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Arts+Culture

Queer Film Summer: MFAH’s Virtual Cinema Streams Three LGBTQ Masterpieces

Posted on July 27, 2021
A photo from queer film Truman & Tennessee.

While Pride month may be over, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is keeping the queer vibes alive all summer long. As part of their virtual cinema program, MFAH is streaming three queer films: Against The Current and Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation (which the Museum premiered in June), and Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters, which debuted on July 16. Although these films vary greatly, each tells a beautiful and deeply…

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PhotoMania: The Barbara Levine and Paige Ramey Photography Collection is a Glimpse into our Shared Queer History

Posted on July 9, 2021
A photo of one of the works in the Barbara Levine and Paige Ramey Photography Collection.

While fine art museums have long slept on vernacular, or “found,” photography, Houston and San Miguel de Allende–based artists and collectors Barbara Levine and Paige Ramey have not. The couple has spent over 30 years sifting through junk shops, flea markets, and online stores to build a vernacular photography collection they lovingly call “PhotoMania.” The collection comprises over 5,000 photographic objects—from postcards, to family portraits, to photographic sculpture and altered photographs. “Barb and I, when we travel, anywhere we go…

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A Trans God: Far-Fetched or a Fresh Perspective?

Posted on June 25, 2021
A photo of trans God.

It’s Pride month! And with the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots right around the corner, we’re seeing a hot debate around rainbow washing and performative allyship for profit by major corporations. Yet, one place remains, more often than not, unwashed by rainbows—the church. As frustrating as rainbow capitalism can be, it is at least an invitation for dialogue. If you are willing to rebrand for 30 days each summer, then perhaps we can discuss what support for the LGBTQ community…

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Journals of a Leo and a Virgo: Pandemic Passion Projects

Posted on June 4, 2021
A photo of new queer literary journals.

The start of 2021 was rife with big events—on the macro scale, the nation watched in shock as a riot stormed the Capitol of the United States, and only a few weeks later, we witnessed our first female vice president step into her role. After a year under varying states of lockdown and social isolation, we rejoiced at the rollout of the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. At the micro scale, families around the nation saw their broods expand with the births…

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‘They’: A Poetic Ode to Non-Binary Identity

Posted on June 1, 2021
A photo of non-binary identity.

They By Sojourner They lives in the nucleus of my cells, it rarely boils to the surface of my flesh. Most days it’s not ready to face the eyes of others. They is not interested in what my appearance is read as by external forces, it carries no regard for social morays or stratification. They remembers and honors the child that often said “I want to be a boy,” while equally loving femme aesthetics because they knew no box could quantify…

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The Art of Resistance: MFAH Presents New Documentary on Activist and Artist David Wojnarowicz

Posted on April 14, 2021
A photo of a work of David Wojnarowicz.

We’ve all seen the photo: a man, pictured from behind during a 1988 demonstration at the FDA headquarters. The back of his denim jacket contains a large inverted pink triangle and the justifiably livid words stenciled in white: IF I DIE OF AIDS—FORGET BURIAL—JUST DROP MY BODY ON THE STEPS OF THE F.D.A. The man in the jacket is artist David Wojnarowicz, the subject of the new documentary film 'Wojnarowicz,' now playing as part of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Virtual…

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Visionary Futures: DiverseWorks Exhibition Explores Questions of the Future Through Queer, Non-binary BIPOC Lens

Posted on April 2, 2021
A photo of Visionary Futures artist Y2K.

Showcased by Houston’s DiverseWorks and running between February 19–April 11, the online exhibition Visionary Futures is a series of projects created by six queer, non-binary artists of color that critically explores questions of the future, the ways in which we survive, and the legacies that we leave behind. “We are conditioned through popular culture, art, and music to believe a certain set of standards, and that we have to achieve them,” says DiverseWorks curator Ashley DeHoyos. “Through Visionary Futures and…

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HIV Disproportionately Affects People in the South. Why is Texas Trying to Cut Funding?

Posted on March 23, 2021
A photo of BIPOC people representing HIV Texas.

The numbers are clear: HIV affects people in the South at much higher rates than elsewhere in the nation. Within the southern demographic, the virus disproportionally affects BIPOC southerners. And right here in Texas—where we have the highest uninsured rate in the nation—the state legislature would like to cut funding for the Texas HIV Medication Program (THMP).…

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