Miranda July: Aurora Award Honoree 2006

Save the date, friends. On October 5, 2006, Aurora will present the 6th annual Aurora Award to artist Miranda July. The Aurora Award is an honor given to an artist who has exhibited extraordinary originality in the fields of media and multimedia art. Past honorees have been Tony Oursler (2001), William Wegman (2002), Laurie Anderson (2003), Ant Farm (2004), and Isaac Julien (2006).

Miranda July is a filmmaker, performing artist and writer. She grew up in Berkeley, California where she began her career by writing plays and staging them at the local punk club. July's videos, performances, and web-based projects have been presented at sites such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and in the 2002 and 2004 Whitney Biennials. Her short fiction has been published in The Paris Review, The Harvard Review, and Zoetrope All Story, and a collection of stories is forthcoming from Scribner in spring 2007. July created the participatory website learningtoloveyoumore.com with artist Harrell Fletcher and a companion book will be published by Prestel in fall 2007. She wrote, directed and starred in her first feature-length film, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) , which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. July currently live in Los Angeles.

Photo: Todd Warnock

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There'sa Tear in My Beer

...But they're not cryin'. We wish an all-to-early farewell to Aurora' Assistant Director, Amy Kweskin Duncan who is moving to London! with her husband Stephen in June. On the other side of the pond Amy will return to management consulting and expand on her Americans for the Arts fellowship with focused research into Leadership Development of staff and boards of arts nonprofits.

Send Amy (pictured above with Scottish hubbie Stephen) your goodbyes before May 31, or join us for a farewell party on that evening, location posted soon.

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She's Baaaaack

Experience Cherry, the Aurora Mobile Microcinemas provided by Scion, at The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art during Shop Talk on Friday, May 12 from 6-9pm and the Art Car Parade awards brunch on Sunday, May 14 in Sam Houston park.

Houston Press Pick for the Prez

Aurora's Board Prez curated this weekend's show, and the press knows what time it is....

(from this week's Houston Press)

Go "Home" Already

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BY MARY TEMPLETON

What would you do if you found out your entire identity had been fabricated by the CIA? Would you believe it? It happened to one man, and his story is told in It's Not My Memory of It. The short documentary, composed of declassified CIA interviews and footage, will screen as part of the short-film showcase "At Home and Abroad" at Aurora Picture Show. According to curator Mark Yzaguirre, "At Home" will attempt to "capture the diversity of the American experience...from urban to rural and policy to kitsch."

Besides Memory, three other films examine life from sea to shining sea. In Playground, three kids growing up in New York City create a play space from their surrounding concrete jungle. Meanwhile, back in the woods, The Bear Hunter chronicles the story of a man who, following family legacy, has been hunting black bears for 44 years. Finally, The American Nutria reveals the bizarre history of the giant rodent, which populates Houston's own bayous. Factoid: Nutria fur coats were once a sign of prosperity. Ewww. Find out what else you didn't know about our great nation at 3 p.m. today and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 6. Aurora Picture Show, 800 Aurora St. , Houston

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Patti the Greyhound (1997-2006)

Those of you who have visited Aurora have probably had the pleasure of meeting our two mascot greyhounds, Patti and Ethan. On May 1, 2006 at 2:15pm Patti quietly passed away. She had been suffering the effects of bone cancer (the most common fatal illness among greyhounds) and became unable to walk on Friday. Patti was a former racer, just like her sidekick Ethan. She was born in July 1997, raced for 2 1/2 years in Corpus Christi, and went up for adoption through Greyhound Pets of America in 2000. At the time, our other greyhound Ethan had been living at Aurora and really needed a pal. We brought Ethan to the Houston GPA kennel and asked him which greyhound would make a good playmate. It was Patti all the way.

Greyhounds make exceptional pets. Contrary to popular belief, they are low maintenance and don't want to run around all day. They prefer to sleep or watch movies. Greyhounds crave affection, are easy to train, and eager to please. Adopting a retired athlete is a good thing to do, and the local chapter of GPA can guide you through the process.

We'll miss our Patti, and hope to have Ethan around for a little while longer.

Photo: Kathy Johnston