The fourth Black and White Ball will honor local arts leaders and also tip a hat to high fashion.
The event is scheduled 6:30 p.m. April 2 at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
This year, Odessa Arts will honor Friend of the Arts recipients JoAnn Davenport Littleton, Lissa Noel Wagner and also the ECISD Fine Arts Department.
“This is a chance for everyone to come out and have a good time and support the arts and honor the recipients,” Randy Ham, executive director of Odessa Arts, said.
Each year, the Odessa Arts honors it Friend of the Arts recipients during the Black and White Ball.
He said each of this year’s honorees have helped the Odessa Arts.
“Lissa Noel Wagner, her family is on so many buildings and they all have a connection to the arts,” Ham said. “We thought it was important to honor her locally, not only for her contributions but her family’s contributions to the arts because they’re the foundation of the cultural landscape here in Odessa and the Permian Basin. Her influence strikes beyond Ector County.”
Ham also talked about Littleton, who is the president of the Black Cultural Council of Odessa and has organized the annual Juneteenth celebration.
“JoAnn Davenport Littleton is the driving force behind the Black Cultural Council, which hosts the largest Juneteenth celebration in the state of Texas,” Ham said. “That was a no-brainer that we needed to honor her for her contributions for promoting and the contributions of Black cultural leaders in Ector County.”
Ham spoke highly of the ECISD Fine Arts Department, which will also be honored.
“We get a lot of recognition for our sports teams but in the band and orchestras, debate and theater teams, they typically come back with Division I ratings all over UIL and we have a phenomenal fine arts department that I’m a product of and that says a lot,” Ham said. “It was important that we recognize not just the contributions of one individual at ECISD’s art department but the entire department.”
This year’s theme will be the art of fashion. The night will be completed with a presentation of a collection of black and white looks created by Austin designer (and Project Runway alum) Daniel Esquivel.
“Last year, we had James Bond as our theme and this year, we’re launching the Permian Basin fashion week,” Ham said. “Our dear friend Daniel Esquivel was a contestant on Project Runway and he’s creating a 12-look collection to debut at the black and white ball. We put a couple events in front of the ball. He’ll be here on Wednesday and we’ll have a designer reception at the Marriott on Wednesday evening and then on Thursday, we’ll have model fittings at Connection Christian Church and that way, Daniel can fit the models and do the hair and makeup and then on Friday, we’ll do a dress rehearsal and Saturday we’ll have the event.”
It won’t be the first time that Esquivel has been to the Permian Basin and Ham says Odessa Arts is excited for his return.
“It’s fantastic,” Ham said. “Daniel has been coming to the Permian Basin for about four years now. Odessa Arts and Keep Odessa Beautiful partner to bring the recycle fashion show every year and Daniel always serves as a judge and he’s a wonderful judge. After his last appearance, he said he wanted to do a little bit more and asked about doing a runway show. So that kicked off this whole thing. It was Daniel’s idea.”
If you go
- What: Odessa Arts Black and White Ball.
- When: 6:30 p.m. April 2.
- Where: Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in the Permian Ballroom.
- Where to buy tickets: tinyurl.com/bdedwbmj.
