artMRKT Productions, the Brooklyn-based organizer of artMRKT San Francisco and the upcoming artMRKT Hamptons, is proud to announce its inaugural Texas Contemporary art fair to take place in Houston from October 20 – 23, 2011 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, with a theme focused on energy and sustainability.

An early preview of the national participating gallery list for Texas Contemporary includes ACME (Los Angeles), Baer Ridgway Exhibitions (San Francisco), Catharine Clark Gallery (San Francisco), Fredric Snitzer (Miami), Inman Gallery (Houston), Lennon Weinberg (New York City), Moody Gallery (Houston), Rena Bransten Gallery (San Francisco), Samuel Freeman (Santa Monica), Sicardi Gallery (Houston), Texas Gallery (Houston) and Wade Wilson Art (Houston), with new galleries coming on board weekly. Currently in the process of accepting applications from galleries and Texas-based artists for exclusive showcase in solo booths, fair directors Max Fishko and Jeffrey Wainhause, in collaboration with Houston-based dealers Kerry Inman of Inman Gallery and Fredericka Hunter of Texas Gallery, are guiding local programming and production elements of the fair, as well as the development of the solo booth programming based on the inaugural theme.

Establishing the art fair’s unique atmosphere, local and regional cultural partners will join Texas Contemporary in generating excitement and momentum around the October event. Those cultural partners include Art League Houston, Ballroom Marfa, Community Artists’ Collective, DiverseWorks, Fluent~Collaborative, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Mexic-Arte Museum, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, Project Row Houses and SKYDIVE. The ticketed opening night preview on Thursday, October 20 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. will benefit the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and will be followed by a VIP preview party.

In addition to Texas Contemporary’s cultural partners, the fair has engaged a vibrant assembly of host committee members who will further increase the visibility of the fair’s significance to the greater Houston region. That committee includes Carlos Bacino, Clare Casademont, Jereann Chaney, Susie and Sanford Criner, Fairfax Dorn, Marita and JB Fairbanks, William Goldberg, Melissa Grobmyer, Janet Hobby, Sissy and Denny Kempner, Julie Kinzelman, Dillon Kyle and Sam Lasseter, Virginia Lebermann, Marley Lott, Libbie Masterson, Kelie Mayfield, Leigh and Reggie Smith, and Lea Weingarten, with more members expected to confirm participation in the coming weeks.

Notes artMRKT Productions co-founder Max Fishko, "The Texas Contemporary is pleased to see such a positive response from the local community and so much interest from fantastic galleries from all over the country. There are a number of great art events that take place in Houston, and we hope to enhance this already lively landscape with a truly unique show this year. For both seasoned collectors, as well as those who are brand new to the art world, we are creating an opportunity to interact, have conversations, see some terrific contemporary art and have a great time."

In an effort to further integrate the fair into Houston's arts culture and give back to the community, an innovative program called MRKTworks will be implemented in conjunction with the fair. MRTKworks is a small-scale online and live auction that pairs local non-profits with works donated by Texas Contemporary participating dealers. The general public may bid on the works beginning two weeks prior to the fair on the Texas Contemporary website, starting at 3:30 p.m. Monday, October 3 as well as onsite at the fair until 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 22, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Houston non-profits.

Further expanding Texas Contemporary’s reach, artMRKT Productions would like to thank the national, statewide and local media on board to sponsor the fair, including The Art Newspaper, Art in America, Art Info, art ltd., American Art Collector, Art Log, Ask Art, Art Price, Glasstire.com, Houston Chronicle, Houston magazine, Houston Public Radio stations KUHF 88.7 FM and KUHA CLASSICAL 91.7 FM, Visual Art Source and Yelp.

Texas Contemporary is currently reviewing and selecting exhibitors for the fair. For galleries interested in exhibiting, visit Texas Contemporary’s exhibitor application page at www.txcontemporary.com.