The clap of the hands, the sounds of dancing and the mystical flamenco guitar all await you upstairs at Avant Garden tonight at 8pm. Flamenco Andaluz, a local flamenco troupe, led by the extremely talented, Bianca Antonia has been holding regular Thursday night performances upstairs at Avant Garden for the past few months. Bianca Antonia is no stranger to dance. With a history of modern dance and ballet, she has been dancing flamenco since......

We first wrote about Glass Candy last November. If you went to the show, you probably burned a hole in the sole of your shoes when what should have been a show turned into a synth-fueled dance party. Currently featuring both John Alexander: A Retrospective and Learning by Doing: 25 Years of the Core Program, the Museum of Fine Arts and Starbucks' Mixed Media Series is keeping with the Texas theme. The Portland-based Glass Candy......

Remember The Red Hot Chili Pepper's first album? How about their third album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan? If you said, "Yeah man, I remember those!" Then you'll be familiar with Domy's special guest this Friday night, Gary Panter. Panter has been an influential artist since the mid-1970's. He has designed album covers, posters, the cartoon icon Jimbo as well as his crazy designs for Pee-Wee's Playhouse and a Cartoon Network cartoon, Pink Donkey.......

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here: The highly-anticipated grand opening of the Caroline Collective takes place this Saturday, June 7th beginning at 7:00 p.m. as Houston finally welcomes a coworking home of our own. The mission of the Caroline Collective is to provide a stimulating work environment for anyone who doesn't have a traditional office setting, but still wants to participate in a communal workspace and have a base of......

If love isn't your thing, how about sexy? Specifically, a SexyAttack. Hilariously inspired by the music video (probably definitely NSFW) for Eric Prydz’s "Call On Me," SexyAttack is the flash mob-esque venture somehow connected to the Performance Art Lab at UH. Actually, we're not sure where these people came from (an American Apparel ad, maybe?), but the hip thursts and gyrations have distracted us enough not to care. So far, they've SexyAttacked both the......

What is art? Is it a French impressionist oil painting or is it a good book? A couple of local art students suggest that the answer might be more metaphysical than, say a (highly) interperative dance or a chocolate Jesus sculpture. Interdisciplinary Arts students from the University of Houston's Cyntha Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts present He Ate Love at the always cozy Antidote Coffee in the Heights. An abstract presentnation of love in......

::Movies Houstonians Love:: Joanne King Herring presents Tea With Mussolini An on going series we love to love returns to Museum of Fine Arts tonight. Movie Houstonians Love has two primary goals: to provide speakers with the opportunity to show another side of themselves, and to introduce new audiences to the year-round film programming offered in the museum's Brown Auditorium Theater. Previous participants have included rapper Bun B, former First Lady Barbara Bush, baseball......

We forewarned you a couple of weeks ago. We gave you another heads up a few days ago. With less than 24 hours left, you had better made up your mind about whether or not you’re going to the The Free Press' Westheimer Block Party. The last one was pretty much a rousing success with a blown out generator being the only exception. This year, though, the Free Press has upped the ante by bringing......

Not been to Montrose's Sucker Punch yet? Whatcha waiting for, fool? Well, if it's a kick arse art show from a muy talented artist, then it's your lucky weekend, peeps. Sucker Punch + CreativeLeak present designs from artist, Tim Newton, on Saturday, April 12th, from 5-9pm. Refreshments will be served, with DJ spinning. "When I show my work or show my site to people, most of the time I hear, 'your stuff reminds me of......

:: FOTOFEST BIENNIAL :: Fotofest starts tomorrow and continues until April 20th. Houston will be covered inside out with some amazing photography and photo-related art, and we heartily encourage you to see as much as you can. The theme this year is China and the ancillary theme (like minoring in college?) is transformations. Get a preview of the outstanding work on show here. Start tomorrow with the opening over at official HQ: the Vine......

Internationally acclaimed artists, architect, and weirdo Vito Acconci will be lecturing at the MFA tonight. Over the course of his almost fifty year career in the art world Vito has stuffed marbles in his face, bitten himself, and whispered lewd remarks to strangers while inappropriately touching himself in public for the sake of his art. In the 1990's Vito turned his artistic talents to the fields of architecture and landscape design. And has developed......

It's March now; the freakish weather is in full effect and your allergies are making you wish the spring was a figment of your imagination. What better way to celebrate than to go outside? We know: go outside and listen to good music, look at some great art and meet your Montrosian neighbors at The Free Press' Westheimer Block Party on Saturday, April 12. It looks like a veritable schmorgasboard of local goodness, folks. If......

If you missed out on the Beer Can Opener last Friday (because you were embroiled in the LRPC - any other excuse will not be accepted, unless accompanied by a note from your Dr.), you have a second chance to attend a special event. Join Mayor Bill White as he honors and officially opens the Beer Can House to the public, along with the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. This Thursday, March 6th at......

:: Spring 2008 Class Registration at Art League Houston :: Even if you've given up on all your New Years Resolutions by now, there's still time to make something of the year by taking a class. You can't go wrong with bettering your brain. The Art League, besides having a very cool building, gallery and coffee shop, also happens to offer classes. Try your hand (or brush up on) drawing, painting, jewelry, watercolor or......

Professor Trinh T. Minh-ha, renowned film artist and curator, will be at the MFA today, tomorrow and Saturday to discuss her career and work. Currently a Professor of Rehtoric and Gender Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, Minh-ha has focused on film and cinema as a medium for cultural critique. She has completed installation exhibitions at the Kyoto Art Biennale, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, and most recently at......

Coffee giant Starbucks will close all its doors from 5:30 PM to 9 PM to train their staff in "the Art of Espresso." Great Scott! The world is ending! The world is ending! NOT. The training period comes at a time of day when most folks probably aren't in need of caffeine except, maybe, college students and rock stars. During the interim, Starbucks suggests that you roast a turkey or color your hair. Houstonist......

>> Two Houston Area Offshore Drilling Companies Win Big: The oil and money are flowing freely for two drilling companies based in Houston. A report in the Houston Business Journal, lists 2007 revenue for mammoth behemoth, Transocean closed out at $3.1 billion. The company also announced a $586 million contract extension with client Anadarko, another Houston company. The HBJ also reports that The Rowan Companies also inked a three year deal. The Rowan deal......

::Troy Winscott at Max's Wine Dive:: Troy Winscott's designy giclee prints will be on display at Max's, and the reception for his work is tonight. Winscott studied illustration at the Art Institute of Houston and has a background in jewelry design as well. Both crafts are at play in his tantalizing prints. Max's will host live music, light hors d'oeuvres and offer wine specials for the night. And, of course, the artist. It's a......

We've met enough of you to be able to pick out the Red Bull junkies amongst you - the 1000 word a minute conversation rate, your magical abilities to stay up for 5 days straight and the telltale clinking of discarded aluminum after fast braking in traffic... But now you can put all that Red Bull consumption to good use by entering in the Red Bull Art of Can contest in Houston. The idea is......

::Sonja Roesch Gallery Talk: Jac Leirner:: “I try to find a place for things that don’t have a place.” - Jac Leirner Join art lovers and lovers of installation art for a gallery talk with Toby Kamps, Senior Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum, about Jac Leirner's exhibition at the Gallery Sonja Roesch: January 23, 2008, 6pm Jac Leirner creates installations, sculptures, and mixed media pieces using everyday objects like business cards, plastic bags, cigarette......

::Spacetaker's Artist Saloon: Gene Morgan, Skeez 181, and Cory Wagner:: The salon and the saloon meet at the Winter Street Studios Gallery. Artists and art afficionados gather for drinks and an informal converstaion about art. Artists will present and give a short talk about their work. After the artist talk there will be the opportunity to ask questions/begin a dialogue with the artists. About The Artist Saloon Every third Wednesday of the month, Winter Street......

We recently told you about Dr. Sketchy and that they were having their first event this past Sunday at Avant Garden. Well, in true Houstonist fashion, we showed up to see what all the hype was about and had a blast while we were there. Billed as an anti-art school, Dr. Sketchy Houston provides models, a DJ, a cash bar, room to draw, prizes and all the fun, you provide the cover to get in,......

We're not going to beat around the bush here: we can't draw. Not a bit. It's embarrassing. The last time that our artwork was recognized as quality was in fifth grade, when we took 3rd place in a Rodeo-themed art contest with a crayon drawing of a ghost town. Really. But would we miss the opportunity to pick up a pencil and start sketching if it meant it was in a cabaret atmosphere? Aww, hell......

Tonight’s Texas Bowl is going to be a throwback to the days of the Southwest Conference with an exciting match-up between the University of Houston and Texas Christian University. From a football point of view, it’s a classic match-up of high powered offense (Houston) against a formidable defensive squad (TCU). It will be interesting to see how the Coogs respond in tonight’s game, their first without Art Briles who ran off to Waco to become......

::Spacetaker December Artist Saloon:: This month Buffalo Bayou ArtPark & Spacetaker, in conjunction with Winter Street Studios, present Brian Piana, YET Torres, and Sasha West in the December edition of The Artist Saloon. Every third Wednesday of the month, the salon and the saloon meet at The Artist Saloon where artists and art aficionados gather for drinks and casual conversation about art. Two to three artists from varying disciplines (visual, performing, literary, etc.) present, in......

::Double Header at AvantGarden:: A great double-book tonight at AvantGarden: Terell James opens his "Neoformalism 1" exhibit, followed by FrenetiCore's production of "Exile", a dance film. "Neoformalism" Terrell James Terrell James' paintings and prints evoke nature rather than depict it. With minimal contour line, gestural rubbing, and reserved color her works describe the landscape through abstraction. James' work is included in numerous collections including Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, Museum of Fine......

Perspectives 159: Superconscious, Automatisms Now December 14, 2007 – March 9, 2008 Opening reception December 13, 2007, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Sigh. This is Houston's last hurrah with Senior CAMH Curator Paola Morsiani, and we are sad. Having been with the CAMH for over eight years, Morsiani is heading north to become Curator of Contemporary Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art, an internationally renowned encyclopedic museum in the midst of a $258 million renovation and expansion.......

After speculating about unearthing former head coach Jack Pardee, the University of Houston Cougars decided today to go with Oklahoma University assistant coach Kevin Sumlin as their replacement for the departed Art Briles. At OU, Sumlin rose to the rank of "co-offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator, and wide receivers coach", which has to be the damn longest job title in the world, short of Elizabeth II. He's been a journeyman, having coached at five other......

Raise your glass and raise some funds for the HERO project -- a humanitarian campaign of the United Nations Association (USA) dedicated to providing comprehensive, school-based support to orphans and vulnerable children living in HIV/AIDS-affected communities in Africa. All you have to do is show up at New Gallery/Thom Andriola (2627 Colquitt) tomorrow, Wednesday the 12th between 7 and 9PM. Taste some wine, admire the art, and feel good knowing you're doing something for other......

With all the excitement surrounding the new Wu-Tang Clan record, what are some other bands you'd like to see return to the spotlight? We still say a prayer for a Fugees' comeback album, even though we know it's a lost cause. 8 Diagrams is the long-awaited new album from Wu-Tang, featuring the much-talked about Beatles' sample and guitar work by John Frusciante. Group members Ghostface and Raekwon have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the......