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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > April > 24
Friday, April 24, 2009
What if FEMA deployed artists?
What if FEMA deployed artists to post-disaster areas?
What if, along with re-building efforts after a hurricane or a flood or an earthquake, artists were invited to be a part of a community’s re-building effort?
New York artist Paul Villinski thought about that as he got ready for an exhibit in New Orleans in 2006. He wanted to create some kind of artistic response to the devastation wrought on the city by Hurricane Katrina.
But to do so, Villinski, who builds beautiful sculpture out of discarded materials, realized he would need to transport his entire studio the New Orleans. And so he created the Emergency Response Studio, a mobile self-contained sustainability solar-powered live-work artist’s studio.
Through May 2 the Emergency Response Studio will be on view outside the Long Center for the Performing Arts, co-sponsored by Arthouse and the Fusebox Festival.
Hours are 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through May 2, noon to 7 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday. Admission is free.
Villinski salvaged a 30-foot Gulfstream Cavalier travel trailer identical to the ones distributed throughout the Katrina afflicted areas by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He gutted the trailer, replacing the interior with sustainable eco-sensitive — and health-sensitive — materials. Solar panels on top charge 1.6 kilowatt system that powers all the trailer’s electrical needs along with the power tools in a small workshop. A geodesic dome on top sheds natural light throughout the trail and a section of the trailer wall folds out becoming a porch, a work platform or possibly even a stage.
Villinski said he wasn’t suggesting what artists should do in a post-disaster area, but rather, his project is aimed at suggesting a means for artists the flexible means to be able to live and work some place that lacks power.
“I think artists have something to bring to a post-disaster situation,” said Villinski on Wednesday as he installed his mobile studio. “I’m not saying artists can save the world, but artists can solve problems in really unorthodox ways. And we shouldn’t be on the fringe of our communities. The world would be lost if we didn’t have art.”
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More Fusebox pix
The Fusebox Festival is now officially sparking Austin with edgy art. And if you didn’t catch ‘Erection,’ the compelling performance of French dance artist Pierre Rigal last night, you have two chances today. But hurry to make a reservation. Last night folks were turned away when the 254-seat Austin Ventures Studio Theater filled. Make a reservation at the Fusebox Web site.
‘Erection’
When: 6 and 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Austin Ventures Studio Theater, Ballet Austin, 501 W. Third St.
Other Fusebox pix for this weekend:
“Bodies in Urban Spaces’
Imagine meandering through downtown Austin following a group of dancers in brightly colored sweat suits who use the urban landscape as a stage in surprising ways. They might just squeeze themselves into odd architectural spaces or maybe they’ll scale a light pole or a tree. You’ll have to follow them to see what they might do.
When: 1 and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to noon Sunday
Where: Republic Square Park, West Fourth and Guadalupe streets
Maxi Geli! & PlayColt
It’s retro glam 1980s pop. Or maybe it’s re-channeled 1960s European pop songs. Or maybe Maxi Geli! & PlayColt are just Brooklyn’s most popular band that blends powerfully harmonized vocals and sharp tunes with trenchant and ironic lyrics.
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Victory Grill, 1004 E. 11th St.
‘Maxi Geil! and Playcolt vs. Neal Medlyn’
‘American Idol’ move over. New York-based musicians and performance artists Neal Medlyn and Maxi Geli (aka Guy Richards Smit) battle it out in a crazy improvised song competition.
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Blue Theater, 916 Springdale Road
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Texas women get a new kind of tribute song
What if young Texas female singers could sing about the fabulous women who made Texas history?
They can now.
UT voice professor Darlene Wiley commissioned composer Graham Reynolds to write a song cycle for emerging singer. Reynolds in turn tapped poet Carrie Fountain to collaborate. On Sunday, “Between Steel and Stardust: Five Songs About Texas Women” premieres.
The concert is at 4 p.m. in Recital Studio 2.608, Music Building, UT campus. Admission is $10.
This is a not-to-miss gig, but if you can’t be there, it will be Web cast live at www.music.utexas.edu.
The Texas women honored in “Between Steel and Stardust” include the Angel of Goliad, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Bonnie Harper (of Bonnie and Clyde), Selena and Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics.
Also premiering is Reynolds’ Double Double: A Suite for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano.
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