La Reunion TX teams with Dallas Art Dealers Association, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and City Gallery for the high school mentoring project Art Chicas Unidas

by PegNews wire

La Reunion TX, a not for profit artist residency, presents Phase I of a new program called Art Chicas Unidas in collaboration with Dallas Art Dealers Association, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and CityGallery on Saturday, November 10, 2007 with an all day workshop. An evening reception open to the public will be held from 7pm-9pm at City Gallery, located at 3601 Routh Street in Dallas. Art Chicas Unidas targets high school girls from North Dallas High School, Adamson High School, Hillcrest High School, and Jasper High School. Art Chicas Unidas is funded by Dallas Women’s Foundation and supported by Central Market and Kroger.

Phase I will be a one-day working session on Saturday, November 10, 2007 for local artists who will lead teams of 4 girls from targeted inner-city high schools in a day long project with the goal that the girls co-host an exhibit showing a work of art they have created. Artists selected include Erica Felicella, Johanna Hulsey, Catalyna Mendez, Lizzy Wetzel, Linka Behn, VET, Ivonne Acero, and Loretta Gonzalez. During lunch, members of DADA will lead a demonstration of the real-life essentials of how to create an artist portfolio as well as a talk on various arts-related careers. An evening reception will be open to their families and the public at the end of the day-long workshop at Uptown’s City Gallery located at 3601 Routh Street in Dallas. Proceeds from the sale of art will go towards these same girls’ Phase II tuition at a weekend long retreat in Spring 2008. The La Reunion TX artist selection committee is made up of Dallas area arts professionals who have chosen the artists for this program.

Phase II will be a weekend retreat at Girl Scouts’ Camp Whispering Cedars (date TBA) in the Spring 2008 for these same girls who participated in the November 10 workshop and open to other girls at the targeted high schools. As a part of the weekend retreat, 100% of girls will be filling out a Dallas County Community College application. The girls will learn how community college credits transfer to major four year colleges in pursuit of a sustaining art career. Cedar Valley College is our partner for this portion of the program. Sales from Phase II through another reception at CityGallery will go towards replicating the project in the Fall of 2008. In the coming years, we will be expanding the Art Chicas Unidas program throughout DISD inner-city, urban high schools.

La Reunion TX is a Texas non-profit established to create an artist residency program with a future home located on a generously donated 35 acre wooded property seven miles from downtown, very near the original La Reunion colony settled in Oak Cliff over 150 years ago. La Reunion TX has recently launched 'Make Space for Art' - a juried architecture exhibition - to generate ideas for our ultimate structure which will incorporate sustainable design and renewable energy, providing a model to the community for green living. The "traditional media" studio and "new media" studio each with attached living quarters will accommodate four to one hundred artists per year with residencies ranging from one week to one year. The "Living Room" will provide intimate classroom, performance, exhibit, and installation space. Catherine Cuellar is president of the board of directors, which also includes Lisa Taylor, Allison Graham, Billy Ware, Jessica Stewart, Vance Wingate and James Estes. Sarah Jane Semrad is executive director. For more information, please visit www.lareuniontx.org.

DADA is an affiliation of established, independent gallery owners and not-for-profit art organizations. Through carefully chosen exhibitions, DADA makes an important contribution to the community at large as well as to artists, museums, collectors and students. As a group, DADA is pledged to a high standard of ethical conduct, a devotion to consistent public service and a dedication to professional integrity. For more information about the Dallas Art Dealers Association and its members visit www.dallasartdealers.org.

CityGallery is a dynamic venue featuring local, emerging artists and their multi-disciplinary work in visual art, music, theater and film. Home of the CityGallery World Music Concert Series, a summer film series, and a debuting theater salon in 2007, CityGallery is committed to creating an accessible space where local artists can initiate dialogue in their community. Housed in the SOTA, or "State of the Art," building in the Turtle Creek/uptown area, the main halls of the complex feature the personal art collection of Dallas resident Herschel Weisfeld, and the 1950's structure itself received the 2003 Preservation of Dallas Award. Fore more information, please visit www.citygallerydallas.org.

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas serves 42,000 girls and 15,000 adults in 32 northeast Texas counties. Through troops and outreach initiatives, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. For information on how to join, volunteer or donate to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas call (800) 442-2260 or visit www.gsnetx.org.

Source: La Reunion TX