Convergence Research is a collaboration between the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts and the Blaffer Art Museum that supports students and faculty in the McGovern College of the Arts to explore connection and collaboration between the disciplines in the arts and beyond. It is a platform for experimentation and research with the goal of providing opportunities to push the boundaries of the artistic disciplines. Convergence Research promotes interdisciplinary inquiry and techniques to stimulate creative process and cultivate works that are performative, temporary and in any stage of process.

Convergence Research is curated by Graduate Assistant Ji Won Chun. The Graduate Assistantship is a yearlong position designed for a graduate student in the Arts Leadership Program.

https://rooftopcinemaclub.com/houston/uptown/film/6014-a-queen-bey-rooftop-party-movie-silent-disco/
 
"I’m warning everybody, soon as I get in this party, I’m gon’ let go of this body"

It’s Beyoncé’s birthday month and the final month of the Renaissance world tour – what better way to celebrate than with a Bey-themed rooftop movie + silent disco?!

Arrive when doors open to enjoy an opening DJ set and all that our rooftop has to offer with a bar, games and stunning views. Then, watch a young Queen Bey front and center as she stars in CARMEN: A HIP HOPERA, the 2001 cult classic directed by Robert Townsend . After the film, head to the lounge area where dueling DJs will be spinning two different Beyoncé-inspired sets – you choose which channel to tune your wireless headphones into and dance the night away.

The full event schedule includes:
• Doors open to Cinema + Silent Disco ticket holders: 7:00pm
• Live DJ set and games: 7:00pm to 8:00pm
• Movie runtime: 8:00pm-9:30pm
• Dueling DJ sets and silent disco: 9:30pm-11:30pm
• Event ends: 11:30pm

We can’t wait to dance and vibe with you!

Cinema seating will be first come, first serve. No outside food or drink allowed. This event is 21+ only . Tickets are not transferable or refundable. Should inclement weather take place while the event is happening guests will be eligible for a $20 credit for a future Rooftop Cinema event or screening.  

Ticket purchase grants you access to the rooftop event, a guaranteed seat for the movie, bottomless popcorn and a free alcoholic drink of your choice from the bar.

https://kindredstorieshtx.com/products/irl-author-talk-thieves-gambit-with-kayvion-lewis-kwame-mbalia-september-28-at-7pm
 

Join us as we celebrate the release of Thieves' Gambit with debut author, Kayvion Lewis! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Thursday, September 28 at 7PM

Where: Kindred Stories Reading Garden

How: RSVP ONLY to grab your free seat or RSVP WITH BOOK to reserve your copy of Thieves' Gambit and support our programming

ABOUT THE BOOK

At only seventeen years old, Ross Quest is already a master thief, especially adept at escape plans. Until her plan to run away from her legendary family of thieves takes an unexpected turn, leaving her mother’s life hanging in the balance.

In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves’ Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn’t exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world—a wish that could save her mom. When she learns two of her competitors include her childhood nemesis and a handsome, smooth-talking guy who might also want to steal her heart, winning the Gambit becomes trickier than she imagined.

Ross tries her best to stick to the family creed: trust no one whose last name isn’t Quest. But with the stakes this high, Ross will have to decide who to con and who to trust before time runs out. After all, only one of them can win.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Kayvion Lewis is a young adult author of all things escapist and high-octane. A former youth services librarian, she’s been working with young readers and kidlit since she was sixteen. When she’s not writing, she’s breaking out of escape rooms, jumping out of airplanes, and occasionally running away to mountain retreats to study kung fu. Though she’s originally from Louisiana, and often visits her family in The Bahamas, these days you can find her in New York—at least until she takes off on her next adventure.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, and a former pharmaceutical metrologist in that order. His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it—along with the sequels TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD and TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING, out October 5th—is published by Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion. He is the co-author of LAST GATE OF THE EMPEROR with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology BLACK BOY JOY, published by Delacourte Press. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheezits.

Tash Sultana - North American Tour 2023 Tickets Sep 29, 2023 Houston, TX | Live Nation

Food Fest x African Diaspora • Chopd & Stewd 2023 (chopdandstewdfest.com)

Spearheaded by the esteemed, contemporary West African food and beverage concept ChòpnBlọk, Chopd & Stewd is a vibrant cultural series that pays homage to the far-reaching influences of the West African diaspora, engaging a wide range of audiences through its diverse and captivating approach.

Food Fest x African Diaspora • Chopd & Stewd 2023 (chopdandstewdfest.com)

Spearheaded by the esteemed, contemporary West African food and beverage concept ChòpnBlọk, Chopd & Stewd is a vibrant cultural series that pays homage to the far-reaching influences of the West African diaspora, engaging a wide range of audiences through its diverse and captivating approach.

Dancer: $50
Observer: $25

Held at Margaret Alkek Williams Center for Dance

Register here: https://my.houstongrandopera.org/5083/5085

Dancer: $50
Observer: $25

Held at Margaret Alkek Williams Center for Dance

Register here: https://my.houstongrandopera.org/5083/5085

https://uh.edu/calendar/?view=e&id=640248#event
 
Location
Rockwell Pavilion at MD Anderson Library
 

Professor, legal scholar and author Anita Hill will deliver the 2023 Elizabeth D. Rockwell Distinguished Lecture on Ethics and Leadership for the Hobby School of Public Affairs on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Rockwell Pavilion at MD Anderson Library. Hill testified against then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991 with allegations of workplace sexual harassment, making history by bringing a conversation usually handled behind closed doors into the public consciousness. The annual lecture will explore Hill’s intrepid testimony, challenging one of the country’s oldest and strongest institutions, its aftermath and the continued fight for racial and gender equality 30 years later with the #MeToo movement. As a leading voice on these issues, Hill, now a professor of social policy, law, and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Brandeis University, will also discuss gender-based violence as a cultural and structural problem.

Register at this link: https://uh.edu/hobby/edr-center/lecturesandseminars/ethics_leadership/

https://www.facebook.com/events/580151703982783/580151723982781/
 
Come join us for the Friends of HPL monthly book sale!!
All hardback books are $3
All paperback books are $2
All children’s books are $2

Janelle Monáe - Age of Pleasure Tour Tickets Oct 10, 2023 Houston, TX | Live Nation

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nothing-is-missing-with-nicole-walters-tickets-674504369727
 

Presented by Kindred Stories - a Black-owed, women-owned bookstore in Third Ward, Houston, TX.

Doors open at 6:00 PM CST. Each paid ticket includes one copy of Nicole Walters' forthcoming memoir, Nothing is Missing: A Memoir of Living Boldly. The book will be available for pickup at the event.

A profound and gripping memoir by Nicole Walters, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants who became a self-made multi-millionaire by showing others how to recognize their own strengths—and her own harrowing journey to the discovery that she was worthy all along of the life of her dreams.

Nothing Is Missing is a riveting, unputdownable story of what it takes to show up for yourself—and the joy that can come once you do. Raised in a home where food was unstable and anger was the norm, Nicole learned early that she needed to take charge of her own safety and security. So she did: She got into an elite private school by talking to a stranger in her dad’s cab, she strategized her way onto Wheel of Fortune to pay for college, she adopted three girls after meeting their mother panhandling, she quit her job to launch her own business, and she struggled.

Hustling endlessly to try to achieve society’s definition of success left her exhausted, compromising her own sense of worth in order to accommodate others. Nicole worked herself straight into a health crisis that threatened her life and the family she had worked so hard to build. It was not until she was forced into a major reckoning in both her business and her marriage that Nicole realized that she was already enough, that she had and was everything that she needed. In Nothing Is Missing, Nicole contemplates how she was able to create the life she wanted using the strength she had within herself all along.

Each ticket includes one copy of Nothing is Missing: A Memoir of Living Boldly and will be available for pick-up at the event. 

About the Author:

Nicole Walters is a former top-selling corporate executive who quit her six-figure sales job in front of ten thousand people, took what she knew, and built a million-dollar-business in one short year. Now the host of a popular podcast, running a multi-million-dollar business, and in-demand motivational speaker, Nicole is passionate about teaching everyday entrepreneurs how to own their power and trust they already have everything that they need to succeed. I

About Kindred Stories:

Kindred Stories is here to give kids and adults alike a space to explore the wide-open world of literary content and creative works fashioned by black and brown hands. We are a bookstore committed to amplifying Black voices and bringing diverse stories from throughout the African diaspora to our local community in Houston, TX. We are currently located at 2304 Stuart Street, Houston, TX, 77004 in the Third Ward neighborhood in partnership with Project Row Houses. We provide a well curated selection of books and artisan wares to edify the swelling appetites for authentic stories as told by those who have lived them. Learn more about Kindred Stories and shop our online book collection at www.kindredstorieshtx.com.

https://www.menil.org/events/4195-sounds-to-live-by
 

Bring your picnic blankets and join the Menil for outdoor music on the Menil’s east lawn. The annual Sounds to Live By listening event is organized by independent curator Peter Lucas and will feature music selections by Lucas, DJ and music historian Flash Gordon Parks, and others. Each will be spinning vinyl records from their personal collections, selected for a communal, outdoor experience.

Attending the program

The event takes place on the east lawn of the main museum building, located at 1533 Sul Ross Street. Please bring your own picnic blankets or lawn chairs; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information regarding accessibility and parking can be found here.

As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.

In the case of inclement weather, the event will take place the following Sunday, October 22, 3-6 p.m.

About the performers

Peter Lucas is a curator and arts organizer with an interest in exploring the intersections of art forms, disciplines, and ideas. Focused mainly on cinema and media arts, he is the curator of the annual Jazz On Film program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and has organized exhibitions, film series, and public programs in association with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, The Menil Collection, Aurora Picture Show, Northwest Film Forum, and the Seattle International Film Festival. Lucas is also an active multidisciplinary artist, writer, podcaster, and DJ.

DJ Jason Woods, aka Flash Gordon Parks, is one of Houston’s hardest-working DJs and an ethnomusicologist focusing on the rich music histories of Houston and surrounding areas. He has maintained several DJ residencies for over a decade and provided the soundtrack for countless cultural events in the city. He has also produced music-related oral histories and documentaries including “This Thing We Do: Houston DJ Culture Revealed,” 2015, and “Archie Bell,” 2019; and has been a speaker at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Blaffer Art Museum, Rice University, and Art League Houston.

https://inprinthouston.org/event/inprint-jhumpa-lahiri-reading-2/
 

JHUMPA LAHIRI is “a genius of the miniature stroke and the great arc” (The Chicago Tribune). Her debut short story collection Interpreter of Maladies won the Pulitzer Prize and her second novel The Lowland was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. She is also the recipient of the PEN/Hemingway Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and the National Humanities Medal for “illuminating the Indian American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging” (White House Citation). Her other works in English include The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, Whereabouts, In Other Words, The Clothing of Books, and Translating Myself and Others.

Lahiri comes to Houston to read from and talk about her new short story collection Roman Stories, which she wrote in Italian and features the city of Rome as the protagonist. The collection explores the tensions of a changing city, the challenge of straddling cultures, and the meaning of home. According to Lahiri’s publisher Picador, “These intimate and poignant stories are rich with her signature gifts: lyrical prose, emotional wisdom, visceral imagery and overwhelming universality.” Lahiri is the director of creative writing at Barnard College and splits her time between New York and Rome.

Andrea Bajani is one of the most acclaimed and award-winning novelists of contemporary Italian and European literature. He is the author of nine books, including If You Kept a Record of Sins, Every Promise, and The Book of Homes. He is the editor of The Stories We Tell, a collection of essays about writing, which includes texts by Margaret Atwood, Jhumpa Lahiri, Zadie Smith, and Michael Ondaatje. Bajani teaches at Rice University in the Department of English and the Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures.

https://www.brazosbookstore.com/event/person-peter-j-hotez-deadly-rise-anti-science
 

Dr. Peter Hotez discusses how an antivaccine movement became a dangerous political campaign promoted by elected officials and amplified by news media, causing thousands of American deaths.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, one renowned scientist, in his famous bowtie, appeared daily on major news networks such as MSNBC, NPR, the BBC, and others. Dr. Peter J. Hotez often went without sleep, working around the clock to develop a nonprofit COVID-19 vaccine and to keep the public informed. During that time, he was one of the most trusted voices on the pandemic and was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his selfless work. He also became one of the main targets of anti-science rhetoric that gained traction through conservative news media.

In this eyewitness story of how the anti-vaccine movement grew into a dangerous and prominent anti-science element in American politics, Hotez describes the devastating impacts it has had on Americans’ health and lives. As a scientist who has endured antagonism from anti-vaxxers and been at the forefront of both essential scientific discovery and advocacy, Hotez is uniquely qualified to tell this story. By weaving his personal experiences together with information on how the anti-vaccine movement became a tool of far-right political figures around the world, Hotez opens readers’ eyes to the dangers of anti-science. He explains how anti-science became a major societal and lethal force: in the first years of the pandemic, more than 200,000 unvaccinated Americans needlessly died despite the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Even as he paints a picture of the world under a shadow of aggressive ignorance, Hotez demonstrates his innate optimism, offering solutions for how to combat science denial and save lives in the process.

Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD (HOUSTON, TX), is a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology and the founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also the codirector of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development. He is the author of Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-science and Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/remember-love-words-for-tender-times-with-cleo-wade-tickets-668573510367
 

Presented by Kindred Stories.- a Black-owed, women-owned bookstore in Third Ward, Houston, TX.

Doors open at 6:00 PM CST. Each paid ticket includes one copy of Cleo Wade's newest book Remember Love: Words for Tender Times. The book will be available for pickup at the event.

Chart a path away from exhaustion and endless crises and toward a place of renewal and radiant love with New York Times bestselling author Cleo Wade as your guide.

The beloved poet is that friend you dream of having—the one you could phone in your darkest hours, confident she’d say the perfect thing, because no matter what you’re going through, she’s going to meet you with warmth and understanding. Her new collection of poetry and prose – Remember Love: Words For Tender Times – offers the consoling, inspiring voice that so many are craving amid the chaos of modern life. During this special event, guests will be reminded that love, particularly self-love, is what saves us, even on our worst days—especially on our worst days. Love, Cleo says, is the sacred birthright of every human being. It’s not a want; it’s a need, and we require its nourishment now more than ever.

Tickets to this event include access to the conversation, a meet & greet and photo with Cleo, and a pre-signed copy of Remember Love .

ABOUT THE BOOK

The beloved New York Times bestselling author of Heart Talk, hailed as “the poet of her generation” (Time), charts a path away from exhaustion and endless crises and toward a place of renewal and radiant love with a new, soulful collection of original poetry and prose.

Cleo Wade is that friend you dream of having—the one you could phone in your darkest hours, confident she’d say the perfect thing, because no matter what you’re going through, she’s going to meet you with warmth and understanding. She’s never shied away from her own setbacks and heartbreaks; she’s embraced them and distilled them into pearls of essential truth and sincere advice which can help get you through, can make you see that tomorrow still lies straight ahead. If only you had such a friend...

And now you do.

Remember Love, Cleo Wade’s first original work for adults since her widely adored Heart Talk, offers the consoling, inspiring voice that so many are craving amid the chaos of modern life. In clear, deep, generous poetry and prose, she urges those feeling confused, lost, or overwhelmed by change to return to what’s essential: love. Time and again, she reminds us that love, particularly self-love, is what saves us, even on our worst days—especially on our worst days. Love, Cleo says, is the sacred birthright of every human being. It’s not a want; it’s a need, and we require its nourishment now more than ever.

About the author:

Cleo Wade is a New York Times bestselling author and poet whose work explores the beauty, hope and the power and practice of love within ourselves and our communities. Her books include Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life, Where to Begin: A Small Book about Your Power to Create Big Change, and What the Road Said. She is from New Orleans, Louisiana and currently lives in California with her partner, Simon, and their two daughters, Memphis Love and Bayou Beloved.

About Kindred Stories:

Kindred Stories is here to give kids and adults alike a space to explore the wide-open world of literary content and creative works fashioned by black and brown hands. We are a bookstore committed to amplifying Black voices and bringing diverse stories from throughout the African diaspora to our local community in Houston, TX. We are currently located at 2304 Stuart Street, Houston, TX, 77004 in the Third Ward neighborhood. We provide a well curated selection of books and artisan wares to edify the swelling appetites for authentic stories as told by those who have lived them. Learn more about Kindred Stories and shop our online book collection at www.kindredstorieshtx.com.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/worthy-book-tour-with-jada-pinkett-smith-tickets-665594600367

Presented by Kindred Stories - a Black-owed, women-owned bookstore in Third Ward, Houston, TX.

Doors open at 2:00 PM CST. Each paid ticket includes one copy of Jada Pinkett Smith's forthcoming memoir, Worthy.    The book will be available for pickup at the event.

A gripping, at times painfully honest, and irresistibly inspirational memoir from global superstar Jada Pinkett Smith.

Pulling no punches, Smith chronicles lessons of her storied life—from her rebellious youth running the Baltimore streets in the heyday of drug trafficking, to in-demand actress, outspoken activist, to wife and mother in a seeming dream-come-true of Hollywood success. A rollercoaster ride into the shadow of feeling incurably unlovable, Smith’s account takes us from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of self-love, spiritual healing, and a collective celebration of authentic feminine power.

In a media landscape full of false narratives imposed on celebrities, and in a culture primed to deny women their own heroic journeys, Jada Pinkett Smith has chosen to tell her story in her way—by having a conversation with readers, sharing her journey from lost girl to woman warrior to queen of her own heart, to the knowledge that we are all indeed Worthy.

"I open my story at age forty, desperate for help and on the brink of taking my own life. For years I thought I’d checked all the right boxes needed for happiness—career, family, marriage, fame and fortune. All the while I had been running from the wounds within that prevented me from feeling the love and well-being I so wanted. Having come to a point where there was nowhere else to run, I set out on a journey towards curing my urges of self-destruction which required me to confront the truths of the past—from my birth to two teenaged parents, both struggling with addiction, to the haven created by my grandmother who taught me the power of familial love; from my deep friendship with Tupac Shakur that began in high school to my early career breaks and refusal to play the Hollywood game; from my joyful embrace of motherhood to the complicated journey I’ve shared with my husband Will Smith, to lessons learned in the best and worst of times—including “the Slap”; from a deepened spiritual quest for answers to life’s most confounding mysteries to my search to truly understand what it means to love and be loved. Writing Worthy has reinforced my belief that for all our differences, far too many of us suffer from the lies of being unlovable, so much so that we lose sight of who we are and of the richly rewarding lives that are our due. My hope is that my story, as unconventional as it may seem, may give you back your story and the parts that remind you how you came to this life to know—love. Let that love begin with you through the understanding that no matter what—you are Worthy."

Worthy is told in loose chronological order, with segues between the main passages that offer prescriptive, straight to the reader messages and suggestions for applying lessons universally. Meant to be conversation starters, these sections will be in red ink, bringing readers to the “table” and asking them to examine their own lives. An impactful, authentic, and rare memoir that engages and educates, Worthy is a love song to self, to family, to life, and to the world.

Each ticket includes one copy of Worthy and will be available for pick-up at the event.

About the author:

Jada Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer-songwriter, talk show host, producer, and businesswoman. She got her big break in 1991 when she landed the role of Lena James on the NBC sitcom, A Different World. Since then, Jada Pinkett Smith has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Menace II Society, Set It Off, Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, the Madagascar series, Hawthorne, Gotham, Magic Mike XXL, Bad Moms, and Girls Trip.

In 2002, Jada launched her music career when she helped create the metal band Wicked Wisdom, for whom she is a singer and songwriter. In 2004, she published a children’s book, Girls Hold Up This World, which landed at number two on The New York Times Bestseller list. Currently, she is the co-host of the globally embraced streaming talk show Red Table Talk, for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Jada is married to actor Will Smith and shares three children with him. Together, the couple founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity organization which focuses on inner-city youth and family support. The couple also owns Westbrook Inc., a media company that aims to empower artists to tell their stories and connect with the world.

About Kindred Stories:

Kindred Stories is here to give kids and adults alike a space to explore the wide-open world of literary content and creative works fashioned by black and brown hands. We are a bookstore committed to amplifying Black voices and bringing diverse stories from throughout the African diaspora to our local community in Houston, TX. We are currently located at 2304 Stuart Street, Houston, TX, 77004 in the Third Ward neighborhood in partnership with Project Row Houses. We provide a well curated selection of books and artisan wares to edify the swelling appetites for authentic stories as told by those who have lived them. Learn more about Kindred Stories and shop our online book collection at www.kindredstorieshtx.com.