DiverseWorks began its year of coaching by introducing its geographic and political context: Houston, the center of United States petroleum production. Because Curator Ashley DeHoyos Sauder was in the process of organizing River On Fire, an exhibition and performance series that examines how artists respond to environmental crises and climate change, all agreed that project would be the focus of the yearlong coaching process. As part of that, they would develop artist guidelines and other internal policies that would remain in place beyond the exhibition.

One important early conversation focused on creating an extreme-weather policy to better support staff in a city frequently impacted by emergency conditions. DeHoyos Sauder says, “We’ve been rethinking, ‘What is our role in a disaster? How can we be effective in that situation?’ Previously, we might have thought only about our staff and the artist community, and now we are thinking about our role in the city of Houston as a whole.”

That mindset shift is emblematic. Regarding the creation of short-, medium-, and long-term goals in the climate action plan, Executive Director Xandra Eden noted, “We’re learning how to be more consistent so that we don’t have to think about it. It’s just going to be automatic: how we handle materials, how we think about energy, how we book people to come here.” And in doing that, DiverseWorks staff can take a leadership role with the artists they serve and support. “We’ve connected with artists whose values align but who haven’t really thought through what sustainability might look like for them,” DeHoyos Sauder said.

Check back soon for updates on River on Fire.