Symposium | Image and Identity: Representing Texas, the Lower South, and the Southwest before 1900


April 28 & 29, 2023

The biennial David B. Warren Symposium addresses different aspects of the theme “American Material Culture and the Texas Experience” before 1900. The symposium was established in honor of David B. Warren, founding director emeritus of Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens.

The 2023 symposium focuses on “Image and Identity.” The presentations explore the ways images that were created in and of Texas, the Lower South, and the Southwest constructed, represented, dismantled, or concealed the identity of the people who lived there.

These events take place at Lynn Wyatt Theater in the Kinder Building on the MFAH main campus. Parking is available under the Kinder Building (5500 Main) and under the Glassell School (5100 Montrose). Advance tickets and registration are highly recommended.

Tickets & Registration

Online via Zoom
Attend in Person

One ticket, good for both days, includes admission to the Friday evening and Saturday afternoon receptions with the speakers, and a box lunch on Saturday.
$30 Adults
$25 MFAH Members
$10 Students

More Information
Questions? Contact warrensymposium@mfah.org

► Learn more about the David B. Warren Symposium

Schedule

Friday, April 28 | 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Keynote Address

  • All That They Made: Identity, Representation, and the Black Presence in Decorative Arts Period Rooms Presented by Tiffany Momon, assistant professor of history, Sewanee, the University of the South; founder and co-director, the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive

Saturday, April 29 | 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Presentation of Papers

  • Reframing Texas Identity: 19th-Century Women Photographers Constructing Counter-Narratives Presented by Jessica Brit Ingle, PhD candidate, University of Texas at Dallas
  • “Reading” Portraits of Slavery: Literacy and Unfreedom Presented by Jennifer Van Horn, associate professor of art history and history, University of Delaware
  • Classic Mimbres’ World Beyond the Painted Pottery: Iconic Stories about Ancestors Presented by Harry J. Shafer, curator of archaeology, the Witte Museum, San Antonio
  • Las Reinas: Visual and Material Culture of the San Antonio Chili Queens Presented by Laura Ochoa Rincon, decorative arts trust curatorial fellow, New Orleans Museum of Art
  • Cowboys of Color: The Intriguing Visual Record of  Black, Brown, and Indigenous Cowboys  in 19th-Century Texas Presented by Jouette Travis, art history student, University of Texas at Dallas

The David B. Warren Symposium is made possible with generous support from the David B. Warren Symposium Endowment; Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Marilyn G. Lummis; and The Summerlee Foundation.

Location

Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
5500 Main Street
Houston, TX 77004
Map & Directions