DiverseWorks Presents In Tarps I Trust

DIVERSEWORKS PRESENTS
IN TARPS I TRUST

a new dance about art & work by Laura Gutierrez
February 22, 23 & 24, 2024

(January 25, 2024) DiverseWorks is pleased to announce the world premiere of In Tarps I Trust, a new dance work about art and work by artist and choreographer Laura Gutierrez. The performance by this East Coast-based Houston native takes place at 7 PM on February 22, 23, & 24, 2024 at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center, 3400 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002.

In Tarps I Trust investigates the relationship between blue-collar and artistic labor and is inspired by Gutierrez’s father, a Houston billboard painter and, later, installer (when billboards began to be printed on large-scale tarps). In this new dance work, Gutierrez uses his materials, which were ever present in her household as she grew up, including tarps, ladders, and ratchet straps.

Attendees will experience the awkward and imposing nature of these industrial materials gradually incorporated into dance and movement phrases – transformed by Gutierrez into graceful partners in space. Gutierrez workshopped the performance in the Summer of 2023 as part of a DiverseWorks residency, produced in collaboration with MECA.

In Tarps I Trust is not only an innovative dance work, it also creates a platform for dialogue around how different forms of labor are valued, or undervalued, including the work of artists. This theme is further explored in a panel discussion (date TBD) and a video installation and sound performance by Anthony Almendárez, Hello, My Name Is _____ that will take place from March 1-16, 2024.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Laura Gutierrez is a performing artist and choreographer originally from Houston, TX. A graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, she received a BFA in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she was awarded a William R. Kenan, Jr., Performing Arts Fellowship at Lincoln Center Education. Gutierrez has worked with choreographers Jane Weiner, Rosie Trump, Lydia Hance/Frame Dance, Helen Simoneau, and Cara Hagan, among others, and toured internationally with Jonah Bokaer Choreography. She’s performed at the Biennale de la Danse de Lyon, BAM Next Wave Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance, Brisbane Festival, and in museums such as The Menil Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum–Houston, the Fabric Workshop Museum, and DiverseWorks. Her choreography has been seen at Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio Theatre, CPR-Center for Performance Research, DixonPlace, Judson Church, Triskelion Arts, Sicardi Gallery, MATCH Houston, CounterCurrent Festival, Museo Jumex, and The Chinati Foundation. She has been named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and is based in New Jersey.

IN TARPS I TRUST

DATES & TIMES
Thursday, February 22 – Saturday, February 24, 2024
7 PM

ADMISSION
Pay-what-you-wish. $25 suggested.
Reserve Tickets

LOCATION
MATCHBOX 1 @ MATCH
3400 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77002

PARKING
Across from DiverseWorks/MATCH is the Mid-Main Garage (entrances on Travis and Holman streets). Parking rates vary by time and day of the week. There is also free and metered street parking available in the area. Please be observant of all parking signage when choosing to park on the street.

SUPPORT
Laura Gutierrez: In Tarps I Trust is commissioned by DiverseWorks and supported, in part, by the Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, the Brown Foundation, Inc., the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, Houston Endowment, the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, the Teiger Foundation, and DiverseWorks members and patrons. Additional support by Outfront Media. Special thanks to MECA. 

DiverseWorks receives general operating and program support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, The George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, FUSED (French U.S. Exchange in Dance), The Hollyfield Foundation, Houston Endowment, National Performance Network, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Teiger Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Wortham Foundation, and DiverseWorks patrons and members.

ABOUT DIVERSEWORKS
DiverseWorks produces and presents new multidisciplinary art through innovative collaborations with artists and communities. We honor each artist’s vision without limits to generate expansive art and learning experiences for all. Founded by artists in 1982, DiverseWorks is nationally known for its ground-breaking programming; as a resource for the innovative and meaningful engagement of communities; and as a force that has shaped contemporary thought and practice in Houston and the nation. DiverseWorks has a long history of supporting the creation of new work, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and as a bridge between diverse sectors of the art community.