Photo by Deborah Luster
Lamar University professor and photographic artist Keith Carter will give a talk on artist Deborah Luster and her exhibition at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s fall Taste of the Arts Lecture Series, Oct. 22 at 12:30 p.m.
The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the galleries with lunch to follow in the Two Magnolias café, Dutch treat style.
Carter’s photographs have been shown in over 100 solo exhibitions in 13 countries. Thirteen books of his work have been published along with two documentary films: “A Certain Alchemy” and “Keith Carter: The Artist Series.”
Called a “Poet of the Ordinary” by the Los Angeles Times, he is the recipient of the Texas Medal of Arts. Carter has been featured on the arts segment of nationally televised CBS Sunday Morning, and he is the recipient of the Lange-Taylor Prize from the Center For Documentary Studies at Duke University. His work is included in numerous private and public collections including the Art Institute of Chicago, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University and Art Museum of Southeast Texas. Carter holds the endowed Walles Chair of Art at Lamar University where he was awarded the university’s highest teaching honors: the Regents’ Professor Award and Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Prize.
Recognized for her use of photography focusing on the relationship between humanity, violence and its consequences, Luster lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Galway, Ireland. The current exhibition features a video installation and portraits of prison inmates in costumes they created for a performance of the Passion Play at Angola maximum-security prison in Louisiana.
“Deborah Luster —Passion Play” along with “Woven Wonders: Textiles from the John Gaston Fairey Collection of Mexican Folk Art” will be on view through Nov. 25 in AMSET’s main galleries.
AMSET is located at 500 Main St. in downtown Beaumont.
For more information, visit www.amset.org or call 409-832-3432.
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The Beaumont Heritage Society will host its annual Pumpkin Walk and Haunted Halloween Tour Oct. 20 on the grounds of the historic John Jay French Museum from 6-9 p.m.
“Use your creativity to decorate or carve a pumpkin and enter it in our contest,” spokeswoman Shelby Dryden said in a release. “The best pumpkin in several categories will be selected by ballot and prizes will be awarded, so gather your friends and family to come vote on your favorites.”
The event will also include a “haunted” tour of the 1845 French home with costumed actors portraying departed French family members, a haunted hay ride of the grounds and a pumpkin craft for kids.
“Beaumont Heritage Society holiday events are a great way to start your own family tradition,” Dryden said. “Don’t miss it.”
Admission for the walk is $5.
Entry in the pumpkin contest is free. Visit beaumontheritage.org/event/pumpkin-walk-and-haunted-halloween-tour for entry information.
The John Jay French Museum is located at 3025 French Road in Beaumont.
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The Boomtown Film and Music Festival has partnered with the Sea Rim Striders to bring Beaumont its first Zombie 5K Fun Run.
Runners will pass through several “contamination” zones in which they’ll be pursued by zombies “for that extra kick of adrenaline you always needed,” spokeswoman Julia Rodriguez said.
The event will take place at 5 p.m. Oct. 27 at Gulf Terrace Park, 9001 Dishman Road in Beaumont. The fee is $25 until Sept. 30, and the price will rise slightly after that date.
“This is an event that other, larger cities have, and I’m really excited that we get to bring such a fun idea to life here,” said Matt Noble, one of the event organizers and a member of Boomtown. “My hope is that it is something that people enjoy so much that it becomes a staple of our Halloween celebrations in Beaumont. I love community events, like the Classic Movie Nights at the Jefferson, the Turkey Trot every Thanksgiving — I love seeing people come together and enjoy it together. That’s what I hope this event does, brings all kinds of different people out to have a good time.
“It’s a pretty casual event, so if you’re a runner, you can come and speed through the course, and if you’re just a fun-loving zombie fan, like me, then you can go your own pace and just enjoy the thrill of getting chased along the way.”
The race is self-timed, and runners will be sent out in heats to allow space for navigating the “Contamination Zones.”
“Bring your friends, because survival is more fun in groups.”
For more information, visit runsignup. com/Race/TX/Beaumont/zombie.