Convergence Research | Another World Was Possible: A Workshop

Date:

Wednesday, September 17, 2025 | 6pm-7:30pm

Location:

Blaffer Art Museum

Description:

Another World Was Possible: A Workshop by fiction writer and multidisciplinary artist J. Preston Witt attempts to make text, usually functioning in a gallery space as an accompaniment to a piece of art, into art itself. ​

How does one move this thing that usually defines or contextualizes art, pinning art to a name, to time, to material, into the realm of art? How does one make text in the gallery space flexible, make it dynamic, make it, ultimately, beautiful. J. Preston Witt will attempt to achieve this with your help, and the performance will be followed by a Q&A and a feedback session with the audience.​

About the Artist:

J. Preston Witt is a 2nd-year PhD candidate in Creative Writing and Literature at UH where he is an InprintNina and Michael Zilkha Fellow. He has previously been awarded writing fellowships from the LuminartsCultural Foundation (Chicago 2015), The Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown 2018 – 2019), and the Tulsa Artist Fellowship (2020 -  2023). He has taught at a variety of institutions, including The Ohio State University, Romanian-American University in Bucharest, Medgar Evers College (CUNY), and the University of Tulsa. In addition to his writing, he is an interdisciplinary artist of social practice most known for the Ar(t)senal: a collaborative space where art support for regional protest actions is organized, designed, stored, resourced, built, repaired/recycled, and prepared for quick response with 100+ actions served. Though most of his work is made for the street, he has had recent shows at Flagship Gallery (group; Tulsa 2022) and Satellite Gallery (solo; NYC 2025); he is preparing for a show at RUBY Projects this spring (solo; Houston 2026).

What is Convergence Research

Convergence Research is a collaboration between the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts and the Blaffer Art Museum that supports students and faculty in the McGovern College of the Arts to explore connection and collaboration between the disciplines in the arts and beyond. It is a platform for experimentation and research with the goal of providing opportunities to push the boundaries of the artistic disciplines. Convergence Research promotes interdisciplinary inquiry and techniques to stimulate creative process and cultivate works that are performative, temporary and in any stage of process. This season Convergence Research is curated by Mitchell Center Graduate Assistant Niyi Ademoroti. The Graduate Assistantship is a yearlong position designed for a graduate student from one of the Mitchell Center’s five units.