Brainstorming, Beer and Pizza
For Universal Backyard Theater Project
Wednesday, April 11, 6:30-8:30PM
Location: Aurora Picture Show Office and Library, 1524 Sul Ross
Free Admission
Part construction project, part participatory performance, Universal Backyard Theater explores the power of the community vote and collaborative art projects.  In addition to the Houston brainstorming session, MTAA has already hosted a public brainstorming session in New York as well, making this a cross-country collaboration.  However, the design process will be completed in Houston with a brainstorming session on Wednesday, April 11th where the community is invited to help design all aspects of the space, including architectural, aesthetic, and labor choices.  Will it have windows?  What shape will it be? Brainstorming fuel will be provided thanks to Pink's Pizza and Saint Arnold Brewery.  Be prepared to get the build started on this night.  READ MORE

Universal Backyard Theater
with Menil Community Arts Festival
Saturday, April 14, 11AM-5PM, Screening at 8PM
Location: Aurora Picture Show Office and Library, 1524 Sul Ross
Free Admission
Inspired by old-fashioned barn raisings, which created a community gathering to build a structure from scratch, Aurora Picture Show has commissioned the New York-based art collaborative MTAA (Michael Sarff and Tim Whidden) to perform a 21st century variation on this feat with a cinematic twist. From April 11-14, Aurora Picture Show invites the public to help us raise a temporary cinema in our backyard located at 1524 Sul Ross.  The Universal Backyard Theater works as a collaborative process in the creation of this sculptural cinema environment culminating with a one-night screening of short film, video and performance.  READ MORE

Stop-Motion Animation for the Family
with Menil Community Arts Festival
Saturday, April 14, 12-3PM
Location: Aurora Picture Show Office and Library, 1524 Sul Ross
Free Admission
The non-profit arts groups of the Menil Campus band together again to showcase the many performances, workshops and exhibits they offer in an all-day festival, The Menil Community Arts Festival.  Check out the full schedule for the event website www.menilcommunityartsfestival.org, but make sure to join Aurora for a free stop-motion animation workshop from 12-3PM.  Families and youth interested in learning more about creating their own films are encouraged to attend.  READ MORE

AURORA NEWS

NeoGeo
Part of FLICKERLOUNGE: Season-Long Cinematic Experience
By Marina Zurkow and Daniel Shiffman
Exhibition from March 16 – April 21
Location: DiverseWorks Artspace, 1117 East Freeway
DiverseWorks is a non-profit art center dedicated to presenting new visual, performing, and literary art.  For each DiverseWorks exhibition, Aurora curates a screening installation that takes place in the private screening room known as Flickerlounge.  As part of Fotofest 2012, Diverseworks commissioned Necrocracy  for the main gallery, an immersive art exhibition exploring nature and petrochemical production that combines video animation, drawings and sculpture by Brooklyn-based artist Marina Zurkow. In coordination with this exhibit, Flickerlounge will host an installation called NeoGeo that will explore what a drill bit sees in the ground.   READ MORE

Extremely Shorts Call for Entries
Andy Smith from Nickelodeon Theater and Indie Grits to Juror
Aurora Picture Show has officially kicked off the submissions period for the 2012 Extremely Shorts Film Festival. The 15th annual festival will be held June 29th and 30th. Extremely Shorts Festival is a juried competition of adventurous three-minute or shorter films and videos from around the world. Audience Choice cash awards are given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The short format of the festival encourages innovative approaches to moviemaking in a range of genres including narrative, art, experimental, documentary and animation.  Aurora is honored to have Andy Smith of Nickelodeon for this year’s juror. Andy Smith is the Executive Director of the Nickelodeon Theatre, a not-for-profit arthouse cinema in Columbia, SC.  He is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Indie Grits Festival, which features the best in low-budget, independent film from the Southeast and was recently named one of the “20 Coolest Film Festivals” by Moviemaker Magazine.  READ MORE

Aurora Boot Camp:
A Summer Filmmaking Experience for Kids
Registration Now Open!
Each summer, Aurora hosts filmmaking boot camps where youth can learn about, create, and discuss film and video at Aurora Picture Show. As part of our Popcorn Kids programming, Aurora Boot Camps teach hands-on narrative and experimental techniques using digital video from professional filmmakers. Camps will be held at a private artist studio located at 2442 Bartlett where campers will develop, produce and edit their own short films. Working collaboratively on digital video projects, students are not only exposed to filmmaking techniques but also explore less traditional film and video.   Aurora offers one need-based scholarship to each camp (four total). READ MORE

Summer Internship
Unpaid but Awesome Opportunity
The Aurora Picture Show Internship Program provides students an opportunity to bridge the gap between studying media arts as a student and working in media arts field as a professional, by providing hands-on experience within a well-established media art organization. Interns gain insight into the national and international world of new media art, along with basic administrative skills useful in any professional position.  READ MORE

Universal Backyard Theater
Help us Raise a Cinema in our Backyard!
Inspired by old-fashioned barn raisings, Aurora Picture Show has commissioned the New York based art collaborative MTAA to perform a 21st century twist on this community gathering. This April, help us raise a temporary cinema in our backyard! Learn MORE HERE.

Artist-made Aurora Membership Cards
Learn How to Participate
We love our artist-made designs for T-shirts and pint glasses and we want our membership cards to be just as wonderful as our merchandise! So, we decided they should be artist-made as well!  Since our events are one-of-a-kind - your membership card will be too.  For the first round of these new cards, we sought inspiration from the Fluxus creative process. READ MORE

Education Station
An Update on Mobile Media Literacy with Aurora
Aurora Picture Show recently partnered with Whole Foods Market to host a free stop-motion animation workshop at the Bellaire location.  The youth worked with fruits and vegetables from the store to create short films.  Check out their animations HERE.  In addition to the visit to their store, Whole Foods Market also supported a matching visit in the community.  This animation workshop took place with the Texas Children's Hospital Arts In Medicine Program at the Texas Children's Cancer Center and Hematology Service.  Check out those animations HERE. Interested in learning more about these workshops for your organization, click HERE.

Meet Otis Ike and Ivete Lucas
Featured in the Curator's Corner this Winter
Each quarter, Aurora Curator Mary Magsamen will highlight an artist from Aurora's diverse membership to showcase their work and introduce you to the Aurora congregation. This season, our featured members are Otis Ike and Ivete Lucas. Otis’ film, Please Visit Ivanhoe, won first place in last year’s Extremely Shorts Festival.  Ivete’s film, Mexican Fried Chicken, won first place in last year’s Señorita Cinema Festival.  Their collaborative exhibition, "One Big Misunderstanding,” will be part of FotoFest 2012 at GGallery, 301 E 11th Street, Houston, March 3 - March 26, 2011.  READ MORE