Curatorial Kick Off
Thursday, February 21 at 7 PM to 9 PM

Closing Reception 
Sunday, April 14 at 4 PM to 6 PM

Gallery Hours
Thursday - 12 PM to 6 PM
Friday and Saturday - 12 PM to 8 PM

Collective Presence is a hub for creative and cultural activity to address topics related to the social and political environmental issues of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Through a series of micro-residencies, workshops, and community discussions invited artists will join DiverseWorks from February 21 – April 14, 2019, to create new work on site and in conversation with each other. Rabéa Ballin (Houston), and Rafa Esparza (Los Angeles), Joshua Rios (Chicago) and Awilda Rodríguez Lora (Puerto Rico) will each be on-site during 10-day micro-residencies.

Collective Presence seeks to bring together multi-perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches to creative leadership and critical inquiry. Through the artistic practices of those involved a collective call and response will be activated in the MATCH  Gallery to address the current trends related to futurism and decolonization practices. Programs will be presented throughout the run of the project in a community flex space with events hosted by Raul Edwards and Reinaldo Costa of Strictly Street Salsa, S Rodriguez and Sara Balabanlilar of Paraspace Books and Lisa E. Harris of Studio Enertia who will join as community partners.

Collective Presence programs will be presented in conjunction with the Latino Art Now! 2019 National Conference on Latino Art, a program of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research and hosted by the University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American Studies and the Smithsonian Latino Center (April 4 – 6, 2019). DiverseWorks is also working with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts for CounterCurrent19 (April 9-14, 2019).

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Gallery Hours: Thursday 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Friday & Saturday 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM, except as noted below

Thursday, February 21, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Curatorial Kick-Off 

Thursday, February 28, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Paraspace Books Film Screening I: Oil on My Mind

Friday, March 1, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Dance Class: Heritage in Motion: Not So Equal with Raul Orlando Edwards & Reinaldo Costa

Friday, March 15, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Paraspace Books Film Screening II: Sofia Cordova

Saturday March 16, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Workshop: The Politics of Collage with Joshua Rios

Saturday March 16, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Artist Talks with Rabéa Ballin and Joshua Rios

Thursday, March 21, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Workshop: Threshold: Deep Listening & Creative Sound with Lisa E. Harris, Studio Enertia

Friday, March 22, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Dance Class: Heritage in Motion: From the Soul to the Dance Floor with Raul Orlando Edwards & Reinaldo Costa

Thursday, April 4, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Paraspace Books Film Screening III: Drexciya

Saturday, April 6, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Performance Lecture: Heritage in Motion: Salsa—A Tale of Discovery, Blood, Rhythm & Identity with Raul Edwards and Reinaldo Costa

Sunday, April 7, 10:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Brown Artist Retreat: Houston with Risa Puleo & Rafa Esparza 

Friday, April 12, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Dance Class: Heritage in Motion: Que Viva la Salsa! with Raul Orlando Edwards & Reinaldo Costa

Saturday April 13 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Performance Workshop Part I: Anatomy of Our Land / Anatomia de Nuestra Tierra with Awilda Rodríguez Lora. Pre-registration required.

Sunday, April 14, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Performance Workshop Part II: Anatomy of Our Land / Anatomia de Nuestra Tierra with Awilda Rodriguez Lora. Pre-registration required.

Sunday, April 14, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Closing Party and Collective Performance of Anatomy of Our Land / Anatomia de Nuestra Tierra with Awilda Rodríguez Lora

DiverseWorks and the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts are co-presenting Awilda Rodríguez Lora as part of the CounterCurrent festival (April 9-14, 2019) www.CounterCurrentFestival.org.

Collective Presence programs are presented in conjunction with the Latino Art Now! 2019 National Conference, a program of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research and hosted by the University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American Studies and the Smithsonian Latino Center (April 4 – 6, 2019).

For more details, visit diverseworks.org.