Anything Might Happen The legacy of queer programming at DiverseWorks by Travis Mader

If you've ever been to DiverseWorks, you know it's a place like no other. Located near downtown in a renovated warehouse in the commercial district between North Main Street and I-10, DiverseWorks is an artistic oasis in a sea of industry. Anything goes is taken very seriously at DiverseWorks-one never knows quite what to expect when visiting-which is sans doubt one of its charms.... Where else can you be assured of a front-row seat at the crossroads of the latest in performance art? Where else can you expect to witness the genius of the latest generation of alternative performers? Where else can you pay five dollars and expect to be harassed by the artists onstage? DiverseWorks (applause, applause). And from the get-go, DiverseWorks has been a destination for queers. DiverseWorks has always been a place to work out issues, "issues of homophobia and identity, the differences within the gay community itself," says Michael Peranteau, one of DiverseWorks' executive directors from its founding in 1983 until he left in 1994 to help start the Center for AIDS. The list of diverse issues addressed at DiverseWorks continues: "whether it is ageism or lesbian women and gay men coming together, issues around people of color, discussions of AIDS on a lot of levels within the gay community, issues of gay youth, especially with groups like H.A.T.C.H. [Houston Area Teen Coalition of Homosexuals]," says Peranteau. DiverseWorks Artspace, Houston's self-anointed "Mecca of All Things Alternative," first opened its doors in 1983. Then located in the Market Square district of downtown at 214 Travis, the alternative downtown venue thrived until a devastating fire gutted the facility in 1989. Unwilling to let the disaster destroy it, DiverseWorks moved to its current location at 1117 East Freeway, transforming a raw warehouse into the complex of galleries, offices, and theater space that it is today.

Confronting issues and stimulating a dialogue within the community has always been part of DiverseWorks's plan. In fact, those underlying values form the core of the organization's mission statement, which declares: "DiverseWorks is a place where the process of creating art is valued and where artists can test new ideas in the public arena."

Does DiverseWorks see itself as an instrument of change? By all means. DiverseWorks programming is decided upon as much to raise issues as to cover them. And indeed, through the years, DiverseWorks has successfully directed the attention of the community to various issues, rolling with the punches, illuminating our times. As the focus of Houston's gay community has shifted in the last decade-from rallying around AIDS, to protesting the 1992 GOP convention in Houston, to Coming Out Day celebrations, to Hate Crimes, to electing Annise Parker, to pushing for same-sex unions-so have the exhibits and happenings at DiverseWorks. And while DiverseWorks has definitely sought to represent and confront the local zeitgeist, it is also extensively involved in both national and international alternative art circles.

Although DiverseWorks has gained a reputation locally and nationally as being a very queer place, managing and performance director Loris Bradley emphasizes that the diversity suggested by the organization's name goes beyond simply gay and lesbian shades of gray to include all genders, races, and creeds. When Bradley joined DiverseWorks, most of the organization's queer programming was scheduled for the months of May and June, the traditional time of year for queer visibility and pride celebrations. As it was known then, the Beyond Desire gay and lesbian series brought in nationally known queer performers and artists as well as locals, but Bradley thought it was time for a change. "Those months were so crammed with gay and lesbian events that we decided to spread our gay and lesbian programming over the entire year." This not only allows gays and lesbians to see queer programming year-round, but also encourages more intermixing of gay and straight audiences. On a local level, DiverseWorks enlists local artists to be a part of its Artist Board, which helps determine season programming and curates individual/group exhibits and programs. Two of the community's most accessible programs are the Subspace gallery series and the 12 Minutes Max! program. The inventive 12 Minutes Max! has always been a way for the community to be directly involved in DiverseWorks's programming. Artist board members act as curators for the event, actively soliciting the members of the Houston artist community for performance ideas; the only catch-you've got only 12 minutes to pull it off. 12 Minutes Max! has always been a popular event at DiverseWorks and has been the source of a lot of new queer work. In fact, two programs were recently devoted to queer performance and another to transgender performance. The Subspace series is similarly chosen by curators from the Artist Board; exhibits stay up in DiverseWorks's smaller gallery for two to three weeks. The Artist Board's Gay and Lesbian Subcommittee has presented several queer-themed exhibits, including the anti-censorship "full-frontal, exhibited, hung" and the Matthew Shepard-inspired "Love Letters/Hate Mail." DiverseWorks is also a cofounder of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which recently celebrated its fourth year.

Probably the most visible of DiverseWorks's efforts in the queer community has been its active involvement with gay and lesbian youth. From early involvement with displaced queer youth in HIPY (Houston Institute for the Protection of Youth) to ongoing collaborations with H.A.T.C.H., DiverseWorks knows where the future of the gay and lesbian community lies, and works tirelessly to promote the positive growth of young queers, both as individuals and as artists. In 1995, DiverseWorks sponsored a collaboration between gay and lesbian students of videographer Mary Ellen Strom and local queer teens to create a multimedia performance School's OUT: The Naming Project. Part performance therapy, part improvisation, the result was pure power. The School's OUT project toured to other cities in the U.S. and overseas. In 1996, QuAC, the Queer Artist Collective, formed as an offshoot of this program (with yours truly as one of the deranged collective members). Under DiverseWorks's wing, QuAC performed two or three times a year, sponsored out-of-town gay and lesbian artists, and conducted workshops and poetry readings across town. Before the group disbanded in 1999, we collaborated on a performance at DiverseWorks with members of H.A.T.C.H. Called "Egg," the performance was a perfect fusion of QuAC and H.A.T.C.H. energy and even featured a mini-riot onstage. The audience was enthusiastic. Though QuAC has folded, the underlying message of the group has cycled into a new group. According to Bradley, the new group of young gays and lesbians from H.A.T.C.H. are joining up with a national group not unlike Strom's School's OUT program to create a new generation of young, queer artists. Stay tuned.

And the fact that it is not just a queer arts venue, but a cauldron of diversity is vital to DiverseWorks agenda. "DiverseWorks challenges notions of identity," says Loris Bradley. "Is it relevant to see work outside our immediate identity? Why should gay men see lesbian shows? Why should lesbians see transgender shows? We tend to segment ourselves off from each other, but everyone has more than one identity."

In a time where issues are often black and white, DiverseWorks recognizes the value of the shades of gray in-between, presenting work that challenges and stimulates and maybe even brings about some change. That's something the queer community-and all of Houston's communities-can value.

DiverseWorks's 2000-2001 Subscription Series offers a heady mix of performances and exhibits, from the queer theatrical stylings of Ann Carlson's "Grass/Bird/Rodeo" (Sept. 21-23) and Paul Bonin-Rodriguez's "Memory's Caretaker" (Nov. 10-11) to the latest in puppetry from Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre (April 19May 5, 2001) to music collaborations between Evan Parker and Susan Ibarra (April 10). In addition to the offerings in its subscription series, DiverseWorks also programs special Subspace exhibits, readings, and 12 Minutes Max! performances by local performers. Call 713/223-8346 for a brochure or check them out on the web at http://www.diverseworks.org.

Travis Mader is a former member of DiverseWorks's Artist Board, the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival steering committee, and QuAC. He currently works as dramaturg for the Alley Theatre.