All Posts By

Aubrey Burghardt

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…

What’s in a Name?: Poet Danez Smith Tackles Race, Queerness, Xenophobia, and Diagnosis

Posted on January 30, 2020

Arguably the greatest stanza ever written? Nah, I dare to say screw Shakespeare. There’s a new poet on the block. Enter Danez Smith, a Black, queer, HIV-positive poet whose works, Don’t Call Us Dead and Homie, center the true power in naming, the exploration of racism, the intimacy of queerness, and the reality of xenophobia. Smith is currently touring for the latter work, and stops in at Houston’s Brazos Bookstore on January 31.…

A Meta-Community for the Arts: Spring Branch’s Zócalo Artist-in-Residence Program Kicks Off with a Queer Perspective

Posted on December 6, 2019

A photo of Zócalo artists-in-residence Input Output.

By Aubrey F. Burghardt The Zócalo, or main square in central Mexico City, has long served as a gathering place. The plaza was once a well-known ritualistic mecca in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, and acted as a cultural hub of sorts, a safe haven for smaller communities within the larger population. In the Spring Branch neighborhood of Houston, Texas, another Zócalo exists—a luxury-living apartment complex that not only provides communal housing but a homestead of cultural and creative energy as…

The Bayou City Be All: Reflections on DiverseWorks’ Night of Performance Beyond the Binary

Posted on November 11, 2019

On October 20, DiverseWorks gave us, the city’s queer community, a generous gift—the “Bayou City Be All: A Night of Performance, Fashion, and Music Beyond the Gender Binary.” The two-part event, promoted as a community-driven project, commemorated the vibrant and unapologetic art, culture, and tunes stewarded and crafted by our own gender non-conforming, genderqueer, and non-binary makers.…

The Houston Queer (Art) Agenda

Posted on September 18, 2019

Well, here’s my gay agenda—surprise, it’s art-based. I’m here to disrupt your mundane arts and culture happenings to bring you the latest leading queer-lensed creative endeavors. Warning—there’s nothing subtle about the queerness of these events. It’s just not in our nature.…

Last Woman Standing: Where Have All The Lesbian Bars Gone? And Are They Coming Back?

Posted on August 23, 2019

A photo of Julie Mabry, owner of Pearl Bar in Houston.

There is an obvious lack of safe lesbian bars and queer nightlife spots for femmes and lesbians in Houston. This is not just a regional issue, but a ubiquitous, nationwide setback. After scouring the Internet, I could only confidently identify 10 bars in the entire United States (now don’t crucify me if I’ve missed one) that were demarcated as lesbian bars. You read me right: Su Ellen’s in Dallas; Henrietta Hudson in New York; League of Her Own in D.C.;…

Through The Lens: The Power of Queer Photography

Posted on May 3, 2019

A photo of queer photography Anthony Flores.

During my time as a writer for Spectrum South, I’ve established a brand with my work: holistic and inclusive profiles of some of the South’s most prolific and boundary-pushing queer artists. I’ve detailed the avant-garde performances of Experimental Action, revealed five queer southern artists you should know, and journeyed through the transformative work of gender-nonconforming artist Cassils, among others. But I want to push myself further—to try something new and outside of my standard. My intention with the piece you’re…

Roll Call: Queer Women in Leadership, Where Are You?

Posted on March 21, 2019

On a chilly Sunday morning, I met my editor at an East Downtown café to share a cup of coffee and swap story ideas for the upcoming months. As a queer woman and aspiring arts leader, I’d been mulling over the concept of authoring a piece for Women’s History Month that would highlight queer female leaders within Houston’s arts scene. I got the green light to move forward, and in the following weeks, I searched religiously for the female role…

Acts of Rebellion: Experimental Action Centers Queer Performance Artists

Posted on February 13, 2019

A photo of Antonius Bui at Experimental Action.

If you truly know Houston, you know there’s no denying our ranking as a national contender in the competitive visual arts dominion. The city is continuously abuzz with new and up-and-coming gallery openings, exhibitions, and alternative art collectives. What often gets left out of the picture, however, is the avant-garde, activist-inspired, trailblazing, and authentic performance art scene. This repertoire is the city’s best-kept secret—one that deserves to be exposed and given some long-overdue recognition. At the heart of this scene is…

#SpectrumScavenger: A Scavenger Hunt to Discover Houston’s Hidden Public Art

Posted on January 11, 2019

Attention adventurers, fortune hunters, and explorers! Let’s try something new together—and if it works out, we just may make it a regular thing. I want to help you uncover some of Houston’s most spectacular (but relatively hidden) public art. But naturally, there’s a price. Instead of just telling you where to go and what you’ll find, I thought I’d take you on a spirited scavenger hunt across the city. So carve out some time, follow the given clues, and go…

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Aubrey Burghardt

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