TOWN MEETING 1978-2028
“Town Meeting 1978 - 2028" is a multi-year initiative by queer interdisciplinary artists Nick Vaughan & Jake Margolin to inspire, facilitate, and develop programming in 2028 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of "Town Meeting 1" a pivotal 1978 convening of 4,000 LGBTQIA+ Houstonians at the Astro Arena, which galvanized Houston’s emerging LGBTQIA+ rights movement and helped lead to the creation of major institutions like The Montrose Center and The Montrose Clinic.
The project launched with an exhibition and two-day symposium featuring presentations from over thirty elders, activists, artists, and scholars in June, 2025 at Art League Houston.
"Town Meeting 1978-2028" is the first supported project of Rendezvous Center for Art, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded by Nick & Jake.
Press for "Town Meeting 1978-2028":
Arts + Culture Texas
Outsmart
Glasstire
Rendezvous Center for Art gratefully acknowledges the major sponsors of "Town Meeting 1978-2028":
Symposium & Exhibition Underwriters:
Beverly McPhail & Kevin Kulish, Sara Rosenbaum & Dan Hawkins, Bobby Bacon Metalart,
Conference Table Sponsors:
Dr. Don Bacigalupi & Daniel Feder
Panel Sponsors:
Jereann Chaney, The Terrence McNally Foundation, H. Russell Pitman
Publication Sponsors:
Scott & Judy Nyquist
Keynote Sponsors:
John Bradshaw Jr, Sharmon J Hilfinger & Luis Trabb Pardo
Interpretation & Documentation Sponsors:
Natilee Harren & Michael G Powell, Nina Rubin
And: The Whitehall Hotel, Air Alliance Houston, and La Mexicana.
Rendezvous Center for Art also gratefully acknowledges the following donors:
Devin Borden, David Chavkin, Sadie Costello, Faye Driscoll, Bergen St Flats, Jonna Fonda, Hillerbrand+Magsamen, Rina & Malcolm Margolin, Katy, Zach, Alan and Eddie, Janice Rubin and Charles Wiese, Kristen Sieh, Sarah Stauder, Nick Thomas & Nicole Pelligrino, and a donation in memory of Milton and Annette Wiener.
This project relied gratefully on the JD Doyle Archives, Heart of Leather Foundation and Judy Reeves, and the University of Houston Special Collections at the MD Anderson Library.
This project is made possible with support from The Idea Fund. The Idea Fund is a re-granting program administered by DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses and funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and numerous individual donors.