The Exhibition Switch

Mexic-Arte Museum sends some disappointing news this week: Due to budgetary constraints, its big fall exhibition, "Guillermo Kahlo 1872-1941," a retrospective look at the career of this important photographer (and father of Frida Kahlo), has been postponed. But there's a silver lining to the dark cloud. In place of the Kahlo exhibition, Mexic-Arte will present "Selections From the Mexican Print Collection," allowing Austinites a chance to see a number of the museum's recent acquisitions, including prints by Pablo O'Higgins, Leopoldo Mendez, Arturo Bustos, Raul Anguiano, Alberto Beltran, and Carlos Merida. The exhibition runs September 13 through October 12. For info, call 480-9373.

August Artists' Swarm

The dog days are here, and this year they bring artists with them -- dozens, hundreds, all doing their creative thing in downtown Austin. To help you tell the bohemians apart, here's a handy day-by-day scorecard:

August 6: the second "First Tuesday Downtown," hosted by the Downtown Austin Alliance to spotlight the lively scene in the heart of town. Lots of artistic types being artistic on the street. For info, call 469-1786.

August 7-8: the Second Texas Dance Conference at the Omni, 700 San Jacinto, bringing together choreographers, dancers, educators, et al., to discuss the state of the art in the state. Call 322-0227 for info.

August 8-9: Texas Commission on the Arts' Third Cultural Connections Conference, also at the Omni, bringing together artists and presenters of the arts to talk ideas and issues. Choreographer Liz Lerman and organizational strategist Sherry Schiller are speakers. For info, call 463-5535, x42322.

August 8-11: the RATRave in the Heat Wave, at The Public Domain and surrounding venues, congregating theatre types from across the country for workshops, readings, and performances related to big, cheap theatre. All events open to the public and free of charge. For info, call 912-0331.

Worthy Causes

The Rude Mechanicals, a new theatre collective presenting bold re-visionings of the classics and new work by local artists, hosts a party to benefit its first show, Pale Idiot, by Kirk Lynn. The evening features tapas and Balcones Fault beer, a reading from the play, and music from Leslie Bonnell & Jason Conner, Meredith Louise Miller, and sharecroppers. It will be held Saturday, August 3, 6-9pm. For info, call 474-8660.

Those creative kids in the Performance Art Church are looking to take their act to Cleveland, where the world's largest performance art festival is held. To raise money for the trip, they're putting together an evening of bands and art, kicked off with a special PeACh show, The Performance Art Olympics. The event takes place Monday, August 5, 8pm, at their usual venue, the Electric Lounge, 302 Bowie. For info, call 478-5387.

Send literary, performing, and visual arts news to: "Articulations," PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765 or [email protected]