The Hidden Agenda: Full Circle
This week, Houston brings in an array of unique events, including a short-form performance festival from DiverseWorks, three exhibitions opening at Art League Houston, and more.
Thursday, May 15
Performance — 12 Minutes Max: ESP
DeLUXE Theatre
DiverseWorks’ short-form performance showcase returns with 12 Minutes Max: ESP, a series of short-form performances — up to 12 minutes — revolving around the initials “ESP.” Hosted at the DeLUXE Theatre (3303 Lyons Ave.) over two evenings with unique lineups each night, the event features performances from 12 artists, including Mashal Awais, Alexandra Lechin, and Isabella Mireles Vik. The one-of-a-kind program features performances on both Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. with pay-what-you-can tickets recommended at a $25 donation.
Jillian Conrad at the Menil Drawing Institute.
Photo: Lauren Marek
Discussion — Artist Talk: Jillian Conrad
Menil Drawing Institute
Artist Jillian Conrad, one of the artists presented in the latest exhibition at the Menil Drawing Institute (1412 W. Main St.), What drawing can be: four responses, presents her artist talk, Things Becoming Other Things, as she explores drawing as a language of desire and material transformation. Hosted at the Menil Drawing Institute from 7 to 8 p.m., Conrad’s talk reflects how the medium of drawing both identifies and reworks the world as we know it through the lens of form. The event is free and open to the public.
Friday, May 16
Opening Reception — Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin: Town Meeting 1978-2028
Art League Houston
Inspired by the 1978 “Town Meeting I” — a monumental convening of 4,000 LGBTQIA+ Houstonians in the Astro Arena that helped create institutions like The Montrose Center and The Montrose Clinic — interdisciplinary artists Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin have launched a three-year initiative to inspire, facilitate, and develop programming for the event’s 50th anniversary in 2028, starting with Town Meeting 1978-2028, an exhibition at Art League Houston (1953 Montrose Blvd.). The exhibition features a colossal “wind drawing” based on archival images of the original meeting, which surrounds a series of custom conference tables modeled after the bar tops of Mary’s Naturally, a long-standing bar that once served as a hub for Houston’s queer community. The programming for the exhibition — which includes an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. — includes a symposium, grounded on the legacy of “Town Meeting I,” on June 8 and 9. The exhibition is on view through July 20.
Opening Reception — Jeffly Gabriela Molina: Fragmentos de un sueño que yo también soñé (Fragments of a Dream I Also Dreamed)
Art League Houston
The diasporic experience of immigrants is the focus of artist Jeffly Gabriela Molina’s latest exhibition, Fragmentos de un sueño que yo también soñé (Fragments of a Dream I Also Dreamed), also opening at Art League Houston from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition aims to convey the vulnerability, sentimentality, and hopefulness that runs through the experiences of many immigrants, often using the concept of a painstakingly curated “dream home” to portray the desires and lives of individuals. In addition to the opening reception, Molina will participate in an artist talk on Saturday at 2 p.m. The exhibition is on view through July 20.
A work from Lin Qiqing’s exhibition, Every Fiber of Their Being.
Courtesy of Art League Houston
Opening Reception — Lin Qiqing: Every Fiber of Their Bodies
Art League Houston
In Every Fiber of Their Bodies, Art League Houston’s exhibition from textile artist Lin Qiqing, the artist employs labor-intensive processes — like weaving on a handloom, using plants to dye fibers, and hand-spinning paper yarn — as a way to explore internal human struggles as well as the interplay between people and society at large. Qiqing will also participate in an artist talk on Saturday at 2 p.m. The exhibition is on view through July 20.
Saturday, May 17
Opening Reception — Cosmic Tapestry: Explorations of the Infinite and Penny Cerling: Charting the Unseen
Foltz Fine Art
With an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m., Foltz Fine Art (2143 Westheimer Rd.) hosts two exhibitions, Penny Cerling: Charting the Unseen and Cosmic Tapestry: Explorations of the Infinite. Cerling’s intricate pen & ink works delve into the hidden biological processes that govern life, presented alongside the group exhibition Cosmic Tapestry, which features artists Colleen Blackard, James H. Evans, J. Antonio Farfan, Rachel Gardner, Otis Huband, E. Dan Klepper, Leila McConnell, Susu Meyer,Kate Mulholland, and Terry Suprean. The exhibition is on view through June 28.
Discussion — Resident Artist Talks
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Join the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (4848 Main St.) from 3 to 4 p.m. for talks by their current resident artists: Stephanie Bursese (craft + photography), Nela Garzón (fiber), and Preetika Rajgariah (fiber). The artists will share about their artistic processes as working craft artists and discuss their art, influences, and materials. Following the discussion, guests will be able to visit the residents’ open studios to learn more about their tools and discover their work up close.
