New American Festival, a celebration of diversity and immigrant contributions to culture, in the arts, food, and more. Immigrant artists will share their work, special performances, and personal stories. Enjoy food and drinks with the price of admission.
Immigrant and refugee artists across mediums will come together at the Houston New American Festival to share their work and personal stories. Featured artists include Jesús Sanchez, whose technicolor murals pay homage to Houston’s diverse immigrant cultures and his hometown of Mexico City, and Sania Wafeq, who creates black charcoal and pencil drawings with subtle watercolor accents. Sania is an asylee who fled from persecution from the Taliban in Afghanistan for her women’s rights work. Nigerian-born artist Lanre Buraimoh, celebrated for his use of motifs and beadwork techniques drawn from the Yoruba people of West Africa, will also present his paintings. Local restaurant Poitín will serve small dishes inspired by owner Ian Tucker and the artists’ birth countries of Ireland, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Mexico. Award-winning documentary filmmakers Rational Middle will show a short film, “The Immigrant’s Promise,” that explores the role immigration plays in shaping America’s history, identity, and economy. The highlight of the evening will be a fully immersive live painting performance by Geraldina Interiano Wise, a contemporary Latina artist whose avant-garde work explores themes of coexistence and connectivity. Her performance, a collaboration with Dr. Jose Contreras-Vidal, Director of the Non-Invasive Brain-Machine Interface Lab at the University of Houston, delves into the new field of Neuroaesthetics. The audience will witness the making of a new scientific model as the performance is a data mining event that incorporates cutting-edge technology in a closed loop of the artist’s brain. Geraldina will also use working tools and house paint as an ode to the working Salvadorans in our country.
Hosted by: New American Economy & Center for Houston's Future
