This program is presented in conjunction with Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin’s exhibition, The Fruit Jar. The symposium is free, and registration is required.

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Town Meeting 1978 - 2028 is a multi-year initiative led by queer interdisciplinary artists Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin to inspire and coordinate programming across Houston in Fall 2028 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Town Meeting 1" a pivotal 1978 convening of 4,000 LGBTQIA+ Texans at the Astro Arena, which galvanized Southeast Texas’s emerging LGBTQIA+ rights movement and helped lead to the creation of major institutions including The Montrose Center and The Montrose Clinic (Legacy Health).

Building on the 2025 Symposium at Art League Houston, October's gathering will focus on past, present and future queer artistic participation in the movement. Convening artists, organizers, and scholars, the symposium will look at examples of queer artistic inquiry and collaborations between queer artists and broader LGBTQIA+ political and social initiatives with an eye toward future organizing.

Click here for more detail on presenters.