This season’s Moody Project Wall artists are Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin, whose joint practice pieces together fragmented LGBTQIA+ histories. Currently, they are working on an ongoing interdisciplinary initiative commemorating Town Meeting 1, a pivotal convening of 4,000 LGBTQ+ Houstonians in 1978. 

For their work in this series, Vaughan and Margolin are extending their interest in gathering material artifacts and oral histories by hosting workshops and public programs that celebrate queer life in Houston, past and present. Rice students and the public are invited to contribute stories and objects that will be integrated into their installation for the Moody Project Wall. See workshop dates below.   

The site of this installation, the west-facing wall in the Flex Studio, is covered in chalkboard paint, providing an active writing surface that can record participants’ exchanges. Paired with five wall-mounted bartops—themselves an artifact of Mary’s Naturally, a former Houston gay bar and activist hub-- and three tables placed on the floor, the work functions as an evolving archive and gathering place that registers the necessity of these histories.  

Workshop Information 

• When: Public Workshops Feb 23, 6-7 pm and Feb 25, 9-10 am
  Student Workshop March 3, 6 – 8 pm (registration required)
• Where: Moody Flex Studio
• What to expect: After a brief presentation on the history and ongoing legacy of Town Meeting 1, including an introduction to the symposia, installations, and cross-community initiatives making up Town Meeting 1978-2028, Nick and Jake will guide participants through an exercise to help begin identifying resonant stories and images. Any participants who decide to contribute or help identify stories, histories, or objects will receive a limited-edition print documenting the installation, created by the artists.  

Join the artists and participants to see the result of these workshops at the opening reception on April 2, 6 – 8 p.m.