Collaborations XX: 1968

June 23rd to July 28th, 2023

© Aaron Nguyen

This year Collaborations celebrates its twentieth anniversary. Through a partnership between Open Dance Project and the Houston Center for Photography, the students were invited to research and select images from 1968 to base their work on. They were then to produce a body of images in reaction to their findings and the similarities between current events and those that occurred in the late sixties, resulting in an exhibition of their work in our gallery. 

In addition to the exhibition, 1968: The Whole World is Watching, an immersive dance theater performance conceived and directed by Annie Arnoult at Open Dance Project, included photographs by three Collaborations students in the final scene as well as a digital display of their work at MATCH – Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston.

Alicia Ault, Museums Correspondent at the Smithsonian Magazine, wrote this about the 1968 images created in America:

“It was a year of evolution and revolution, one filled with newly galvanized protest movements and civil rights milestones, but also tinged by a war spinning out of control, assassinations, violent protests and a chaotic and dangerous presidential campaign. By the end of 1968, Americans were questioning just what it all meant. Those issues were made all the more existential by the realization that the Earth was nothing more than a tiny ball floating in a vast black space.”

Our Collaborations students’ photographs reflect on our nation’s histories, and equally, provide us with a glimpse into each students’ visual understanding of their very contemporary worlds. 

– Anne Houang
Access and Community Engagement (A.C.E.) Associate

Opening Reception
Friday, June 23rd, 6pm–8pm

Collaborations XX Print Sale
Saturday, June 24th, 2pm–5pm

PARTICIPATING STUDENTS

Dominic Batzel (Langham Creek High School)

Megan Chlouber (Bridgeland High School)

Josefina Gomez (DeBakey High School for Health Profession)

Jordan Guidry (Wheatley High School)

Kylie Henk (Cypress Ranch High School)

Tatiana Miranda Salterio (Cypress Ranch High School)

Michael Ndukwe (DeBakey High School for Health Profession)

Zuleyka Negreros (Spring Woods High School)

Aaron Nguyen (Bridgeland High School)

Dakota Wells (DeBakey High School for Health Profession)

Harrison Wright (St. John's School)

  • DOMINIC BATZEL; I want my work to inspire and resonate with my audience. In my photographs of houses, I like to make the viewer question the context and story behind the image. When shooting, I look for unique aspects and objects that stand out in the surrounding landscape. I want my art to inspire others in the same way that making photographs inspires me. The art that I create is also meant to entertain and spark interest in my audience. Dominic moved to Houston after living most of his life in a small town in Utah, which changed his perspective on the urban landscape. All of his life, he had been surrounded by suburban households, which put him under the impression that all houses and neighborhoods were similar to what he was used to seeing daily. After moving to Houston, his perspective on the urban landscape changed, which inspired him to photograph and document the contrasting lifestyles in Houston.

  • MEGAN CHLOUBER; When introduced to the idea of 1968, I wasn't sure how to approach such a broad idea. I decided to go back into the work I've always been drawn to: work about women's roles and their relationships in the world, including the stigma of substance abuse. Reflecting that by showing the history repeating itself in society with the use and abuse of cigarettes. Megan Chlouber is a photographer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and based in Houston, Texas. She recently graduated from Bridgeland High School and will be attending Texas State University in the fall. She has been photographing since she was 14 and fell in love with film from the start. In the past two years, she has started working with color film and has been continuing bodies of work about womanhood, mental health, and the use and abuse of substances. With this work, Megan has sought out how all of these things affect the display and feel of the body of work as a whole. Megan's biggest inspirations have been Diane Arbus and Sally Mann.

  • TATIANA MIRANDA SALTERIO; From the start, I gravitated towards lifestyle images when approaching 1968. I decided to interview friends and family, such as Curtis Willocks, to hear about their experiences during that year. With their stories, I had the opportunity to look at 1968 through their lenses and how it still impacts their lives today, reflecting that in portraits of them and their homes. Tatiana Miranda Salterio is a photographer born in Puerto Rico, based in Houston, TX. She recently graduated from Cypress Ranch High School and will be soon attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has been photographing since she was thirteen, since then she’s loved working with film in all types of formats as well as alternative processes. Salterio’s recent work consists of topics such as mental illness, queerness, and identity as a whole, with the intention of capturing what that looks and feels like. Some of Salterio’s biggest inspirations have been Francesca Woodman, Claude Cahun, and Germaine Krull.

  • JOSEFINA GOMEZ; My Guatemalan culture has inspired me since I was a small child, which has grown into a longing to travel and connect with my Guatemalan roots. I was given the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and explore the land. But I also noticed a lack of women's representation in the workforce. Society has traditional views toward the roles of women. As an American Guatemalan Latina, this led me to confront these traditional values, the "machismo", and how it can be exhausting to be perceived as a pretty, perfect lady in this society. Josefina Gomez is a photographer with Guatemalan heritage who was raised in Houston, Texas. Living in Houston as a Guatemalan American, she found a new perspective on life through photography and aims to target societal stereotypes seen as normal within her culture. Her work has won Scholastic Art Competition awards and been displayed in the Museum of Fine Arts through Eye on Houston.

  • JORDAN GUIDRY; There is a lot of chaos in this world, and I strongly believe that we all need to carve out time in our lives to engage in activities that allow us to find stillness and peace. to silence all the buzzers in our heads and be present. Many traumatic events occurred in 1968, and I'm sure they left people's brains racing. I'm also very confident that some people were relieved to be doing something as simple as unwinding while smoking a cigar. A pleasure that just required you to sit back, unwind, puff on a smoking cigar, and blow... Jordan Guidry is a photographer out of Houston, Texas, who has had a rough upbringing due to being evicted and having the distraction of both gun and physical violence in his community. He enjoys supplying viewers with a visual perspective that signifies creating peace in the midst of chaos.

  • KYLIE HENK; I have always had a passion for the environment. Growing up in Appalachian Pennsylvania has really taught me conservation and protection of resources. I can remember being taken to local farms and taught the importance of local organic agriculture. How it impacts the wilderness around these farms. In the 1960’s a very popular book called Silent Springs by Rachel Carson was released which focused on the environmental impacts of agriculture. This is a parallel to the world we live in now where the pesticides and herbicides we use to grow our crops significantly harms the environment. It’s damaging the fertility of the soil. Through my image I hope to have the public see how if we don’t save our world that all the world will be. Concrete. Kylie Henk is a portrait and landscape photographer from Lionville Pennsylvania but has resided in Cypress Texas for the past 3 years. After graduating from Cypress Ranch High School she hopes to major in photography at Texas Women’s University in Denton Texas.

  • MICHAEL NDUKWE; My photographs are a window into a long-known and painful truth: the oppression of black minorities in white America. As an artist, I look to show the unfiltered reality of the society we live in. I aim to show the downcasting of African Americans during the Civil Rights movement. In our efforts to rise against our discrimination and achieve a level of societal standing on par with our white counterparts, we were hosed down, trampled, and treated like animals. I also convey the theme of strength in solidarity. It’s my belief that it is the only way African Americans can begin to make progress and move forward in society. In my eyes, the end goal of the black struggle is clear and simple: luxury. A lifestyle that allows us to indulge in generational wealth and live comfortably with the richness of our melanin. Michael Ndukwe is a Scholastic Award-winning artist and photographer native to Houston, Texas. As someone who was excoriated for his African-American culture as a child, Ndukwe now seeks to express and embrace his blackness through his work.

  • AARON NGUYEN; My body of work 1968 explores the consequences of our forefathers' decisions and the burden they have placed upon our lives. Our family division and separation of ideals from then to now are the culmination of these effects. We are forced to appeal to the long-lasting reputation of our ancestors' image, and even if we shy away from their ideals, we are castrated of dignity and identity. We didn’t ask to be brought into this world, and yet we are forced to live with the decisions of our forefathers, which cost us our brokenness and suffering. Aaron Nguyen is a photographer from Houston, TX, whose family immigrated from Vietnam during the war. Nguyen will be a senior at Bridgeland High and plans to pursue photography in college. Nguyen’s main body of work consists of controlled chaos pertaining to self-identity and the constraints of individualism from parents and grandparents.

  • DAKOTA WELLS; 1968 was a year of many world-shifting events around the globe that were so diverse but so interconnected. The aspect of community building during this time, along with the ongoing escalation of the Vietnam War, were two subjects I saw reflected in my daily life and wanted to honor. I chose to document the Vietnamese community in Houston that I grew up in by showcasing the traditions, cuisine, and celebrations that are kept alive in a city so far from where they originated. Dakota Wells is a Houston artist and high school student at Debakey HSHP. She experiments with many different mediums, like watercolor, thread, and clay, along with photography. She has been a part of the Eye on Houston program at the MFAH and the Scholastic Writing and Art Awards.

  • ZULEKYA NEGREROS; My focus for 1968 has been on the perception of women based on the stigma of society’s expectations in the 1960s and 1980s. Through my research of specific styles that have been pushed by the media, I have found the comparisons to be equivalent to modern-day pressures to exhibit unreasonable stereotypes of women. I used my personal journey as a young woman to demonstrate the pressures of these stereotypes that ultimately demean women and their self-worth. Value and foreground compositions emphasize the self-destructive mood in my self-portraits. In some works, my eyes speak to the viewer, perhaps pleading for help or acceptance. It is up to the viewer to decide whether to celebrate these images or denounce them. Zuleyka Negreros, a student at Spring Woods High School, class of 2025, has been a 2D artist and part of the yearbook program for two years. Negreros’ future plans include building a photographic body of work that continues to promote awareness of women who are subjected to damaging stereotypes. She will use her talents to study contemporary issues and art in preparation for a position in the photography industry.

  • HARRISON WRIGHT; Martin Luther King, otherwise known as MLK, changed America for the better while never even laying a finger on anyone. He has forever impacted all of America and the world along with it, not just African Americans. He was a quintessential role model for all of humanity. He advocated for equality and civil disobedience and served as a voice and a beacon of hope for all oppressed people. So when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, the whole world felt it. Today, America proudly celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day every January 16th to celebrate a truly incredible man and his even more incredible impact on the world today. In these photos I took at Houston’s 2023 Downtown MLK Parade, I wanted to capture the effect of MLK’s legacy on society today, showing how far we’ve come but also how the problems of the past still linger. Harrison Wright is a Houston photographer and high school student at St. John's School. He experiments with all forms of photography and takes pictures wherever he goes. This year, he won 10 Scholastic Art Competition awards.

About Collaborations

Collaborations is an Access and Community Education program that celebrates photography and encourages cooperation and teamwork between Houston-area high school students as they create an exhibition from beginning to end and learn about various professional paths related to photography and lens-based art.

Questions?

For questions about this exhibition, please contact Anne Houang,

Access and Community Engagement Coordinator, at anne@hcponline.org or 713-529-4755.