NUESTROWORLD Closing Party
DiverseWorks @ 5601 B Navigation Blvd
Join DiverseWorks for an evening celebration marking the closing of NuestroWorld on Friday, September 11, from 6–8 pm at the NuestroWorld Visitor Center, 5601 B Navigation Blvd. Enjoy readings with Nuestra Palabra and music by CTS Trio – Queen of Tejano & Latin Tribute Band, plus a pop-up artist market, refreshments, and more!
6 pm NuestroWorld x Nuestra Palabra: The Words are Ours
A Nuestra Palabra production, featuring writers unearthing our gente’s role in building the bricks, mortar, and heart of Htown. MC’d by Tony Díaz, author and activist; with Stalina Villarreal, poet, translator, essayist; Roberto Tejada, translator, essayist, art historian, and cultural critic; and Icess Fernández Rojas, poet, storyteller, educator.
7 pm CTS Trio – Queen of Tejano & Latin Tribute Band
Live performances of the greatest Latin hits of all time.
All-night Pop-up Artist Market, featuring: Heather L. Johnson/art.i.ficial.heart, Jorge Galvan Flores, artists from Friends Gallery, and Sebastien Boncy.
NUESTROWORLD is a satirical solo installation by Brooklyn-based artist Jesus Benavente. Featuring newly commissioned works, NuestroWorld opens on Thursday, August 13, 2026, transforming 5601 B Navigation Blvd, Houston, TX 77011 into a fictional visitor center for NuestroWorld, encouraging guests to explore Houston beyond the gallery walls and experience the city as an amusement park. The installation will be on view through September 12, 2026, with a closing party on September 11. Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday, 12 – 6 pm. Admission is free.
Through satire and spectacle, NuestroWorld examines how cities construct identity through tourism, branding, memory, and myth, inviting audiences to reconsider Houston’s past and present. The exhibition draws inspiration from pivotal moments in Houston and Texas history, including the opening of the Astrodome and Astroworld in the late 1960s, Selena’s iconic Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo performances in the 1990s, and the folklore surrounding Santa Anna’s capture following the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, highlighting the city’s recurring cycles of ambition, folly, and heartbreak. The title plays on “Astroworld” and uses Spanglish to create the phrase “The World Is Ours,” reframing Houston’s cultural mythology through humor, nostalgia, and critical reflection.