatives, slides, silver gelatin prints, as well as Martin’s personal scrapbook from her record of Dr. Martin Luther King’s funeral in 1968.

Trotty and Martin were close friends, and when Martin died in 1995, Trotty acquired much of her works to save for posterity.

“All items are being sorted and prepped for digitization to properly honor the legacy and rich history of Louise Martin’s photography,” Frazier explained.

“Recently I visited the Brenham Heritage Museum where Martin was born in 1911 to view her amazing exhibit on display there.”

When the digitation project is completed, selected works will be available for public viewing.

The Collective participates in many community events, sometimes at our own location and sometimes in collaboration with other like-minded organizations.

This month we will support S.H.A.P.E.’s Children’s Kwanzaa Celebration Friday, December 27, at their location at 3903 Almeda Road with an art activity table from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration that honors African heritage in African American culture. Each day of Kwanzaa focuses on a different principle: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith).

This year, S.H.A.P.E.’s Children’s Kwanzaa event will be held on the day representing Kujichagulia (Self-Determination ). The annual Kwanzaa celebrations provide a great opportunity for the community to see, share and practice the seven principles of Kwanzaa.