Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/806973
C alling all designers, architects, landscape designers, furniture, and product makers! It's that time of year again: The annual Houston PaperCity Design Awards, which celebrates design creativity and innovation, is now accepting entries. Houston design professionals, regardless of affiliation, are encouraged to enter projects across 19 categories for residential, office, retail, historic preservation, outdoor, garden, furniture, and product design. The Design Awards cocktail event to announce the winning entries will be Monday, May 15, at the Texas Design Week Event Venue, ground level at West Avenue. Winning entries will be published in the October 2017 PaperCity Home + Art issue, with a print circulation of 60,000, and 900,000 digital page views per month online. The judges for the Design Awards are L.A. designers Martyn Lawrence Bullard PaperCity DESIGN AWARDS NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. I t has happened just three times in 30 years, and now this December. The jewel of the museum world, The Menil Collection, is throwing a ball to celebrate a milestone — a Surreal black- tie night nodding to the legacy of the late Dominique and John de Menil. This otherworldly evening is literally aligned with the stars: It takes place the night before the long moon, Saturday, December 2, honoring Louisa Stude Sarofim, the patroness, collector, and chairman of the board who steered the museum onward after her friend Dominique passed away in 1997. The ball is titled Luminous, and be assured it will be, with chairs Allison Sarofim, Leigh and Reggie Smith, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, and Adelaide de Menil; honorary chairs, museum architect Renzo Piano and French Ambassador to the U.S., Gérard Araud. Returning to an idea realized by the 25th A Bal for the Ages anniversary gala, a specific work of art will serve as leitmotif. Seeking t o u n d e r s c o re the de Menils' deep friendship with artists, the m u s e u m s t a f f cast about for a creation that would embody that idea as well as shape the 30th Anniversary Ball. Director Rebecca Rabinow suggested a walk through the museum might yield the answer. Voilà! There it was, amidst the vaunted Surrealism galleries: Max Ernst's Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 1955, a diminutive oil on wood panel, a gift from the artist to the de Menils, Christmas 1955. The painter's mysterious Merry Christmas landscape will be the subtle inspiration for events planner Todd Fiscus to create a wintry mise en scène. After the chair sextet weigh in, and the details of Fiscus' artistry are agreed upon, Jackson Hicks will plan and Mark D. Sikes, with more judges to be announced. Explore the 2017 Houston PaperCity Design Awards categories and submit your entries at papercitymag. com/designawards. Entry period closes Tuesday, April 16, at 11:59 pm CDT. For information, contact Farrell Lawo, 713.986.0005, farrell@papercitymag.com. To see the lineup for Texas Design Week, in Houston May 15-19, turn to pages 66 - 67, and online at texasdesignweek.com. A CULINARY WONDERLAND IN SUGAR LAND A fter 14 years showcasing masterful gastronomy, Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair has a powerhouse new partner: global events company IWSC Group North America, the force behind such high- profile events as Cochon 555 and Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. The celebration taps some of the country's premier chefs and sommeliers — including Houston's Bryan Caswell (Reef) and Rebecca Masson (Fluff Bake Bar) — to lead pop-up dinners and learning experiences. Highlights include Friday night's Grand Tasting, which pairs fare and libations with an auction and bartender's challenge, and Sip & Stroll, a weekend showcase of bites, cocktails, and wines. Sugar Land Wine and Food Affair, Thursday – Sunday, April 6 – 9; tickets sugarlandwineandfoodaffair. com. Jailyn Marcel 14 Dennis Hopper, and ex-wife Victoria Hopper with David Salle at first Menil Ball, 2001 PHYLLIS HAND © ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK / ADAGP, PARIS Max Ernst's Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 1955, at The Menil Collection a fitting menu of culinary mastery. PaperCity again returns as media sponsor, and we were privileged to be a Surreal fly on the wall at an early planning meeting. Let's just say you do not want to miss this, most especially a very special late-night viewing within the museum's hallowed halls. Luminous: The Menil's 30th Anniversary Ball, Saturday, December 2; tickets from $2,500, tables from $25,000; please contact Menil events department, 713.535.3173, events@ menil.org. Catherine D. Anspon