Changing Houston, Changing Women's Lives:
The Houston Women's Caucus for Art, 1978 - 1988 (Continued)
By MaryRoss Taylor

Meanwhile, the art community and Houston's large feminist community were learning that the University of Houston - Clear Lake would present nationally recognized California feminist artist Judy Chicago's huge sculpture, "The Dinner Party," in 1980. The Caucus was to install a members' show in the Bayou Building at University of Houston - Clear Lake in March, 1980.³¹  It was not a museum, but it was a venue where important Houston artists had been shown, and the Chicago exhibition would attract statewide visitors and critical debate. In June 1979, planning started for the "Our Show" exhibition and an accompanying catalog.

Another collaborative venture was the first Caucus fundraiser, the Black and Orange Ball. It was held on October 26, 1979 at Jeff McKissack's "Orange Show," a major personal "outsider art" environment which was not yet open to the public. McKissack attended and, for the first time, saw a crowd of people enjoying his creation.³²  The Caucus was forming alliances with well-known and not-so-well-known art entities all of them were new and putting down roots in the city. 

Chapter documentation scarcely mentions the significance of the collaborative nature of program activity for members, but early participants are clear about the impact on their lives. Chapter members implemented exhibitions, lectures, panels and receptions, met guest lecturers, and talked to new acquaintances. In doing this, they practiced a variety of skills at operating in the larger community. Some say that practice was the most valuable and lasting benefit of their Caucus membership.³³

If 1979 was a year of making itself known locally, 1980 shifted the Caucus focus to the regional and national stages. Even before the members' exhibit in conjunction with "The Dinner Party" (which generated an enormous amount of publicity in Houston about women and art), the Caucus was preparing for a regional meeting of the College Art Association -- the group from which the national WCA had emerged. The Mid-America College Art Association (MACAA) met in Houston in October 1980.

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