A juried show by the Women in the Literary and Visual Arts (WiVLA) will hold its opening reception at 6pm this evening at the Museum of Printing History.  “Freeing The Word In Small Spaces” will showcase the work of artists challenged to reflect on and consider the possibilities of the evolution of the written word from hand-bound rarities, through the new accessibility afforded by the printing press, and on into a new paradigm that sees the printed word melding with the electronic device.

The Women in the Literary and Visual Arts was founded in the early 1990s in an ambitious attempt to create a network for writers and visual artists.  The brainchild of a writer, an artist, and an art consultant, the early founders were members of a professional buisnesswomen’s organization and the benefits of a similar network for those in the creative community became readily apparent.  The idea quickly gained traction and continues to provide a forum for women in Houston to nurture the creative efforts of others, collaborate artistically, and promote the work of members.  Tonight’s opening reception marks another success in that journey.

Here at the University of Houston Special Collections, we are proud to make available for study the Women in the Visual and Literary Arts Records.  Though relatively young in its history, the WiVLA Records provide a look at their formation, organization, and work supporting artists through the years.  Materials in the collection include not only administrative documents and communications, but also information and photographs documenting events and shows through the years.

If you have not already, make plans to attend “Freeing The Word In Small Spaces.”  While you are at it, why not come see what WiVLA’s history holds as well?

title page of “The Status of Women at the University of Houston,” October 2007

We are pleased to share that the University Women’s Commission Records and University of Houston Women’s Resource Center Records have newly published finding aids in our Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection.

As the University moved into the 21st century, President Arthur K. Smith appointed a commission of 24 UH-affiliated women to study the role of women in the University and address the issues and concerns of women on campus.  In time, male voices were added to the Commission and the report emerging at the end of the study suggested a number of recommendations to guide the administration of the University since.  One of the major recommendations, which came to fruition in 2004, was the establishment of the Women’s Resource Center.

certificate from the Governor of Texas, commemorating the opening of the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Houston

The University Women’s Commission Records include the expected meeting minutes as well as documents establishing the organization, operational procedures, and priorities of the Commission.  In addition, the records outline research and statistics, including  surveys, assembled by the Commission, various reports of findings, including executive summaries, as well as materials documenting the establishment of a mentoring program.

The University of Houston Women’s Resource Center Records provide a glimpse of the Center’s young history of service to the UH community.  Materials include correspondence as well as information related to programs and lectures presented by the Center.  It will be an informative and telling pleasure to watch this collection grow over time, reflecting the Center and University’s development into the 21st century.

Take a “research break” from whatever you’re doing and give these new finding aids a look or, better yet, come see the collections for yourself.

The Houston Gorilla Girls

The latest edition of Houston History Magazine features an article penned by our own Vince Lee, Archivist for the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection.  In his latest piece, Vince takes a look at the much ballyhooed Houston Gorilla Girls and highlights the Houston Gorilla Girls Collection, available for study here at the University of Houston Special Collections.  I spoke with Vince recently regarding the work behind the scenes that went into the article.  His thoughts on the piece, and the Gorilla Girls as a whole, follow:

My impetus for writing the article, first and foremost,  was to shed light on what I thought was an important and visually appealing collection. My hope in writing the article “From the Archives” on the Houston Gorilla Girls is to use the platform to talk more in depth about and provide increased awareness of the work that the Houston Gorilla Girls did in leveling the playing field for women artists in the Houston area.

I knew from the outset that the collection would provide many visual examples that would draw interest from potential researchers on what was contained-from masks and  stuffed gorillas, to ephemera and photos from their demonstrations at local area art venues in which women were underrepresented as artists. If as a result of this, the article generates interest among researchers and students of art, women’ studies, and other interdisciplinary fields for further scholarly research and publication, then as an archivist I feel as if I have done my job.

The article itself wasn’t hard to write. All the ingredients were there from their records, photos, and ephemera. The Houston Gorilla Girls were very diligent and systematic about their own record keeping. It was just assembling what they had into a narrative to share their story and history with the greater public. If I had to sum up the Houston Gorilla Girls, I would say that they were a group of women fighting the good fight in gender equality, who took their cause seriously, but not themselves, and knew how to have a great time in the process.

It would appear his work on the article was also a great time in the process.  Digital subscribers can read the article on Houston History’s website.  Access to all those gorilla-themed weapons of gender and artistic liberation?  Free of charge, as always, here at Special Collections.

letter from Parents of Gays, Pensacola, FL to Chief Justice Warren Burger, regarding 1976 Supreme Court ruling upholding state sodomy laws that outlaw homosexual acts

Pride Week is upon us y’all and, like everything else in Texas, we do things a little bigger in Houston.

Now, with one more reason to celebrate, hundreds of thousands of Houstonians will defy our grinding heat and humidity, jamming the streets and locales of Montrose in celebration of Pride Week.  For more than 34 years Pride Houston has played a central role in coordinating this massive undertaking and the volunteers needed to make it the success it is every year.  About a decade after Stonewall, the LGBT community in Houston joined with others around the world to mark the anniversary of this crucial turning point in the movement for equal rights.  Houston held its first celebration in 1979 and has been going strong since.

Saturday, June 29th marks the fever pitch of the week’s events.  A festival leading up to the parade, featuring exhibits and entertainment, will begin at 1pm on Saturday.  The parade will follow at 8pm (or shortly thereafter) when Houstonians will pack the parade’s route along Westheimer to show the city’s support of the LGBT community and celebrate like no other evening of the year.

We would like to encourage everyone to drop by the History Tent during the festival leading up to the parade.  Staffed by volunteers, including librarians and archivists representing a number of institutions here in Houston, the Pride Houston History Tent will showcase a number of items outlining the history of the LGBT community in Houston and beyond.  Our own Vince Lee, Archivist for the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection, will be present with materials from the Hazelwitch Productions Inc. Records, the Annise Parker Papers, and gay and lesbian materials and ephemera from the Houston Area NOW and Other Feminist Activities Collection.  In addition, Vince plans to showcase works from our Norma J. Lee Lesbian & Feminist Collection and Edward Lukasek Gay Studies Collection.

Feeling the Pride this week (or any other)?  Thanks to the efforts and generosity of so many, the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection has grown into a hub for research relating to the LGBT community in the Houston area and far beyond.  The materials listed above, as well as others, remind scholars that they would do well to make this a first stop when conducting related research.

This weekend the University of Houston campus will welcome over 30,000 visitors as we host Houston’s March for Babies, a fundraising event that has become a mainstay for the March of Dimes in their efforts to improve the health of babies.  While the mission of March of Dimes has evolved over the years (having been founded as an agency by President Franklin Roosevelt to battle polio), their commitment to the health of newborns has made the March for Babies an event to rally around year after year.

1979 March of Dimes Gourmet Gala

However, fundraising for the March of Dimes does not begin and end in Houston on one weekend in April.  The grind and grunt work of charitable fundraising is a year-round job and no name is more synonymous with that exceptional effort than the first lady of philanthropy, one Carolyn Farb.  The March of Dimes as well as so many others have benefited from her tireless efforts over the years.  Author of How to Raise Millions:  Helping Others, Having a Ball!  A Guide to Fundraising as well as The Fine Art of Fundraising:  Secrets for Successful Volunteers (with an introduction from Robin Leach), Farb has been involved in fundraising in Houston since the 1970s and we are pleased to offer for study a vast treasure trove of her personal papers.  It would be quite impossible to list here the number of charitable and non-profit organizations that have benefited from Farb’s efforts but, as the campus gets set to host the March for Babies, a journey into her archives sheds light on just some of her work with the March of Dimes during the 1970s and beyond.

In 1979 the old Summit sports arena hosted the March of Dimes Gourmet Gala that pitted local and national celebrities against one another as would-be chefs, preparing culinary concoctions in kitchen stations conceived by some of Houston’s top designers.  Bernice and Bob Welch of Houston would take top honors with their symphony of Shrimp Crepes with Brie and Pinenut Sauce, but the Baked Alaska of Carolyn Farb and her partner, fashion designer Jimmy Galanos, held its own as it took home the second place prize.  Of course, the March of Dimes and the children they serve were the real winners that evening.

Jimmy Galanos and Carolyn Farb prepare their award-winning Baked Alaska, during the March of Dimes Gourmet Gala, 1979

Photographs, press coverage, and artifacts from the 1979 March of Dimes Gourmet Gala provide just one whimsical snapshot of Farb’s work in fundraising.  For a more robust picture of the resources available related to Carolyn Farb and her charitable work, take a look at the detailed finding aid.  As the spring semester winds down and students scramble to the task of final exams, opportunities for research on Saturdays are dwindling.  Be sure to take some time to come see us on Saturday before you go out and March for Babies on Sunday.