Houston Institute for Culture
General Interest Meeting
7:30pm, Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Van Loc (713-528-6441)
3010 Milam St. (about one block north of Elgin)


Hello everyone,

Mark your calendars. The next meeting for volunteers or anyone interested will take place on Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at 7:30pm. It will be at Van Loc, a Vietnamese Restaurant located at 3010 Milam St., about one block north of Elgin (the name of Westheimer as it crosses the mid town area). Call 713-521-3686 for more information. For directions to Van Loc, call 713-528-6441.

SOME RECENT SUCCESSES
The culltural arts and organizations listings are really getting attention. Here are some recent successes and reasons to make sure your organization is listed to show the strength of cultural activities in Houston:

Community radio and TV producers, including the Debra Duncan Show, have used the listings to find guests for their shows.

As we are meeting with two dozen state and national legislative representatives this summer, we are making them aware of these kinds of cultural resources in Houston and specifically asking them to refer artists and organizations to the listings and calendar informatioin.

We were mentioned in the Wall Street Journal recently, which brought a great amount of national attention on Houston culture. As we get these kinds of publicity opportunities in the future, we want all Houston organizations to benefit from the exposure.

We are organizing a national conference for 2004 that will take place in Houston and we want to utilize all the possible cultural resources Houston has to offer as we plan the nation-wide promotion. We will try to involve artists and organization as much as possible from the information we have.

With a presentation about Houston's diversity and great cultural history, Mark has been out speaking to audiences at universities around the country and distributing literature about the resources we are creating on line. The vast number of organizations listed helps further promote Houston as a great cultural center.

We are preparing a booklet for wide distribution to promote Houston and regional culture, as well as our programs, such as Camp Dos Cabezas. This publication and CD ROM will link people to Houston artists and organizations.

In September, Mark will present "Travels With Shivas and Angels" and a panel discussion, tentatively titled "The State of Cultural Literacy in Houston and the Nation", at the University of Houston as it's annual Collegium Live forum. Promotion for the event will generate significant exposure for the on-line resources.

We will have a large ad in a new Latino magazine prepared for wide distribution in September.

In addition to the World Music Show on KTRU, we are considering a Community Affairs program that will feature Houston culture and draw from this resource.

Well, these are just a few of the great things happening right now for the Houston Institute for Culture, and everyone helpings us build these resources.

If you know of any artists or organizations that would like to be listed, please help us spread the word.

http://www.houstonculture.org/listings

Also, let them know about these calendar resources:
http://www.houstonculture.org/events
http://www.houstonculture.org/cal

Mark is in New York on his newly-found calling, the speakers circuit, and on his way to Washington, D.C. for the Smithsonian's Silk Road-themed Folklife Festival promoting the cultures of central Asia, so if you have any questions, please contact me, janni@houstonculture.org, or ashley@houstonculture.org, who probably has the best email access of the sad wayward bunch of us.

I'm trying to get Mark to give us an update on the Ohio trip, including the tour of the "ancient earthworks", cultural communities around Cleveland and the presentation at Kent State. If he gets it to me in time, I will send it with the meeting reminder on Monday. If not, you'll just have to come see us at Van Loc on Tuesday to hear how the trip went and to find out about the other trips planned for this summer and fall. There will, of course, be more to talk about them at the meeting. Stay tuned for an agenda.

I hope you have a great 4th of July.
Janni



Houston Institute for Culture is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cultural education and awareness through cultural activities. Our goal is to provide free and low-cost events, services and classes for the community. The organization's sphere of interest is Houston, the regions that have affected Houston's cultural history and the international origins of Houston's diverse population. Membership is free and all events and informational resources are open to the public.


If you would like to learn more about our programs, please see our organization overview:
http://www.houstonculture.org/office/overview.html