While exploring the Archives, I came across a collection of photographs from a night I hadn't thought about in a long time.

The images immediately brought me back.

The interesting thing about photography is that sometimes the camera remembers things we don't.

Looking through these photographs, I found myself recognizing faces, places, and moments that felt strangely familiar. Some of the people in these images were strangers to me that night. Some of them would eventually become friends, collaborators, and part of the creative community that makes Houston such a unique place.

The funny thing is, I don't remember every moment of taking these photographs.

But I know I was there.

I know because the images brought the memory back.

On March 27, 2022, Diamond Ashman, founder and leader of Melanin Muse Art, brought together a collection of Houston artists for an exhibition at Bisong Art Gallery. The room was filled with creativity, conversation, artwork, and the energy of artists sharing something they had worked hard to create.

The exhibition featured a group of talented Houston women artists, each bringing their own story, perspective, and vision into the space.

What I remember most was the atmosphere.

Everyone was excited.

Everyone was smiling.

Everyone was proud of what they had created.

At the time, I still had my Sony boombox with me, and we set it up in the gallery to help create the right feeling for the evening. Music filled the room as artists, guests, and photographers moved around the space celebrating creativity together.

There was even a violin performance that added another layer to the experience.

Looking back now, these photographs feel less like documentation of an event and more like a doorway into a previous chapter of Houston's creative story.

These were people who were building something.

Artists creating.

Friends meeting.

Communities forming.

A single evening where many different lives briefly intersected in the same place.

That is one of the reasons I photograph.

Not just to capture what happened, but to preserve moments that people might want to return to someday.

Because time moves forward. People grow. Memories fade.

But photographs give us a way back.

This collection is one small fragment of Houston's artistic history — a reminder of the people who continue to shape the culture around us.

Welcome back to the archive.

written 28July2026