The Launching of Monsoon Art Space in Houston: Alternative Art Spaces as the Salons of the Future

It seems that there is a plethora of avenues these days for writers and artists to get their work out in the public: bookstores and art galleries, museums and exhibition spaces, reading series and conferences. But something seems to be missing when it comes to the existence and proliferation of a vital public sphere creating exciting dialogue across the arts. Often the locations where writers and artists get their work heard or displayed are passive venues, with the artist not even present, or t...