What Is A Ward?

What defines a Ward, or in a more modern sense of the word, a neighborhood? Sabine Street Studios is located in Houston’s historic First Ward, meaning the first developed in Houston. As artists and creatives we all come from different backgrounds and heritages, as does our practice. But this practice has a shared sense of personal belonging, of representing us and ourselves. Can a neighborhood have an identity when it is made up of diverse peoples and backgrounds? Or is it just a geographic definition, delineated by streets and bayous?

For this tenant exhibition, artists were asked: “How does your Ward fit within your studio practice? Is the idea of “home” something which inspires you creatively, or a place of rest and comfort?” The exhibition is on view in the South Gallery through July 14.