The new Cultural Arts & Film Center at Garden Oaks Theater will only become a reality with the support of saviors with major gift pledges, needed by May 24th. CAN YOU BE A SAVIOR?
Do you know someone capable of giving a pledge at this level? You can help by asking if they can be one of the saviors and letting them know why you're passionate about this!
$14MM CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO PURCHASE THE 2.3 ACRE PROPERTY AND CREATE A ONE-OF-A-KIND ARTS & FILM CENTER
STAGE I: $7.1MM - Property purchase price. MAJOR PLEDGES NEEDED BY 5/24/26 TO CLOSE BY JUNE 30. The owner will demolish if closing isn’t reached.
STAGE II: $6.9MM - Restoration/Renovation & all costs to get to opening in spring 2028.
Pledges are only collected if we are able to successfully close on the purchase.
For more information about major giving to this campaign, DM us or reach out at [email protected]
CALLING ON HOUSTON SAVIORS TO HELP US CREATE THIS CULTURAL ARTS & FILM CENTER AND SECURE THE FUTURE OF THE HISTORIC GARDEN OAKS THEATER
The theater and connected buildings were built in 1947 on a 2.3 acre lot. Giving us rons of space we intend to use for film exhibition, live performance, festivals, and an all-ages arts & filmmaking education center, providing access to resources for technical and artistic development.
As well as co-working space for local arts orgs, additional retail possibilities including a restaurant and bar, and more. The Garden Oaks neighborhood is one of the fastest growing in Houston, and this could be a vibrant third space and a first of its kind community arts & film center for the whole city.
More info at arthousehtx.org
The new Cultural Arts & Film Center at Garden Oaks Theater will only become a reality with the support of saviors with major gift pledges, needed by May 24th. CAN YOU BE A SAVIOR?
$14MM CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO PURCHASE THE 2.3 ACRE PROPERTY AND CREATE A ONE-OF-A-KIND ARTS & FILM CENTER
STAGE I: $7.1MM - Property purchase price. MAJOR PLEDGES NEEDED BY 5/24/26 TO CLOSE BY JUNE 30. The owner will demolish if closing isn’t reached.
STAGE II: $6.9MM - Restoration/Renovation & all costs to get to opening in spring 2028.
Pledges are only collected if we are able to successfully close on the purchase.
For more information about major giving to this campaign, DM us or reach out at [email protected]
CALLING ON HOUSTON SAVIORS TO HELP US CREATE THIS CULTURAL ARTS & FILM CENTER AND SECURE THE FUTURE OF THE HISTORIC GARDEN OAKS THEATER
The theater and connected buildings were built in 1947 on a 2.3 acre lot. Giving us rons of space we intend to use for film exhibition, live performance, festivals, and an all-ages arts & filmmaking education center, providing access to resources for technical and artistic development.
As well as co-working space for local arts orgs, additional retail possibilities including a restaurant and bar, and more. The Garden Oaks neighborhood is one of the fastest growing in Houston, and this could be a vibrant third space and a first of its kind community arts & film center for the whole city.
More info at arthousehtx.org
Arthouse Houston is excited to offer our followers free tickets to filmmaker Paul Bunnell's new film A BLIND BARGAIN this weekend for FREE at a theater near you, opening tomorrow May 8 at AMC Gulf Pointe 30
🍿 Sign up for complimentary tickets (first come. first served) here: /
A BLIND BARGAIN Directed by Paul Bunnell · Drama / Fantasy / Horror · 95 min
Set in 1970, A Blind Bargain is a reimagining of the lost 1922 Lon Chaney silent film. It follows a desperate young man who makes a sinister pact with an eccentric doctor, offering up his mother as a subject for the doctor's twisted experiments. Shot on Kodak film.
Starring Crispin Glover, Jake Horowitz, Lucy Loken, Annalisa Cochrane, Amy Wright, Sean Whalen, Jed Rowen, Rob Mayes
Link for tickets also in our bio!
WE CAN SAVE GARDEN OAKS AND CREATE A COMMUNITY ARTS AND FILM CENTER, BUT THE WINDOW IS CLOSING.
Without Immediate Support From Saviors With Major Pledges The Historic Cinema Will Be Demolished.
Update on timeline for closing the sale—
We are happy to announce that the seller has offered one last option to extend for an additional non-refundable (but creditable on closing) deposit of $25k, to help us get to closing. The deposit is due on or before May 25th, giving us a new final closing date on or before June 30th.
The lender for the bridge loan we are applying for needs robust donations and more verifiable major pledges by 5/15/26 to close and secure the property. We need you—we do not yet have the pledges needed to close.
Can you be one of the saviors of this beautiful historic cinema and help us create a new Arts & Film Center for Houston?
All major gift pledges from $100K-$5MM will have associate naming rights - Including: Your name on donor wall in lobby, star on walk of fame, naming rights to the main theater, small theater, education center, and naming of the entire Arts & Film Center.
The theater and connected buildings are on a 2.3 acre lot, with tons of space we intend to use for film exhibition, live performance, film festivals, and an all-ages arts & filmmaking education center, providing access to resources for technical and artistic development. As well as co-working space for local arts orgs, additional retail including possible a restaurant/bar, a music/book/video store, and more. The Garden Oaks neighborhood is one of the fastest growing in Houston, and this could be a vibrant third space and a first of its kind community arts & film center for the whole city.
For more information about major giving to this campaign DM us or reach out at [email protected].
The Garden Oaks Theatre has been a home for film, community, and culture in Houston for decades — and right now, it has one month to secure its future.
We made this video because we believe Houston’s creative spaces are worth fighting for. A building is just a building until people pour meaning into it.
@atthedeluxe Also has a special fundraising event tomorrow April 28th at the DeLUXE theatre, it’s goal is to bring people together at this pay-what-you-can event.
The campaign to preserve and reopen the theatre as a nonprofit cinema and community space is live. All donations are tax-deductible and go directly toward purchase and restoration.
Directed by: @kongratskyle
Director of photography: @justtmightbe
Written by: @burntoutpepe
Script Supervisor: @vanessacurioso
Edit/Color by: @kongratskyle
Talent: Ezra Cruz, @mellieey
Production: @kongratskompany
Special thanks to @localseahag for bringing awareness to us about this and allowing us to create something special.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD & SAVE THE GARDEN OAKS THEATER!
From our friends at @arthousehtx :
Join us on Tuesday, April 28 at the DeLUXE Theater (@atthedeluxe ) for a special evening dedicated to preserving one of Houston’s historic cinema landmarks. This fundraiser, film screening, and community visioning session comes at a critical moment, with only a month to secure the future of the Garden Oaks Theater.
We are launching an urgent capital campaign to save and reopen the theater as a nonprofit cinema and community space. Through Arthouse Houston, we are calling on individuals, organizations, and supporters of all sizes to contribute to the Preservation Fund. This is a pay-what-you-can event.
All donations are tax-deductible and will go directly toward the purchase and restoration of this beloved cultural site.
RSVP LINK IN BIO
The evening will feature the Houston premiere of The Last Picture Shows, a new documentary by Rustin Thompson, with the filmmaker in attendance. The film traces a journey across the American West, uncovering the fading and resilient legacy of small-town movie theaters.
This event will also include:
* a community-led information and visioning session, inviting attendees to imagine the future of the Garden Oaks Theater together.
* Local vendors, including Slated Cinema Magazine, and a DVD swap hosted by @death2streaming ,
* 16mm film projections
* Banner and sign-making activities
* Drinks and popcorn
This is more than a film screening. It’s a call to action.
Join us in building a future where Houston’s historic theaters continue to thrive, and communities come together to share and create stories. 🎥
From our friends at the Garden Oaks Theater:
Join us on Tuesday, April 28 at the DeLUXE Theater for a special evening dedicated to preserving one of Houston’s historic cinema landmarks. This fundraiser, film screening, and community visioning session comes at a critical moment, with only a month to secure the future of the Garden Oaks Theater.
We are launching an urgent capital campaign to save and reopen the theater as a nonprofit cinema and community space. Through Arthouse Houston, we are calling on individuals, organizations, and supporters of all sizes to contribute to the Preservation Fund. This is a pay-what-you-can event, with a suggested donation of $50. All donations are tax-deductible and will go directly toward the purchase and restoration of this beloved cultural site.
RSVP LINK IN BIO
The evening will feature the Houston premiere of The Last Picture Shows, a new documentary by Rustin Thompson, with the filmmaker in attendance. The film traces a journey across the American West, uncovering the fading and resilient legacy of small-town movie theaters. Blending contemporary footage with reflections inspired by Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show, the documentary offers a poignant look at an industry in transition, and a reminder of the vital role cinemas play as spaces for connection, memory, and community.
In addition to the screening, the event will include a community-led information and visioning session, inviting attendees to imagine the future of the Garden Oaks Theater together. The night will also feature:
* Local vendors, including a DVD swap hosted by @death2streaming
* 16mm film projections
* Banner and sign-making activities
* Drinks and popcorn
This is more than a film screening. It’s a call to action. Join us in building a future where Houston’s historic theaters continue to thrive, and communities come together to share and create stories.
TONIGHT A SPECIAL EARTH DAY SCREENING OF KOYAANISQATSI + NEW SHORT FILM BY JONATHAN CAOUETTE: CO-PRESENTED BY ARTHOUSE HOUSTON AND ARTECHOUSE
Arthouse Houston and Artechouse present a unique immersive screening of KOYAANISQATSI on Earth Day. See the film’s powerful images wrapping around you, filling three enormous walls with Phillip Glass’ score in huge surround sound at Artechouse. Through pure sound and image KOYAANISQATSI provokes feelings and raises questions that only its audience might answer.
The event will begin with a rarely screened short film THE BLAZING by celebrated local filmmaker Jonathan Caouette (dir. Tarnation), with an intro by the director.
Koyaanisqatsi is an arresting tone-poem on “life out of balance” (the meaning of the film’s Hopi title). Majestic time-lapse images of nature in the American Southwest gradually give way to power lines, machinery, pollution, traffic, and urban landscapes, all set to exceptional music by Philip Glass. Apocalyptic and groundbreaking at the time of its release, this non-narrative feature remains a stunning achievement for its formal experimentation, unparalleled theatrical experience, and environmental vision.
TICKETS IN BIO
OUR NEXT MOBILE MOVIE PALACE EVENT
CO-PRESENTED BY ARTHOUSE HOUSTON AND ARTECHOUSE: A SPECIAL EARTH DAY SCREENING OF KOYAANISQATSI + NEW SHORT FILM BY JONATHAN CAOUETTE
Arthouse Houston and Artechouse present a unique immersive screening of KOYAANISQATSI on Earth Day. See the film’s powerful images wrapping around you, filling three enormous walls with Phillip Glass’ score in huge surround sound at Artechouse. Through pure sound and image KOYAANISQATSI provokes feelings and raises questions that only its audience might answer.
The event will begin with a rarely screened short film THE BLAZING by Houston filmmaker Jonathan Caouette (dir. Tarnation), with an intro by the director.
Koyaanisqatsi is an arresting tone-poem on “life out of balance” (the meaning of the film’s Hopi title). Majestic time-lapse images of nature in the American Southwest gradually give way to power lines, machinery, pollution, traffic, and urban landscapes, all set to exceptional music by Philip Glass. Apocalyptic and groundbreaking at the time of its release, this non-narrative feature remains a stunning achievement for its formal experimentation, unparalleled theatrical experience, and environmental vision.
TICKETS IN BIO
Our Earth Day KOYAANISQATSI event begins with a rare screening of local filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's latest short film THE BLAZING, with an introduction by Caouette. It is not available to watch at home, so don't miss this opportunity to see it this Wednesday 4/22 alongside KOYAANISQATSI at Artechouse.
🎟️ CLICK THE LINK IN OUR BIO TO GET YOUR TICKETS
"Director Jonathan Caouette is one of Houston’s most beloved sons of cinema. He made a tremendous splash in 2003 with his movie Tarnation, a startling narrative of mental illness cobbled together from his home movies with his mother. His newest film is a 27-minute short called The Blazing, which is as beautiful as it is bizarre.
Though largely plotless, Caouette has a mesmerizing visual language in The Blazing that conveys a wealth of information without saying a word. His subjects go from laconic to frantic, daylight moves to nighttime, and the normal becomes uncanny. Slowly, images of otherworldliness creep into the film, with people hovering bizarrely and alien geometric shapes roiling and changing. Green fields give way to blasted forests, and home become crime scenes where scientists measure things they obviously don’t understand.
It’s not an easy movie to understand, but it’s a simple enough one to feel your way through. While it may be too abstract for some viewers, The Blazing offers a look at Caouette’s startling evolution as a composer of visual imagery."
- Houston Press
