Ballroom Marfa and Mexican Summer are presenting the fourth Marfa Myths over March 9-12, 2017 (buy tickets ). To prepare for your visit to Marfa, check out our most insider-y tips.

You could see a Montezuma quail at the bird blind at the Davis Mountains State Park. Photo courtesy of Davis Mountains State Park.

Laura Copelin, curator
I love Mano! And CDRI, is that what I said before? And the bird blind at the Ft. Davis State Park!

Ballroom Marfa and Mexican Summer are presenting the fourth Marfa Myths over March 9-12, 2017, and we hope you’re coming out for it (buy tickets ). Check out how to get here and where to stay, and read on for tips on eating in town.

HOURS HERE CAN BE WEIRD
Remember: Marfa is a town of 1900-ish people. It’s not a big city that offers all-hours convenience. Restaurants have odd hours, or can be closed unexpectedly.
Or open unexpectedly. When it comes to eating, just keep an open mind, be patient, adjust your expectations, and take comfort that Stripes (East location, YO!) is open 24-7.

Boyz 2 Men/Bad Hombres. Courtesy of David Beebe’s Instagram.

Ballroom Marfa and Mexican Summer are presenting the fourth Marfa Myths over March 9-12, 2017 (buy tickets ). Check out how to get here and where to stay, and read on for tips about what to do during your visit.

IN TOWN
Obviously there are loads of things to do in Marfa (wandering, shopping, eating, gallery cruising), but if you’re the more ambitious sort, here are a few around-town or near-town journeys:

Chinati Foundation
We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the Chinati Foundation, the contemporary art museum based upon the ideas of its founder, artist Donald Judd. If you have any interest in contemporary art, or Minimalism, you really shouldn’t miss it. See the suite of tours here.

Judd Foundation
Judd Foundation holds and maintains artist Donald Judd’s private living and working spaces in Marfa, Texas. Comprised of a total of 15 spaces, these properties include studios installed with artwork by Judd and others, living quarters, ranch and architecture offices, and libraries, many of which are available to tour. As part of Marfa Myths, Judd Foundation is hosting an open viewing of The Block on Saturday, March 11, from 10am-1pm.

Photo by John Daniel Garcia

John Daniel Garcia talks with Graham Reynolds about the inspiration behind his Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance opera for the Big Bend Sentinel …

For Reynolds, who majored in Latin American history in college, the addition of Mexican culture was an important factor in choosing the subject of the opera.

“I wanted to dive more deeply into the landscape and the culture of Mexico and the West Texas border,” he said, adding that a trip to Mexico at age 9 sparked a life-long interest and affinity for the culture. “That trip with my parents was transformative. For the opera, we got [Mexico City-based theater collective] Lagartijas Tiradas Al Sol for the libretto. That was really important to me. I needed to have Mexican and Mexican-American collaborators for this project.”

Keep reading at Big Bend Now, and find more information about Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance at panchovillaopera.com. The production premieres in Marfa tonight, Friday November 11,

As part of our upcoming New York Gala honoring David Byrne and Jill Soloway, Ballroom Marfa and Paddle8 invite you to join us for an in-person and online benefit auction. Online bidding begins TODAY, Friday November 4, 2016, and closes at 10pm on Monday November 14. Bidding on select works will conclude as part of the live auction at the November 14 New York Gala. For details on specific lots, please visit Paddle8. The auction features works by John Baldessari, Larry Bell, Tara Donovan, Sam Falls, Loie Hollowell, Rashid Johnson, Paul McCarthy, Ed Ruscha, Yutaka Sone, Leo Villareal, Mary Weatherford, and more. See full list of available auction items by clicking here. All proceeds from the auction will support Ballroom Marfa as we continue to produce ambitious exhibitions; commission extraordinary works that are site-specific and site-inspired; enable profound cultural happenings and connections; and share the landscape of the Big Bend with a diversity of artists and musicians. Sam Falls
Untitled (Absentee 2),

Huge thanks to everyone who supported Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance on Kickstarter! We received the backing of 307 individuals and organizations from around the world, raising $54,440 to help realize this remarkable project. For more information on Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance, visit panchovillaopera.com. The opera will premiere at The Crowley Theater in Marfa on November 11 and 12, 2016. Tickets for the Saturday performance are sold out, but there are still seats for the VIP Friday show. Click here to reserve yours today!

Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance is made possible by these generous backers of our Kickstarter campaign:

Sandra Adair, Anne Adams, Peggy & Jim Adams, Sarah Adler, Pablo Alvarado, Chris Amatruda, Robert Arber, ArKtype/Thomas O. Kriegsmann, Art Production Fund, Susan Moore Ashcroft, Robin Aufses, Carol Austin, Austin Art Services, Jessica Ayers, B, bangskij, Melanie Barr, Elizabeth Baskin, Daphne Beal, R. Michael Berrier, Bruce Benson, Leah Bentley, Karen Bernstein, Jacqueline Berry, Heather Bhandari, Michael Bisbee, Stuart Bishop, Joe B. Bland, Erika Blumenfeld, Ted Bonin, Kristin Bonkemeyer, Alexia Bonomi, Suzanne Deal Booth, Luke Borders, Ryan Botkin, Bill Bragin, BRNNR, David Brody, Annie Bush, Anna Button, James C, Carole Carden, Cassie, John Caulkins, Grace Cha, Claire, Erika Clarke, S. Clements, Brooke Collins, Cynthia Collins, Teresa Corbin, Cristina, Stephen Curran, Michael Dahlke, Ann Daughety, Eric Davis, Janie DeGuerin, Brenda Delao, Paul Dery, Deborah Devins, L.B. Deyo, Fern Diaz, JD DiFabbio, Fairfax Dorn, John F Dorn, Hans Dorsinville, Drew, Pam Duerr, Glory Edim, David Egeland, Tahn Eismann, Emily, Elaine Emmi, Matt Emmi, AC Engell, Patrick Evans, Nina Fanti, Judd Farris, Jim Findlay, Jay Fitzgerald, Kerthy Fix, James Flyn, Dawn Forrest, Heather Forrester, Helen Winkler Fosdick, Katie Price Fowlkes, Julene Franki, Frazier-Brown, Douglas B Friedman, Mary Gaitan, Christine Garcia, Becky, Gardner, Rebecca Gardner, Cathy Gaubert, Trey Gerfers, Genevieve Gill, Lezlie Glade, Isabell Glimcher, Lilly Glimcher, Rebbecca Louise Goddammit, Golden Hornet Project, Matthew Goudeau, Ihor Gowda, Natalie Grand, Christine Green, Cheryl Guerrero, Mark Guiducci, Harvey Guion, Tom Haines, Laura Hajovsky, Luc Hale, Donna M Hall, Jim and Mary Hamilton, Robert Hammond, HappyRowan, Brian Harnetty, Dawn Hennessey, Brie Hensold, Tommy & Dee Hilfiger, Howard Hilliard, Remi Hisataka, Jessica Hodin, Tom Hollenback, Virginia Honig, Cedric Howe, Ioic, Nicki Ittner, Steph Itz, Mathew Jackson, JB, Catalina Maria Johnson, Jenny Johnson, Buck Johnston, Kendra Jones, Brian Jose, Dean Kameros, Randy Kaplan, Shelley Kaplan, Emily Keeton, Irene Keil, Danielle and Brooks Kieschnick, Tammy King, Beth Klehr, Megan Koch, Willa Koerner, koikuri, Sheryl L Kolasinski, Rex Koontz, Leslie Kuhn, Allie Laird, Jenny Laird, Virginia Lebermann, Jon Leland, Richard Leonarz, Mike Levy, Lisa, Liz, David Lobel, Tina & Michael Lobel, John Loner, Laura Lotti, Gary Luedecke, Robbie Luke, Katherine Magy, Ethan Maki, Billy Marginot, Mary, Max, Janet Maykus, Shannon McCormick, Willa McDonald, Kate McKenna, Mano Mercantile, Laura Merritt, The Meyer Levy Charitable Foundation, Kathryn Millan, Michael Mitchell, Polly Monear, Andrew Moore, Carol Moore, Phillip Moran, Phillipe Muller, Molly Murray, Keith Napoleon, Jason Neulander, Mike Nicholson, Fredrik Nilsen, Sharon Oberlander, Connor Oman, Kimberly Orr, Jon Otis, The Owl Wine Bar and Home Goods, Katherine Pan, Liz Pappademas, Tracy LaQuey Parker, Chase Pashkowich, Carolyn Pfeiffer, Stacy Pinelli, John Pitts, Bettina Prentice, Anita Prewett, Maria Giulia Prezioso, David Quin, Rajendra, Edia Ramey, Cassandra Ramirez, Rikhi Ramrakha, Joe Randel, Kendel Ratley, Renee Reed, Ginger Reeder, Raul Reymundi, George Reynolds, Graham Reynolds, Brooke Robinson, Isha Rogers, Lawrence Rogers, Victoria Rogers, Lees Romano, Michal Rosenn, Georgina Rovirosa, Jennifer Ash Rudick, Gryphon Rue, Charles Ruger, David Ruiz, Nancy Sanders, Katherine Sandoz, Valerie Santerli, Sara, Riccardo Sartori, Cindy Scroggins, Francisco Segura & Randy Rubio, Eugene Sepulveda, Jorge Sermini, Barbara Shack, Shane, Katherine Shaughnessy, Eiji Shimizu, Jay Shull, Laura Sico, Max Alexander Singer, siobhan, Kristin Sjoberg, Paul Smithyman, Joe Specht, Melanie Spiegel, Susan Spies, Caitlin Stedman, Steve, Steven, Stokes, Dena Stoner, Joey Story, Sara Story, DJ Stout, Yancey Strickler, Brooke Stroud, Robert Summers, Rima Suqi, Molly Surno, Diana D Sutton, Julie Swoope, Daryl Tanner, Katy Taylor, Lonn Taylor, Rachel Blackney Tepper, Frances and Robin Thompson, Laura Thoms, tizoctrevino, Jolene Torr, Dale Truitt, Max Tuncar, James Turnbull, Kristina Van Dyke & Jeff Fort, Signe Veje, Mike Vernusky, Leo Villareal, Beth Viner, T A Vogler, Molly Walker, Libby Walter, Eric Damon Walters, Tonya Walton, Julie Ann Ward, Katie Watkins, Dale Weaver, Andrew Webster, Meghan Wells, Billy Werb, Marissa Wertheimer, Allison Wheeler, Jenni Wieland, Melody Wilcocks, Brandon Williams, Elizabeth Williams, Janet Williams and Bill McDonald, Annie Wilson, Sarah Woodhatch, David Wright, Will Yankus, Jim Yoder, Alison Young, Nick Yulman,

Ballroom Marfa proudly presents a new publication documenting our 2015 Sam Falls exhibition.

Ballroom Marfa Curator Laura Copelin at Frieze …

From seminal Land Art projects like Michael Heizer’s Double Negative and James Turrell’s Roden Crater; to the proliferation of artists’ projects in Marfa, Texas; to Jananne Al-Ani’s films of remote landscapes of the Middle East that have been scarred by war, to Ben Rivers’s most recent project, set in the Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona, the unique and sometimes bizarre landscapes of the desert have served as fertile ground for artists, writers and filmmakers alike. What are the utopian and dystopian qualities of the desert that draw artists over generations? In this panel discussion, curator and writer Shumon Basar discusses the ‘desert imaginary’ with artist Jananne Al-Ani, Ballroom Marfa curator Laura Copelin,

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the reception of The Institute for New Feeling’s This is Presence and the 2016 season of Artists’ Film International. The Chulita Vinyl Club was amazing and we appreciate everyone’s support.
This is Presence is made possible in part by the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston; City of Marfa; National Endowment for the Arts; Pace Art + Technology; Texas Commission on the Arts; Ballroom Marfa Board of Trustees; and Ballroom Marfa members.
Special thanks to Vicente and Ramona for the always delicious tacos; Chulita Vinyl Club for the awesome DJ set; Gem and Bolt Mezcal for delicious cocktails; and SAVED Wines and Big Bend Brewery for continued support of Ballroom Programs.

Opening reception for This is Presence,

Catch Ballroom alum Jonathan Schipper’s new installation, Cubicle, at Rice Gallery in Houston. From Rice Gallery … Jonathan Schipper, known for his time-based, kinetic installations, will create Cubicle, a new installation for Rice Gallery. Schipper’s works reveal the flow of time as imperceptible until, as in life, we see the physical evidence of its passing. In his Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle, 2008, two full-size automobiles crush into one another to simulate the force of a 30 mph head-on collision slowed down to unfold over several days. For Cubicle, Schipper will construct an office setting that will undergo subtle, yet inescapable changes over two months. The opening celebration will take place on Thursday, October 6 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, and will feature remarks by Jonathan Schipper at 6:00 pm. Complimentary snacks and beverages including ale courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewery will be served. The event is free and open to the public. For more information see the VISIT page at ricegallery.org or call 713.348.6069.