Invasive: Amassing LGBTQ Stories in Houston (at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft)

Artist Aaron McIntosh is bringing Invasive to Houston October 16-18.

Invasive seeks to document the lives of and raise visibility for Southern LGBTQ, using the invasive kudzu vine as a symbol for strength and tenacity in the face of homophobic legislation and regional stereotypes that seek to deny our rich histories.

The project is traveling across the South hosting workshops where participants are encouraged to share their stories on fabric kudzu leaves that are then quilted.

Houston Events Calendar

+ Montrose Center
Oct 16, 2015 11:00am-6:00pm
http://www.montrosecenter.org/hub/calendar-of-events/

+ FreshArts
Oct 17, 2015 11:00am-5:00pm
2101 Winter St, Houston, TX 77007
https://www.fresharts.org/community-calendar

+ Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Oct 18, 2015 11:00am-5:00pm
4848 Main St, Houston, TX 77002
http://www.crafthouston.org/events/invasive/

Learn more about the project via the website and blog and the Facebook event- https://www.facebook.com/invasivekudzu

UPDATE FROM HCCC:
Invasive, a project for Southern queers and their allies, subverts the negative characterization of invasive species and uses queer kudzu as a symbol of visibility, strength and tenacity in the face of presumed “unwontedness.”

Traveling across the Southern states, the project will facilitate the collection of stories of LGBTQ people through workshops at community centers and historical documents from archives. Drawing on the preeminence of quilting in Southern folkways and the work of creator Aaron McIntosh, the artist will embed these stories, photographs, and archive documents into quilted leaves and vines. Eventually forming an overwhelming and undeniable mass of Southern queerness, the kudzu will be exhibited at art centers and public events across the Southeast.

Free Workshop at HCCC
The Invasive workshops create a space for coming together, sharing stories and making new connections. Everybody is welcome, you don’t have to be Southern or queer to come, contribute and support Invasive! Drop-in at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft on Sunday October 18, between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, to add your story to a cloth kudzu leaf (or as many as you like!), learn more about the project and meet other contributors.

Any and all stories are valuable!

Contributors can simply add their name and town, or stories about coming out, romantic encounters, family dynamics, personal hardships, gender revelations, inspirational figures in life, getting married, having children or any queer story that feels important to share. Straight allies can write/draw a message of support for a changing South, profile a Southern queer of note, or make a story leaf for a family member or friend who is unable to attend.

To learn more, visit http://invasivequeerkudzu.com.