FARBER NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR CYNTHIA
WOODS MITCHELL
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Administrator to Oversee Interdisciplinary Public Programs,
Artist Residencies at UH Institution
HOUSTON, January 12, 2006 – The University of Houston’s
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts has taken a major step
forward. As the center enters its second year, its first managing
director will be on board to help steer it toward new frontiers
of creativity.
Karen Farber has been named managing director of the Mitchell Center,
a new unit of the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
that presents interdisciplinary programs and fosters collaboration
among UH’s Creative Writing Program, Blaffer Gallery and the
Schools of Art, Music and Theatre. Farber will work with the center’s
board of directors to develop the center’s performances and
exhibitions, course curriculum and artist residency program.
“I was attracted to UH because of its spectacular programs
in art, music, theater and creative writing,” Farber said.
“This center combines the energies of all of these programs
to showcase works that are both challenging and engaging. I believe
that collaboration is the key to innovation in the arts, and I am
very proud to be a part of this bold venture.”
Farber’s background and education lends itself to this multi-disciplinary
environment. Originally from New York City, she moved to Houston
in 2004 and served as major gifts officer for Houston Grand Opera
(HGO). Prior to her move to Houston, she served as director of development
for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.
Farber was a management and strategic planning fellow at the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and
has worked in administration and development for a host of cultural
institutions in New York, including the 92nd Street Y, the Eldridge
Street Project and International Production Associates.
She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of
the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Experimental Theater and
a Master’s Degree in Performance Studies.
“We are truly delighted to have someone with Karen’s
experience and depth serving as managing director of the Mitchell
Center,” said Sidney Berger, director of the School of Theatre
and executive director for the Mitchell Center. “Her arrival
signals another great step forward for the center and will contribute
to the kinds of programs that will make George and Cynthia Woods
Mitchell very proud.”
This announcement concludes a national search for the center’s
Managing Director conducted by the center’s Board of Directors
and Dean John J. Antel of the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social
Sciences.
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts is funded by a $20
million grant from George and Cynthia Woods Mitchell. It broke ground
in November 2004, and a $4.5 million renovation to the building
housing the Wortham Theatre and School of Theatre is expected to
conclude this year. Once completed, the entire facility will be
officially renamed the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.
Both the Wortham Theatre and School of Theatre will be housed in
this building.
In Spring 2005, the center kicked off its first course, “Collaboration
Among the Arts,” which grouped student writers, actors, artists
and musicians to create and perform inter-disciplinary projects.
It also hosted its first performance and exhibition from visiting
artist Terry Allen, a Texas-based musician, playwright and artist.
The Spring 2006 schedule will offer performances and residencies
for a range of dynamic visiting artists, including composer Stephen
Montague, performance art/dance troupe Osseus Labryint, acting/writing
group the Neo Futurists and audio-visual artist Golan Levin. In
addition, the “Collaboration Among the Arts” course
will return to the schedule and a new course, “Theories of
Collaboration,” will be introduced.
For more information about the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for
the Arts at the University of Houston, visit www.mitchellcenterforarts.org.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit
the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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