Part arts festival, part academic symposium, 
Systems of Sustainability (S.O.S.) looks at creative enterprise as an integral tool for cultural growth and social change. Experience a range of events that showcase innovative practices from local, national, and international participants including prominent artists, researchers, activists, and scholars. The program includes site-specific projects, participatory activities, lectures, scholarly panels, and many opportunities for dialogue.

Media outlets, political figures, and retailers alike proclaim that today’s most complex global challenges can be addressed with a single word: sustainability. The sustainability movement addresses some of our largest and most fearsome problems worldwide—global warming, natural, economic, political, and social change—and as a result permeates our everyday life.  The performing, visual, and literary arts can be highly effective in posing solutions to our biggest global challenges. S.O.S. invites you to join a list of renowned speakers and participants in the ever-more-pressing conversation about what it means to sustain our planet, our culture, and our creative enterprise.

Presented by:
University of Houston
Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre,
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts

Wortham Theatre, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center, U of H
Entrance 16 off Cullen Blvd
$10 or free for students with valid student ID 

Register online or 713.743.2929

Schedule:

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at the University of Houston central campus in the Wortham Theatre, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts building. 

THURSDAY, MARCH 26

7:00pm • S.O.S. Kick-off party with electronic musician DJ Steve Nalepa. Viewing of the CLUI’s Texas Oil: Landscape of an Industry at Blaffer Gallery.

FRIDAY, MARCH 27

8:30am • Registration and Check-In 
9:00–9:45am • Coffee with S.O.S. participants 
9:45am • Opening Remarks 
10:00–10:30am • Presentation, Dr. Robert Harriss 
10:45–11:45am • Research and Environs Discussion with Amy Balkin, Natalie Jeremijenko, Phillip Galanter, and Helen Lessick. Moderator: Dr. Robert Harriss 
Noon–3:30pm • Afternoon Field Trips* 
3:30pm • Presentation, Painting the Wasteland, Liz Ward
6:00pm • Welcome Address,
City of Houston Mayor Bill White and 
University of Houston President Renu Khator 
7:00pm • Keynote and Performance, 
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange

SATURDAY, MARCH 28

8:30am • Registration and Check-In 
9:00–9:45am • Coffee with S.O.S. participants 
10:00–10:30am • Presentation, Welcoming the Wild, Fritz Haeg
10:45–11:45am • Poetics and Performance: Art in Public Spaces Discussion with Lisa D’Amour, Sasha Dela, Fritz Haeg, and Michael Mercil. Moderator: Claudia Schmuckli
Noon–3:30pm • Afternoon Field Trips*
12:00 • Brown Bag Gallery Tour, Matthew Coolidge, CLUI, Blaffer Gallery
2:00pm • Lindsay Utz, GOOD Magazine videos
3:30pm • Community Tea, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Blaffer Gallery. Limited space, reservations required
3:30pm • Presentation, Bird Shift: The Anthropogenic Ornithology of North America, BD Collier, Blaffer Gallery
6:00pm • Performance, Dario Robleto
7:00pm • Travelon Gamelon performance with Richard Lerman
7:30pm • CLUI/SIMPARCH
Party at the Junkyard, Buffalo Bayou, CLUI field office

SUNDAY, MARCH 29

8:30am • Registration and Check-In 
9:00–9:45am • Coffee with S.O.S. participants
10:00–10:30am • Presentation, Engagement and Adaptation, Alexandra Broches, Hera Gallery 
10:45–11:00am • Society and Community Discussion with Stephanie Smith, Matthew Wettergreen, and WochenKlausur. Moderator: Barbara Pagh 
Noon–3:30pm • Afternoon Field Trips* 
3:30pm • Community Tea, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Blaffer Gallery. Limited space, reservations required 
3:30pm • Presentation/Performance, red, black, and GREEN: a blues, Marc Bamuthi Joseph 
5:00pm • Closing Remarks, Liz Lerman and Dr. Robert Harriss

Participants Include:
Amy Balkin
BD Collier
Matthew Coolidge, The Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI)
Lisa D’Amour, Katie Pearl, and Kurt Mueller
Sasha Dela
Philip Galanter
Fritz Haeg
Dr. Robert Harriss, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
Alexandra Broches and Barbara Pagh, Hera Gallery
Natalie Jeremijenko
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Richard Lerman
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
Helen Lessick
Michael Mercil
Steve Nalepa
Dario Robleto
SIMPARCH
Stephanie Smith
Lindsay Utz: GOOD Magazine
Liz Ward
Matthew Wettergreen
Caroline Collective
WochenKlausur
Karen Stokes and Teresa Chapman, UH School of Theatre & Dance

Links:

Registration form