3:15 – 3:45 PM
ALH MAIN GALLERY
Art Work: A Reading and Discussion Series
Cindy Peña and Rachel Vogel
(reading group) 

Cindy and Rachel will facilitate a reading group that will meet 4 times between Charge and Round 44 at Project Row Houses in March 2016 that will continue to explore themes of the artist's labor and value within the larger economic landscape. Each meeting will focus on a topic, and include a few short readings or excerpts that broaden the conversations begun at Charge. Topics will include arts in/and education, art and labor, alternative artist models, and forms of protest and resistance. The readings will offer a starting off point to discuss well-grounded issues in contemporary art and culture, so reviewing them is highly encouraged. Each session will take place within two weeks of each other, allowing plenty of time to read and discuss. Participants are encouraged to attend all of the meetings, but selecting the topics that are most interesting or relevant to you is perfectly okay. All readings will be available as PDF files in an online Dropbox folder that will be shared publicly. During Charge, Cindy and Rachel will introduce the reading group and its themes with a brief activity and opportunity to reflect on what participants have taken away from the weekend, inspired by constructivist teaching methods.

Art Work: A Reading and Discussion series with Cindy Peña and Rachel Vogel will meet 4 times on Sundays in Studio 3 at Art League Houston. Check back for readings.
Is Art Work? January 24, 2016 2:00-4:00pm
Art and Labor February 7, 2016 2:00-4:00pm
The MFA and the Professionalization of Art February 28, 2016 2:00-4:00pm
Alternative Models and Artist Projects March 13, 2016 2:00-4:00pm

Cindy Peña is a Mexican-born Houston transplant writer and translator. She earned her degree in Art History and Spanish from the University of Houston and has worked at the University of Houston's Digital Library, DiverseWorks, and Art League Houston, among others.

Rachel Vogel is a writer, independent curator, and art historian from Houston, Texas interested in the intersection between feminist theory, art practice, and social justice. She studied Media Studies and Art History at Vassar College, where her thesis on the relationship between visual culture and reproductive rights won the Marjorie Lynn Gluck '84 Thesis Prize, awarded for an outstanding thesis on issues related to women, public policy, and politics at the global, national, or local level. In 2013, Rachel co-founded Suplex, a curatorial collaborative that produces pop-up exhibitions, programs, workshops, and public forums. Last year, with the sponsorship of an Idea Fund grant, she curated a solo exhibition of Austin-based artist Lauren Moya Ford’s work that explored the multivalent tensions between border spaces as fruitful sites to explore multiplicity, and the geopolitical reality of the U.S.-Mexico border. She currently works at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as the administrator of the Photography and Works on Paper Conservation Lab.

Trabajo artístico: Una serie de lectura y discusión
Cindy Peña y Rachel Vogel
(grupo de lectura)

Cindy y Rachel encabezarán un grupo de lectura que se reunirá 4 veces entre Charge y Round 44 en el  Project Row Houses que continuará la exploración de temas del trabajo y valor del artista dentro de un panorama económico mayor. Cada reunión se enfocará en un tema e incluirá unas cuantas lecturas cortas  o extractos que ampliarán las conversaciones comenzadas en Charge. Los temas incluirán arte y educación, arte y trabajo, modelos de artistas alternativos y formas de protesta y resistencia. Las lecturas ofrecerán un punto de partida para discutir problemas bien fundamentados en el arte y la cultura contemporánea. Durante Charge, Cindy y Rachel introducirán el grupo de lectura y sus temas con una breve actividad, una oportunidad de reflexionar sobre lo que los participantes han aprendido del fin de semana, basándose en métodos de enseñanza constructivista. También se le pedirá a los participantes llenar un breve cuestionario de temas/lecturas/autores que les gustaría ver representados a través del curso de las discusiones del grupo de lectura.