Houston, TX – Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP), the non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing and transforming Houston’s most significant natural waterway, will unveil its new Bayou-Vac on August 3. Years in the making, the custom-designed and fabricated boat provides a substantial boost to BBP’s bayou cleanup operation, known as the Clean & Green Program.
Photo by Anthony Rathbun
For more than 20 years, BBP has employed full-time staff to travel daily up and down 14 miles of the bayou cleaning up trash and debris. The work is endless, and a rain event only exacerbates the relentless flow of trash from Houston’s roads and freeways into its storm drains, and then on to the bayou, Galveston Bay, and ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. To date, BBP’s team has used a custom boat designed and constructed by engineer and longtime BBP Board Member, Mike Garver, to vacuum trash and debris from the bayou and haul it off to a dumpster. Using the boat’s innovative technology, the Clean & Green team has been able to remove approximately 2,000 cubic yards of trash annually, the equivalent of about 167 commercial dump trucks.
The new Bayou-Vac is BBP’s second vacuum vessel. Also created by Garver, the Bayou-Vac incorporates significant improvements which will make the Clean & Green operation far more effective.
“The Bayou-Vac is a game changer for our program,” said BBP Field Operations Manager, Robby Robinson. “Once up and running, we foresee being able to gain an entire workday worth of time for every offload, making us twice as efficient at clearing trash from the bayou.”
Several improvements have been made to the second-generation Bayou-Vac. Its removable dumpsters can be swapped out, so workers no longer need to double handle trash and debris. With the old boat, floating booms were used to collect trash that would be vacuumed into a built-in, permanent container. When the boat’s container was full, workers used a land-based vacuum unit to blow material into a dumpster on shore. The new boat’s removable containers slide off and attach to a dump truck, while an additional container is loaded onto the Bayou-Vac to continue the day’s collection.
Another significant new feature of the Bayou-Vac is a moveable, hydraulic arm attached to the bow of the vessel. This arm supports the considerable weight of the 16-foot vacuum hose. In the prior Bio-Vac, the hose was supported and operated manually, requiring a high level of exertion from workers. The hydraulic arm also allows access a few feet up the banks along the bayou shoreline where trash and debris frequently collect during rain events when the water rises. This was not possible with the former boat.
“BBP deeply appreciates the ingenuity of our board member Mike Garver and the generosity of Sis and Hasty Johnson and the Kinder Foundation, the funders of the new Bayou-Vac,” said BBP President, Anne Olson. “We also thank the Harris County Flood Control District and Port Houston for their longtime support of BBP’s Clean & Green Program.”
The Bayou-Vac will be in full operation in early August 2022, enabling Houstonians to enjoy a cleaner Buffalo Bayou for years to come.
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Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit organization transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource. The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and on to the Port of Houston Turning Basin. BBP creates and cares for inclusive public spaces such as Buffalo Bayou Park, constructs hike and bike trails, and removes trash from the waterway. BBP also activates the bayou through unique programs, public art, volunteer events, and recreational opportunities that enrich the quality of life in Houston. www.buffalobayou.org
BBP’s Clean & Green program has been operating for more than 20 years on Buffalo Bayou. Its function is to collect litter and debris from the waterway using a custom-built industrial strength vacuum boat that removes floatable trash from the water. The program operates five days a week and is directed by BBP’s Field Operations staff assisted by community service workers. Crews work on land, but mostly by boat, to clean storm drains, banks, and other natural collection areas. For more efficient collection, BBP utilizes collection booms that are strategically placed on Buffalo Bayou and neighboring bayous. BBP’s Clean & Green program is supported by Port Houston and Harris County Flood Control District. The new Bayou-Vac is generously supported by Sis and Hasty Johnson and the Kinder Foundation.
Houston, TX – Houston Parks Board and Buffalo Bayou Partnership, in cooperation with the Downtown Redevelopment Authority and the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department, have completed construction on a new park and 0.4-mile hike and bike trail along Buffalo Bayou from Fannin Street to Austin Street. The trail opened to the public on Monday, June 13.
Weaving under and through buildings adjacent to the waterfront just east of Allen’s Landing, this new addition represents a key connection between downtown and points east, furthering Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s goal to create connectivity all the way from Buffalo Bayou Park to the Port of Houston Turning Basin. It also aligns with Houston Parks Board’s goal to create an interconnected system of parks and trails across Houston through Bayou Greenways.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership – donor reception/ribbon cutting along the trails
Key facts:
The new trail extends east from Allen’s Landing Park under the Fannin Street Bridge and up the slope along Commerce Street before passing under the San Jacinto Bridge to the Wilson Building on Commerce Street.
The trail continues through the second basement level of the Wilson Building and under the Harris County Sheriff’s Inmate Processing Center.
From there, the trail opens to a new park on former parking lots along the bayou on either side of Austin Street. As part of the park, the Austin Street cul-de-sac was converted into a public plaza, which is now the Joe Campos Torres Memorial Plaza.
Current trail users may now travel from Buffalo Bayou Park to Austin Street and continue at street level via the Austin Street Corridor bike path. Eventually, the waterfront trail will continue east along Buffalo Bayou.
The total cost of the project is nearly $8.7 million. Buffalo Bayou Partnership project donors are Barbara and the late Gerald Hines, Wendy and Jeff Hines, and Sis and Hasty Johnson. Partner funding comes from the Downtown Redevelopment Authority, a public entity that facilitates positive economic development within downtown’s TIRZ #3 boundaries, and Bayou Greenways, a public-private partnership between Houston Parks Board and the City of Houston through the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, with catalyst funding from the Kinder Foundation.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership will maintain the park and trail under contract with the Houston Parks Board as part of the Bayou Greenways maintenance agreement with the City of Houston.
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Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit organization transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource. The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and on to the Port of Houston Turning Basin. BBP creates and cares for inclusive public spaces such as Buffalo Bayou Park, constructs hike and bike trails, and removes trash from the waterway. BBP also activates the bayou through unique programs, public art, volunteer events, and recreational opportunities that enrich the quality of life in Houston. www.buffalobayou.org
Facebook: @BuffaloBayou
Instagram: @BuffaloBayou
Twitter: @BuffaloBayou
Houston Parks Board creates, improves, protects, and advocates for parks for everyone. Since 1976, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has utilized public-private partnerships and its extensive philanthropic, government, and community relationships to provide equitable access to quality parks and green space to the Greater Houston region. In addition to leading the transformational Bayou Greenways initiative, Houston Parks Board cares for more than 2,600 acres of green space and supports park projects large and small. For more information on Bayou Greenways and Beyond the Bayous, visit www.houstonparksboard.org.
Facebook: @HoustonParksBoard
Instagram: @HoustonParksBoard
Twitter: @HouParksBoard
Houston Parks and Recreation Department (H.P.A.R.D.) stewards and manages 381 parks and over 39,501 acres of parkland and greenspace for the City of Houston and develops and implements recreational programming for citizens of all abilities. For more information on the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, call (832) 395-7022 or visit www.houstonparks.org.
New, multimedia art activation debuts on Buffalo Bayou East trails on April 2
Houston, TX – Night Light is a uniquely Houston evening of free video art along the waterfront. On April 2, Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Aurora Picture Show will present site-specific, large-scale video projections by a diverse lineup of local artists in three unique locations on a stretch of Buffalo Bayou East trails. Attendees can experience the artwork by traveling along the trails via bikes, on foot, or by other means while enjoying music, food, and goods from neighborhood vendors.
Julia Barbosa-Landois, Marcelese Cooper, and Input/Output are the artists included in the Night Light program. These local visionaries have created abstract and experimental works in direct response to three locations along the bayou, drawing upon the themes of water and industry. The event aims to welcome adjacent communities and the general public and celebrate these interesting – but often overlooked – sites along the Buffalo Bayou waterfront. The center of Night Light is Guadalupe Plaza (behind Talento Bilengue Houston), and other featured sites are the Gravel Silos and the underside of a freeway overpass.
The locations featured in Night Light are important landmarks in in BBP’s 2019 Master Plan, which details how the waterfront will be transformed throughout the Greater East End and Fifth Ward neighborhoods, stretching to the Port of Houston Turning Basin. These locations are part of a contiguous trail that will be revitalized with added green space, reimagined industrial sites, and vibrant gathering spaces for all Houstonians.
“We are thrilled to welcome community members to this free celebration on Buffalo Bayou,” said Karen Farber, BBP’s Vice President of External Affairs. “Night Light is an example of how we plan to activate the waterfront with exciting, unique art for all to experience and enjoy.”
Night Light is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.
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ABOUT BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP Established in 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource. The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and onto the Port of Houston Turning Basin. BBP creates and cares for inclusive public spaces such as Buffalo Bayou Park, constructs hike and bike trails, and removes trash from the waterway. Buffalo Bayou Partnership also activates the bayou through unique programs, public art, volunteer events and recreational opportunities that enrich the quality of life in Houston.
Photo by Lawrence Knox/Courtesy of Buffalo Bayou Partnership
HOUSTON, TX – Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP), the nonprofit organization revitalizing and transforming Houston’s historic Buffalo Bayou, is pleased to announce that its current film and sound installation in the Cistern, Time No Longer, has received a prestigious award from CODAworx. The ninth annual, international CODAawards celebrate exemplary collaborations between art and design. Time No Longer received a high honor, being named one of the top four projects in the competitive Public Spaces category.
Time No Longer is artist Anri Sala’s innovative film and sound installation, commissioned by BBP for the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern. The installation, designed to be viewed in 360-degrees, creates an other-worldly environment within this vast, subterranean space. Its film features a weathered turntable floating in a space station. It pays homage to Houston hero, astronaut Ronald McNair. Accompanying the film is a score adapted by renowned composer Olivier Goinard from Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.
“We are delighted that Anri Sala’s creation has received this outstanding recognition,” said Karen Farber, BBP’s Vice President of External Affairs. “The Cistern is such a singular site for public art, and Sala’s awe-inspiring creation brings it alive for us all.”
The CODAawards received nearly 400 entries from 19 different countries representing nearly $500 million in artwork commissions. The winners exemplify the best of what can happen when artists and design professionals collaborate to create artful spaces in our built environment.
“The CODAawards recognize the importance of collaboration and honor the design and art professionals whose collective imaginations create the public and private spaces that inspire us,” said Toni Sikes, CEO of CODAworx.
The collaboration between art and industry transforms common spaces into spectacular ones. This excellence is reflected in the recipients of 2021 CODAawards, which will be featured in the November 2021 online issue of Interior Design Magazine and on CODAworx.com.
Time No Longer is on view in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern until December 12, 2021.
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About Buffalo Bayou Partnership Established in 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource. The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and onto the Port of Houston Turning Basin. BBP creates and cares for inclusive public spaces such as Buffalo Bayou Park, constructs hike and bike trails, and removes trash from the waterway. Buffalo Bayou Partnership also activates the bayou through unique programs, public art, volunteer events and recreational opportunities that enrich the quality of life in Houston.
HOUSTON—Discovery Green Conservancy® is partnering with Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Emancipation Park Conservancy this fall to celebrate the legacy and evolution of jazz in Houston with Jazzy Sundays in the Parks, a live music series made possible by the Kinder Foundation.
The series features free, family-friendly concerts every Sunday in September at Emancipation Park, every Sunday in October at Discovery Green and every Sunday in November at The Water Works in Buffalo Bayou Park. Legendary jazz performers, such as Conrad Johnson and Jewel Brown, will be highlighted alongside up-and-coming artists, such as The Peterson Brothers. Each concert will be preceded by a free workshop at 3 p.m. where kids can learn about music and instruments in partnership with Da Camera and Young Audiences of Houston.
A bonus Series Spectacular concert will be headlined by acclaimed American gospel and R&B singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples with an opening performance by rising star and Kinder HSPVA graduate, Marcos Varela will be held at Discovery Green on Friday, October 15. Doors are at 6:30 p.m.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Jazzy Sundays in the Parks collaboration was initially planned for Spring 2020 and announced in February 2020. All performances, including Mavis Staples, were then postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each park will follow local guidelines concerning COVID-19 protocols.
Jazzy Sundays Event Details
WHAT: Mavis Staples Series Spectacular at Discovery Green
Friday, October 15
Doors at 6:30 p.m. Performance at 7:30 p.m. 1500 McKinney, Houston, TX 77010
(In the event of rain, the performance will be held at Wortham Center.)
September at Emancipation Park
Music workshops led by Young Audiences of Houston at 3 p.m. followed by concerts from 4–6 p.m.
Emancipation Park, 3018 Emancipation Avenue, Houston, TX 77010
Long before the public launch of the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan (link), BBP has been active in neighborhoods east of downtown, engaging with community leaders and learning about how amenities such as trails and green space can serve neighborhood residents. Now, we are delighted to announce the hiring of Juan Antonio Sorto as BBP’s new full-time Community Engagement Manager.
Named “Houstonian of the Year” by the Houston Chronicle in 2013, Juan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and a master’s degree from Texas Southern University. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University. Juan chairs the Houston Super Neighborhood Alliance and has volunteered with Houston Independent School District and Star of Hope. Much of his career has been spent as a community supervision officer at Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. Juan has received numerous recognitions including a Shell Hurricane Harvey Heroes Award, a George and Barbara Bush Points of Light Award, a Houston Dynamo Charities Award, and TEA Heroes for Children Award. He contributes regularly to the Rice University Kinder Institute’s “Urban Edge” and other publications. December 15, 2020 was proclaimed by the City of Houston as Juan Antonio Sorto Day. See a special profile of Juan here.
At BBP, Juan will build and maintain relationships in neighborhoods along Buffalo Bayou, represent Buffalo Bayou Partnership in the community, and ensure that area residents have a voice in Buffalo Bayou East programs and initiatives.
Grant to accelerate transformative development for Buffalo Bayou East
Houston, Texas – December 9, 2020 – Houston Endowment announced today that it has granted $10 million to Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP). The grant will provide funds towards the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan to transform the waterway’s East Sector over the next 20 years with new bayou parks and trails, dynamic recreational and cultural destinations, as well as bikeways and “green fingers” into surrounding neighborhoods. In addition to extending the western network of Buffalo Bayou parks, trails and open space, the plan connects the historic Fifth Ward and Greater East End neighborhoods to the bayou and to each other. Development of the plan comes after nearly two years of engagement with residents throughout the area based on four core principles of authenticity, inclusivity, connectivity and resiliency.
“This project will play a major role in the City of Houston’s Complete Communities initiative, which seeks to improve neighborhoods so that all of Houston’s residents and business owners can have access to quality services and amenities,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. “The grant from Houston Endowment is another exciting step forward in the creation of a more equitable city for all Houstonians. We are grateful to both Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Houston Endowment not only for their inclusive vision of a better Houston, but their commitment to making it a reality.”
Houston Endowment joins other foundations, corporations, individuals and government agencies that have enabled BBP to implement more than $200 million in improvements for the redevelopment and stewardship of the waterfront over the past 30 years. The $10 million grant from Houston Endowment will enable Buffalo Bayou Partnership to deliver initial Buffalo Bayou East improvements and build a strong foundation for future projects and initiatives that offer economic, social and environmental benefits for both residents of the Fifth Ward and Greater East End neighborhoods as well as the broader Houston community, including:
“The Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan is strategically aligned with Houston Endowment’s mission to work with others toward a vibrant community where all have the opportunity to thrive,” said Houston Endowment President and CEO Ann B. Stern. “We are pleased to support this work and to help set the effort in motion.”
“The Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan will transform the East Sector and over time, touch the lives of all Houstonians,” said BBP President Anne Olson. “It will pay tribute to Houston’s industrial roots, celebrate culturally rich neighborhoods, and serve as an important symbol for the city’s continuing commitment to accessible park space for all.”
“Fifth Ward Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 18 is proud to be working with BBP on this visionary East Sector Master Plan,” said Kathy Flanagan Payton, FWRA/TRIZ 18 Board Member. “These improvements provide greater access to the waterfront for Fifth Ward residents and help to enhance the neighborhood’s cultural legacy and sense of place.”
In addition to new and improved waterfront trails and on-street bikeways, as well as hundreds of acres of new and improved parks, the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan project will include the creation of new boat landings and bridges; the development of a Downtown Gateway that will link northeastern downtown to the East Sector by utilizing green space and detention ponds; a 20-acre expansion of the City’s Tony Marron Park to act as an open space anchor; restoration of an urban creek that will connect the bayou to the historic Fifth Ward; the rehabilitation of BBP-owned industrial sites including Turkey Bend and the Lockwood Water Treatment Works; the creation of an eastern trailhead, linking the County’s Yolanda Black Navarro Buffalo Bend Nature Park to the City’s Hidalgo Park; and the development of a mixed-income housing project at Lockwood Drive and the bayou.
About Houston Endowment
Established in 1937, Houston Endowment advances equity of opportunity for the people of Greater Houston and enhances the vibrancy of our community so that our region and its people thrive. In 2020, the Endowment will grant more than $80 million to the area in support of our community and advancing our mission.
About Buffalo Bayou Partnership
Established in 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource. The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and onto the Port of Houston Turning Basin. Thanks to the generous support of foundations, corporations, individuals and government agencies, BBP has implemented more than $200 million in improvements for the redevelopment and stewardship of the waterfront – spearheading award-winning projects such as Buffalo Bayou Park, planning for new parks and green space east of downtown, constructing hike and bike trails, and operating comprehensive clean-up and maintenance programs. Buffalo Bayou Partnership also activates the waterway through pedestrian, boating and biking amenities; volunteer activities; and wide-ranging tours and programs that engage tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Houston, TX – November 19, 2020 – Buffalo Bayou Partnership is pleased to announce a newly commissioned artwork for the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern by the internationally renowned multi-media artist, Anri Sala. This immersive new film and sound installation, titled Time No Longer, will occupy the Cistern for a period of nine months, transporting visitors into an other-worldly environment within this vast, subterranean reservoir.
Time No Longer will incorporate film projected onto a translucent, 22 by 150-foot (7 by 45-meter) screen with a soundtrack emanating throughout the space, its reverberations creating ripples on the surface of the water. Visitors will encounter the work in 360 degrees by making their way around the full perimeter of the 87,500-square-foot Cistern, hearing, feeling, and watching it through the Cistern’s 221 supporting columns.
The film depicts a weathered turntable floating in a space station. It is tethered only by its electric cord, which allows it to keep playing a vinyl record. There appears to be no human presence to listen to it, and an uneasy quiescence around it suggests it may be spinning in the aftermath of a catastrophe – a custodian of that absent humanity. With its own acrobatic intelligence, the tonearm moves from place to place on the record, the needle’s touch and rise resuming and ceasing its music. In a manner that seems not entirely at the mercies of gravity or chance, it continuously conducts itself. From its position in space, it observes 16 earthly sunrises and sunsets each day.
The turntable plays a new arrangement of French composer Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time that draws on the unique history of the quartet’s composition. During the Second World War, Messiaen (1908–1992) was captured at Verdun and incarcerated at a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. While imprisoned he wrote Quartet for the End of Time, premiering it in 1941 – with three fellow musician prisoners – to an audience of captives and guards. Scored only for instruments they could each play and find, this extraordinary piece of chamber music remains the most searingly haunting and memorable work composed through incarceration. Sala recognized in Messiaen’s elegiac piece not only a sense of overwhelming loneliness at a time when the world’s crises seemed insurmountable, but also the need to bring something – however fragile and soft-spoken – into that numbness. For Time No Longer, Sala was particularly drawn to the only solo movement of the quartet, ‘The Abyss of the Birds’, which was written for clarinet and played by Messiaen’s fellow prisoner of war, Algerian musician Henri Akoka. As Messiaen put it, “The abyss is Time with its sadness, its weariness. The birds [clarinet] are the opposite to Time; they are our desire for light…”
Sala found a natural complement to this isolated clarinet in another remarkable musical event, the story of Ronald McNair’s saxophone. In 1986 McNair, one of the world’s first Black astronauts to have reached space, was also a professional saxophone player who had planned to play and record a saxophone solo on board the Space Shuttle Challenger. This would have been the first original piece of music recorded in space had not that journey been suddenly and tragically curtailed; the spacecraft disintegrated seconds after take-off, killing everyone on board. Sala felt that composing a saxophone part for ‘The Abyss of the Birds’ would subtly re-envisage a piece that was never played where it was intended, and also form a duet between two instrumental voices – empathetic and interdependent through what they have endured. The saxophone is introduced in Time No Longer only when the needle leaves the vinyl, granting McNair a ghostly presence, refracted into space via Akoka’s clarinet. The powerful acoustics of the cavernous Cistern also indicate the vastness and loneliness of what connects McNair and Akoka, respectively outer space and incarceration.
“We are in awe of what Anri Sala has created for the Cistern and cannot wait to share this poetic project with the public,” said Karen Farber, Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s Vice President of External Affairs. “From the moment he saw the space, Sala was taken with it, and he has created an artwork that truly responds to both the Cistern’s uniqueness, and the story of the City of Houston. We are so fortunate to play host to this exciting work.”
Houston provides an appropriate setting for Time No Longer, Sala’s most ambitious project to date. It is both the origin and fulcrum of two endeavors at the extent of our vertical frontiers: one boring deep into the earth to extract its riches, another venturing upwards into improbable space exploration. For nine months, the Cistern’s underground chamber will become the dwelling place for a symbiosis steeped in suffering, but never bound by it.
The sound arrangement for Time No Longer is made in partnership with two of Sala’s long-term collaborators, Hungarian-American musician André Vida, and French sound designer Olivier Goinard. The saxophone is performed by Vida himself, while the clarinet is performed by French clarinetist Raphaël Sévère. Time No Longer is curated in collaboration with Weingarten Art Group.
This project is organized by Buffalo Bayou Partnership with lead underwriting provided by Suzanne Deal Booth Cultural Trust, John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation, and Marian Goodman Gallery. Free Thursdays at the Cistern sponsored by KBR. Major support provided by Radoff Family Foundation, Scott and Judy Nyquist, and [N.A!] Project, with additional support from Weingarten Art Group. Buffalo Bayou Partnership is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. (as of November 19, 2020)
ABOUT THE ARTIST Anri Sala constructs transformative, time-based works through multiple relationships between image, architecture, and sound, employing these as elements to fold, capsize, and question experience. His works investigate ruptures in language, syntax, and music, inviting creative dislocations which generate new interpretations of history, supplanting old fictions and narratives with less-explicit, more-nuanced dialogues. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2019); Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2017); the New Museum, New York (2016); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2014); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2012); Serpentine Gallery, London (2011); Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (2008); and ARC, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2004). He has also participated in major group exhibitions and biennials internationally, including the Fifty-seventh Venice Biennale (2017), documenta (13) (2012), the Twenty-ninth São Paulo Biennial (2010), the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2007), and the Fourth Berlin Biennale (2006). In 2013, he represented France in the Fifty-fifth Venice Biennale. Anri Sala has an upcoming solo exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, opening July 2021.
André Vida is a saxophonist and composer living in Berlin. Vida has created performance pieces augmenting the physical gestures and energies present in the instantaneous moments of improvisation. Vida has performed widely as a soloist and has also collaborated with a diverse group of artists. Vida has been commissioned by Hyper! at The Deichtorhallen, the Tri-Centric Foundation, Global Art Forum 7 and 10, the 8th Berlin Biennale, Eyebeam, and the European Sax Ensemble. A three-volume set of his work from 1995 – 2011 was released on PAN, his piece for 41 saxophones, Minor Differences, was released on Entr’acte, and he has been featured in The Wire, TANK, Monopol, and Electronic Beats.
Olivier Goinard is a French sound designer who started his career collaborating with many French filmmakers (Olivier Assayas, Benoît Jacquot, André Téchiné, Cédric Kahn, Mia Hansen Löve, Julie Bertucelli, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Agnès Varda). Since 2007 he has been mixing the films of award-winning directors in Cannes and other major international film festivals (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Xavier Dolan, Naomi Kawase or Jia Zhang Ké). In 2020, Olivier Goinard received the César (National Film Award of France) for best sound for his work on The Wolf’s Call, a film by Antonin Baudry. Besides his work for the cinema, a close collaboration with Anri Sala started in 1998 and continues through sound design and the monitoring of the artists diverse projects.
ABOUT BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP Established in 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource. The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and onto the Port of Houston Turning Basin. Thanks to the generous support of foundations, corporations, individuals and government agencies, BBP has implemented more than $200 million in improvements for the redevelopment and stewardship of the waterfront – spearheading award-winning projects such as Buffalo Bayou Park, planning for new parks and green space east of downtown, constructing hike and bike trails, and operating comprehensive clean-up and maintenance programs.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership also activates the waterway through pedestrian, boating and biking amenities; volunteer activities; and wide-ranging tours and programs that engage tens of thousands of visitors each year. The organization has long been dedicated to presenting arts projects along the bayou – working with a coterie of local, national, and internationally recognized artists as well as collaborating with a broad spectrum of organizations on film, music, dance and cultural events. BBP’s vision for its public art program is to present inspiring and original art and cultural experiences, engage our diverse communities, promote opportunities for connection and dialogue, and celebrate the unique character of Buffalo Bayou.
ABOUT BUFFALO BAYOU PARK CISTERN A structure reminiscent of the ancient Roman cisterns in Istanbul, the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is a cavernous, 87,500-square-foot-space featuring more than 200 slender, 25-foot high concrete columns. BBP rediscovered the Cistern in 2010 when it was developing the $58-million Buffalo Bayou Park project, a 160-acre green space west of downtown Houston. Recognizing the significance of the highly unusual site, BBP took a bold step to repurpose the Cistern into a magnificent public space. In addition to tours highlighting the history and architecture of the Cistern, BBP presents an ambitious program of changing art installations in this iconic space. This will be the Cistern’s third major art installation, following Rain: Magdalena Fernández at the Houston Cistern in 2016 and Carlos Cruz-Diez at the Cistern: Spatial Chromointerference in 2018.
HOUSTON – The City of Houston planted 600 native trees today to kick off its new tree planting goal established by the City’s Resilient Houston strategy and Houston Climate Action Plan. The effort centered on communities with the highest rate of health conditions that can be worsened by pollution and climate change.
“Our goal of planting 4.6 million new native trees is the equivalent of two new trees for every Houstonian,” said Councilmember David Robinson. “As a resilient and sustainable city, we need to plant the seeds today for future generations to fully reap the benefits.”
From left to right: Loren Hopkins (City of Houston Health Dept.), Chris Sadler (Harris County Precinct Two), Council Member Robert Gallegos, Anne Olson, Council Member David Robinson, Deborah January-Bevers (Houston Wilderness), Marissa Aho (City of Houston Resiliency Office)
Representatives from the City of Houston, the newly formed Tree Strategy Implementation Group (TSIG), led by Houston Wilderness, Buffalo Bayou Partnership and approximately 100 volunteer tree-planters from Bank of Texas, Shell Oil, Dow Chemical, ALJ Lindsey and interested Houstonians participated in the event commemorating Texas Arbor Day at Buffalo Bend Nature Park.
“Trees improve our ability to combat many of the health, equity, climate, and built environment challenges that we face,” said Marissa Aho, Chief Resilience Officer. “These include helping to cool and shade in the face of urban and extreme heat, improving air quality and capturing carbon, supporting rich biodiversity, improving health and wellbeing, and enhancing the built environment.”
Houston’s Climate Action Plan focused on how the City’s tree planting goal will help restore, protect and enhance our natural ability to capture and store carbon to help mitigate climate change.
The area selected for the first 600 trees includes communities that experience twice the rate of cardiac arrest and six times the amount to asthma attacks compared to the rest of the city.
“This planting of native trees with the highest capacity to reap environmental benefits provides the opportunity to proactively address both climate change and its implications for health”, said Dr. Loren Hopkins, Chief Environmental Science Officer for the Houston Health Department. “Air pollutants absorbed by trees include nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter, all pollutants associated with increased risk of cardiac arrest and asthma attacks in Houston.”
Planting 4.6 million new native trees in 10 years will need every Houstonian to play a role, but some local leaders have volunteered to begin coordinating implementation of this ambitious target with public and private partners.
“The Tree Strategy Implementation Group, comprised of all the major large-scale native tree planters in the region, came together in early 2020 to create a strategy to accomplish the planting of 4.6 million native trees by 2030,” said Deborah January-Bevers, President of Houston Wilderness. “Based on data analyzed by TSIG members to be most beneficial to the region, 40% of the native 4.6 million trees are targeted for Urban Heat Islandareas with tree species with large leaf canopies, and 60% of the native trees are targeted for native ‘Super Trees’ species, such as the Live Oak, American Elm and Sycamore, Tuliptree, Maple and Ash trees and Loblolly Pine, that provide high levels of air pollution reduction, water absorption, erosion control and carbon sequestration.”
Resilient Houston also sets a target to conserve 24% of undeveloped regional land as natural spaces by 2040.
“We look forward to continuing to facilitate progress on the three key goals under the eight-county Gulf-Houston Regional Conservation Plan, which mirrors goals under the Resilient Houston Plan,” said Graciela Gilardoni, Houston Wilderness Board Member. “The City of Houston, Harris County and other regional partners recognize that the urban forest is a critical part of the resilience goals to benefit residents now and in generations to come.”
The Arbor Day tree planting was hosted by the Buffalo Bayou Partnership at their Buffalo Bend Nature Park.
“Buffalo Bayou Partnership worked with Harris County Precinct Two and other governmental agencies to acquire and develop this abandoned industrial property,” said Anne Olson, President of Buffalo Bayou Partnership, “And the 600 native Super Trees planted on November 6th are part of the transformation taking place on this riparian green space in Houston’s East End.”
Exposición del 22 de octubre de 2020 al 23 de abril de 2021 Buffalo Bayou Park
HOUSTON, TX, 3 de septiembre de 2020. Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) tiene el placer de presentar Estructuras Monumentales, una importante exposición de esculturas al aire libre de la artista de 105 años de edad Carmen Herrera (nacida en La Habana, Cuba, en 1915). Con la presentación de cuatro esculturas creadas recientemente, que la artista concibió hace casi cinco décadas, Estructuras Monumentales es la primera exposición pública del arte de Carmen Herrera en Houston, y es tan solo la segunda vez que estas obras de gran formato se muestran a nivel mundial. Organizada en colaboración con Public Art Fund, una entidad sin fines de lucro de la ciudad de Nueva York, Estructuras Monumentales se presentó por primera vez en el City Hall Park de Manhattan en 2019. Esta importante exposición es una reseña de la artista que ofrece al público de Houston una experiencia impactante e invita a la reflexión a la vez que rinde homenaje a la completa variedad de la obra de Carmen Herrera en tres dimensiones.
La artista, radicada en Nueva York, es conocida por sus vibrantes pinturas geométricas abstractas, y comenzó a concebir la serie Estructuras —la manifestación física de su pintura en tres dimensiones— en los años sesenta. Las estructuras de aluminio resultantes se caracterizan por sus intensas líneas y formas, con vivos colores monocromáticos. Con un tamaño desde los 7 pies de alto hasta los 12 pies de ancho, las esculturas de colores llenarán de vida Buffalo Bayou Park a una escala monumental. Las vívidas esculturas de color rojo, azul, verde y blanco se encuentran en Fondren Foundation Meadow, y se trata de la segunda exposición temporal de arte en este lugar, tras la presentación en 2019 de la instalación New Monuments for New Cities, (Nuevos monumentos para nuevas ciudades), un proyecto artístico de colaboración pública que organizaron BBP y High Line Network.
La exposición de Estructuras, de Carmen Herrera, en Houston, forma parte de la conmemoración del quinto aniversario de Buffalo Bayou Park. Durante todo el mes de octubre, BBP ofrecerá una variedad de eventos virtuales e instalaciones de arte que destacarán la manera en la que este emblemático espacio verde urbano inspira la creatividad y la innovación. Esta exposición tiene una especial consonancia con el aniversario del parque, ya que se suman cuatro de las esculturas de Carmen Herrera, complementadas por una quinta y emblemática obra existente, Large Spindle Piece (Gran pieza en forma de huso), de Henry Moore (1969), que se encuentra situada de manera permanente en el centro de este espacio. Los carteles de esta exposición estarán tanto en inglés como en español, y se organizarán programas para el público mientras se exhiba la muestra.
“Tenemos el honor de presentar esta exposición de Carmen Herrera, una de las artistas contemporáneas más importantes del mundo, y de colaborar con Public Art Fund y el MFAH (Museo de Bellas Artes de Houston) para rendir homenaje al legado de la artista”, afirmó Judy Nyquist, miembro de la Junta Directiva de BBP y copresidente del Comité de Arte Público de la organización. “Como este es un espacio del parque que goza de gran visibilidad, miles de habitantes de Houston tendrán la oportunidad de admirar estas obras e inspirarse con ellas de manera gratuita en un entorno al aire libre que es atractivo para todos”.
Ángulo Blanco (2017) es la primera Estructura que ha diseñado Carmen Herrera en más de tres décadas. Esta composición dinámica con forma de “V” invertida transmite movimiento y ritmo, a la vez que evoca las abundantes formas de triángulos y diamantes de sus emblemáticas pinturas. Presenta tanto la solidez de un objeto escultórico como la ausencia de gravedad de una figura celestial pura que asciende rumbo a lo alto. Pavana (1967-2017) es una obra solemne y contemplativa que fue concebida originalmente como un dibujo, en 1967, en homenaje al hermano de Carmen Herrera, quien tenía cáncer. Con un título que hace referencia al término musical, una danza de movimientos pausados, Pavana está formada por tres elementos entrelazados de color azul profundo que se alzan con firmeza casi tres metros hacia el cielo y casi tres metros a lo largo del césped. Géminis (1971-2019) se exhibe por primera vez en el mundo en la exposición de Houston. Esta escultura, fabricada recientemente, y Estructura sin título (1962-2018) se basan en diseños históricos desde los años sesenta hasta inicios de los setenta. Ambas obras están compuestas por dos partes entrelazadas o abrazadas que demuestran el delicado equilibrio geométrico, la paleta pura y el atrevido uso del color que caracterizan a Carmen Herrera. Al enmarcar el paisaje circundante e incorporarlo a sus formas, las Estructuras de Carmen Herrera crearán un diálogo fascinante entre las esculturas de aluminio pintado y su entorno natural en el parque.
“En un momento en el que el arte público es más importante que nunca, nos entusiasma colaborar con Buffalo Bayou Partnership para que Estructuras Monumentales, de Carmen Herrera, llegue al público de
Houston”, afirma Daniel S. Palmer, curador de Public Art Fund. “Las esculturas impresionantes de Carmen Herrera encajarán perfectamente en este entorno natural complementado por el paisaje urbano geométrico y vivaz de Houston. Se trata del marco ideal para destacar la obra de Carmen Herrera, una artista eminente que por fin recibe su más que merecido reconocimiento”.
En conjunto con la exposición de Buffalo Bayou Partnership, se exhibirán obras de Carmen Herrera en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Houston del 21 de octubre de 2020 al 18 de enero de 2021. Titulada Carmen Herrera: Structuring Surfaces (Carmen Herrera: superficies estructuradas), es la primera exposición que el Museo dedica a la obra de esta artista aclamada a nivel mundial, y presenta más de 30 de sus obras desde los años sesenta hasta la fecha, incluyendo pinturas, dibujos, grabados, estructuras murales y objetos. En la actualidad, hay exposiciones de Carmen Herrera en la Galería Lisson, Nueva York (del 10 de septiembre al 21 de octubre de 2020) y The Perimeter, Londres (del 25 de septiembre al 8 de enero de 2021).
Nacida en Cuba, en 1915, Carmen Herrera se trasladó a París después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, lugar donde trascurrieron los primeros años de su carrera y dónde su práctica adquirió toda su forma. Se instaló de manera permanente en Nueva York en los años cincuenta, aunque a pesar de convertirse en parte del escenario del arte abstracto neoyorkino, su obra fue en gran medida ignorada hasta pasados sus ochenta años de edad. Fiel a la abstracción geométrica pura que desarrolló en el París de la posguerra, en los últimos años ha sido reconocida como una figura de vanguardia de los movimientos del abstracto y el minimalismo. Estructuras Monumentales rinde homenaje a la vasta carrera de Carmen Herrera y a su interés por las formas tridimensionales.
Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales es una exposición con curaduría de Daniel S. Palmer, de Public Art Fund. Public Art Fund presentó esta exposición por primera vez en el City Hall Park de la ciudad de Nueva York entre el 11 de julio y el 8 de noviembre de 2019. La presentación de Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales en Houston fue organizada en colaboración con Buffalo Bayou Partnership y Public Art Fund.
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ACERCA DE LA ARTISTA
Carmen Herrera nació en La Habana, Cuba, en 1915. Se trasladó frecuentemente entre Francia y Cuba durante los años treinta y los años cuarenta. Tras haber iniciado sus estudios de Arquitectura en la Universidad de La Habana, La Habana, Cuba (1938-39), se capacitó en la Liga de Estudiantes de Arte de Nueva York, EE. UU. (1942-43) antes de exponer cinco veces en el Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Francia (1949–53). Se instaló en Nueva York en 1954, donde sigue viviendo y trabajando.
La obra de Carmen Herrera fue objeto de una reseña de la artista en una exposición a gran escala en el Museo Whitney de Arte Estadounidense (2016), y más adelante se exhibió en el Centro Wexner para las Artes, Columbus, Ohio (2017) y en el Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K20), Düsseldorf, Alemania (2017–2018). Una selección de las pinturas recientes de la artista y Estructuras inauguró el espacio de exposición de 24th Street de la Galería Lisson de Nueva York en mayo de 2016. Carmen Herrera también ha tenido exposiciones individuales en el Museo Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, Alemania (2010), la Galería Ikon, Birmingham, Inglaterra (2009) y el Museo del Barrio, Nueva York (1998). Ha formado parte de muestras
grupales en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Houston (2017); The Underground Museum, Los Ángeles (2017); Haus der Kunst, Múnich, Alemania (2016); el Museo de Arte de Phoenix, Arizona (2013) y el Museo de Arte de Sheldon, Nebraska (2012), entre otros. Su obra fue presentada en la exposición Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera (Abstracción épica: de Pollock a Herrera) en The Met Breuer (2018-19).
ACERCA DE BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP
Establecida en 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) es una entidad sin fines de lucro que se dedica a transformar y a revitalizar Buffalo Bayou, el recurso natural más importante de Houston. El enfoque geográfico de la organización abarca el área de 30 kilómetros cuadrados de Buffalo Bayou, que recorre Shepherd Drive, atraviesa el corazón del centro de la ciudad hasta el Sector Este y desemboca en la cuenca de navegación del Puerto de Houston. Gracias al generoso aporte de fundaciones, corporaciones, individuos y organismos gubernamentales, BBP ha implementado más de 200 millones de dólares estadounidenses en mejoras de reurbanización y administración de las zonas verdes de las riberas, entre las que se destacan proyectos premiados, como el Buffalo Bayou Park, la planificación de parques y espacios verdes nuevos al este del centro de la ciudad, la construcción de senderos para caminar y andar en bicicleta, y la ejecución de programas exhaustivos de limpieza y mantenimiento.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership también aporta vida al paseo de las riberas a través de servicios para peatones, paseos en barco y ciclismo, actividades de voluntariado y excursiones y programas de gran alcance en los que participan decenas de miles de visitantes cada año. La organización cuenta con una amplia trayectoria en la presentación de proyectos artísticos a orillas de Buffalo Bayou, y ha trabajado con una serie de artistas reconocidos a nivel local, nacional e internacional, además de colaborar en una gran variedad de organizaciones en muestras de cine, música y danza, así como en otros eventos culturales. La visión de BBP con respecto a su programa de arte público es presentar experiencias artísticas y culturales originales e inspiradoras, involucrar a nuestras diversas comunidades, promover las oportunidades de conexión y diálogo, y conmemorar el carácter único de Buffalo Bayou.
ACERCA DE PUBLIC ART FUND
Como el líder en su campo, Public Art Fund acerca el arte contemporáneo dinámico al gran público en la ciudad de Nueva York y otros lugares al montar exposiciones gratuitas de gran envergadura y de alcance e impacto internacionales que ofrecen experiencias intensas con el arte y el entorno urbano.
PATROCINADORES
Los principales patrocinadores de Estructuras Monumentales en Houston fueron Erika y John Toussaint. La Farrell Family Foundation, así como Susan y Leonard Feinstein fueron benefactores. Además, se recibieron fondos adicionales de Leslie y Brad Bucher y de la Galería Lisson. Buffalo Bayou Partnership es financiada en parte por la ciudad de Houston a través de Houston Arts Alliance.
Movado Group Foundation fue el patrocinador que presentó Estructuras Monumentales en el City Hall Park de la ciudad de Nueva York.
Public Art Fund cuenta con el respaldo de la generosidad de individuos, corporaciones y fundaciones privadas, que incluye el importante apoyo de Bloomberg Philanthropies, así como el gran apoyo de Charina Endowment Fund, Con Edison, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Marc Haas Foundation, Hartfield Foundation, NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund en The New York Community Trust, Donald
A. Pels Charitable Trust y The Silverweed Foundation.
Las exposiciones y los programas de Public Art Fund también se financian en parte con fondos públicos de organismos gubernamentales, entre ellos, el Consejo para las Artes del Estado de Nueva York, con el apoyo del gobernador Andrew M. Cuomo y la Legislatura del Estado de Nueva York, y el Departamento de Asuntos Culturales de la Ciudad de Nueva York en asociación con el Concejo de la Ciudad.
VISITAR LA EXPOSICIÓN
Fondren Foundation Meadow en Buffalo Bayou Park Allen Parkway en Gillette Street
En exhibición durante el horario del parque: de 6 a. m. a 11 p. m.
Créditos de la fotografía:
Carmen Herrera
Estructura sin título (Rojo), 1962-2018 Acrílico y aluminio, 2,44 x 3,25 x 1,17 m.
En exhibición como parte de Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales, presentada por Public Art Fund en el City Hall Park de la ciudad de Nueva York entre el 11 de julio y el 8 de noviembre de 2019. Fotografía: Nicholas Knight, Cortesía de Public Art Fund, Nueva York
For press inquiries, email Karen Farber, BBP VP of External Affairs, or call 713.752.0314 ext. 353.
