14 Pews was founded in 2010, by Cressandra Thibodeaux a biracial visual artist. 14 Pews is a multidisciplinary nonprofit, which is passionate about enriching lives through the positive, transformational power of the arts. Since opening 9-years ago, 14 Pews has brought hundreds of cultural programs to our community. We have screened over 800 Independent films; documentaries, experimental and short films; created, curated and hosted 8 film festivals; created a weekly German Film Series co-sponsored with the German Consulate and The Goethe-Institut; created The 14 Pews Film Academy; brought in speakers for our film talk-backs, hosted several book readings, curated 15 art shows, created 10 short documentaries on Houston artists which have screened at numerous film festivals across American including the Houston Cinema Arts Festival. We also created a play Dialogues on Grace which is used in local high schools to open discussions on issues of race, and created a year long Artist-in-Residency Program.
In 2011, 14 Pews recognized a need for artists to have a space to create so we started our Artist-in-Residency Program. Our goal is to promote and encourage artists by giving them full use of the theater to create new works or to host their art shows for an entire year. 14 Pews provides the space and marketing. Since 2011, 14 Pews has selected, supported and promoted 11 talented artists. In addition, 14 Pews has allowed numerous non-profit arts organizations to use our space like: Qfest, Catastrophic Theatre, Nameless Sound, SWAMP, Alley Theatre, Society for Performing Arts, Mildred’s Umbrella and Bechdel Films.
In June 2012, we created our 14 Pews Film Academy. Our original goal was to keep the youth of Houston engaged in positive and creative activities that will be both beneficial to the students and our community. In doing so we have focused on creating films on local contemporary artists. Since 2015, our student films on local artists have premiered at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival to appreciative audiences. Although, Houston has a thriving contemporary art scene, it’s rarely highlighted in films. 14 Pews Academy hopes to help change this, one short film at a time.
28 фев 2019
