Lubbock's DIY Art Spaces: A Fragmented History

Glasstire publishes an oral history of Lubbock's DIY art spaces, tracing the city's alternative scene from the 1960s to the present. The article, part of Glasstire's 25th anniversary series, documents how artists repeatedly transformed empty buildings into temporary galleries and performance venues. Key figures include Hills Snyder, who in 1968 as a high school student used an empty downtown building for a student show; Deborah Milosevich and Lora Hunt, who founded Lubbock Lights Contemporary Art Gallery in the late 1970s; James W. Johnson, who pioneered pop-up exhibitions in the 1980s and 1990s, including the "Salon of the Ignored" in 1995 and 1996; and the Wheeler brothers (Jeff and Bryan), who organized the "Ulterior Motifs" art+music events from 1999 through 2016. The mid-2000s saw a surge of activity in vacant downtown spaces, such as an old hospital building where artists created installations like "Third Floor: Designed Obsolescence" in 2005. Sara Waters, a TTU professor who died in 2024, was instrumental in fostering the scene, later moving to Slaton and inspiring 5th Fridays Art Walks. Recent spaces include Lease Agreement (2019-2020), GarageProjects (2024-2025), and ongoing efforts like CO-OPt Research + Projects (founded 2019) and East Lubbock Art House (founded 2020). The article notes that downtown revitalization has made pop-ups harder, but DIY persists.