Texas Artist-Run Spaces of Color: A Historical Lineage
A Glasstire article traces the history of artist-run spaces by people of color in Texas, from Project Row Houses (1993) in Houston to Bowie Bears Grocery Printshop (2025) in El Paso. Project Row Houses, founded by James Bettison, Bert Long Jr., Jesse Lott, Rick Lowe, Floyd Newsum, Bert Samples, and George Smith, purchased 22 houses in Third Ward. Mexic-Arte Museum was founded in Austin in the 1980s by Sylvia Orozco, Sam Coronado, and Pio Pulido. Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, founded in San Antonio by Gertrude Baker, Sandra Cisneros, Susan Guerra, and Graciela Sanchez, opened Museo del Westside in 2024. Newer spaces include East Lubbock Art House (2020) by Danielle East and Kinfolk House (2022) by Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby. Bowie Bears Grocery Printshop, a passion project by Francisco Delgado and Aron Venegas, operates in a former grocery in Segundo Barrio.
Key facts
- Project Row Houses founded in 1993 in Houston's Third Ward by seven artists.
- Mexic-Arte Museum founded in Austin in the 1980s by Sylvia Orozco, Sam Coronado, and Pio Pulido.
- Esperanza Peace and Justice Center founded in San Antonio by Gertrude Baker, Sandra Cisneros, Susan Guerra, and Graciela Sanchez.
- Museo del Westside opened by Esperanza in 2024.
- East Lubbock Art House founded in 2020 by Danielle East.
- Kinfolk House in Fort Worth founded in 2022 by Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby.
- Bowie Bears Grocery Printshop opened in 2025 in El Paso's Segundo Barrio by Francisco Delgado and Aron Venegas.
- Delgado earned BFA from UTEP and MFA from Yale School of Art in 2002.
Entities
Artists
- James Bettison
- Bert Long, Jr.
- Jesse Lott
- Rick Lowe
- Floyd Newsum
- Bert Samples
- George Smith
- Dr. John Biggers
- Sylvia Orozco
- Sam Coronado
- Pio Pulido
- Gertrude Baker
- Sandra Cisneros
- Susan Guerra
- Graciela Sanchez
- Danielle East
- Sedrick Huckaby
- Letitia Huckaby
- Francisco Delgado
- Aron Venegas
Institutions
- Glasstire
- Project Row Houses
- Texas Southern University
- Mexic-Arte Museum
- University of Texas
- Center for Mexican American Studies
- Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
- Museo del Westside
- Esperanza Community Land Trust
- East Lubbock Art House
- Kinfolk House
- Bowie Bears Grocery Printshop
- University of Texas at El Paso
- Yale School of Art
- Puro Borde
Locations
- Texas
- Houston
- Third Ward
- Austin
- San Antonio
- North Congress Avenue
- West 5th Street
- Lubbock
- Fort Worth
- El Paso
- Segundo Barrio
- El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border
- United States