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Matt Manalo, right, talks about the community loom at the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

Ceci Norman, left, Vanessa Lipscomb, center, and Matt Manalo talk about the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

Matt Manalo talks about the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

Matt Manalo talks about the community loom at the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

Vanessa Lipscomb, with The WOW Project, talks about the space at Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

Vanessa Lipscomb, with The WOW Project, talks about the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

A community loom is shown at the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

Matt Manalo talks about the Alief Art House that is in shipping containers on the grounds of the Alief Community Garden at the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center shown Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 in Houston.

When Matt Manalo moved to Houston from the Philippines as a teenager in 2004, he tried his hand at computer engineering and nursing, but he knew that his passion lay in art.

He immersed himself in the art world for years, making a name as a practicing artist and establishing the Filipinx Artists Collective. He couldn’t help but notice, though, that when he came home to Alief, the art that surrounded him in his professional life was nowhere to be found. So he decided to do something about it.

Using money from the Project Freeway Fellowship, Manalo bought a shipping container in 2019 and set it up in the corner of the Alief SPARK Park and Nature Center, next to the Alief Community Garden. He called it the Alief Art House — his way of bringing art into the neighborhood and giving Alief artists an outlet to show and explore their work.

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On one side of the container is the “mural wall,” where different artists paint their works on a rotating basis. On the other side is the “free wall,” a place for anyone to come and showcase art, be it a tag, a mural or a doodle. The inside of the container is used for rotating exhibitions, and Manalo sticks a “community loom” outside the door for visitors to literally weave themselves into the fabric of the art house.

Manalo, sporting his characteristic beanie and a wide smile, speaks fast and excitedly when talking about his plans for the art house, but adopts a thoughtful and reflective tone when considering the larger role that his project plays in the neighborhood he still calls home, though he now lives in Jersey Village.

“Art has always kind of been a solo journey, because in my family and among the Filipino communities (growing up) I was the only one pursuing art,” Manalo said. “I was working and being creative on the other side of town, and then coming home it was just, like, totally empty. So I thought, maybe I could share this loneliness.”

The southwest Houston neighborhood has long been among the city’s most diverse, with a strong immigrant population reflecting various Asian, Latin American and African cultures. Historic disinvestment in the working-class community has left little room for public art, however, and forced many residents to prioritize survival over creative expression.

Manalo built a team at the Alief Art House with Vanessa Lipscomb, co-founder of the wellness nonprofit the WOW Project, and Ceci Norman, a University of Houston graduate student in the Arts Leadership Program, to imagine a new reality for Alief.

“There’s so many stories to tell, and we want to make the idea that art can thrive here,” Manalo said. “Coming from an immigrant family, art is something that was viewed as a hobby, so we’re trying to also change the minds of parents and make them more supportive of their creative kids so they can have the confidence to pursue art.”

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Together, the team at Alief Art House is doubling their presence with the addition of a second shipping container, which they hope to use as something of a command center to establish a more permanent presence at the site. Currently, the art house is open for events and by appointment only.

On Thursday morning, Manalo, Lipscomb and Norman gathered outside the art house to discuss their plans for the future. They’d finished painting the outside of the new shipping container a deep turmeric yellow and were now testing different palettes for the interiors.

They also hope to add a library and an outdoor deck for workshops and events, along with a garden to grow all-natural art supplies such as inks, dyes and papers. Solar panels will be installed on top of the container to keep the art house self-sustaining.

An online fundraiser for the expansion had garnered nearly $4,000 of its $14,500 goal as of Sunday afternoon. The art house is funded entirely through donations and grants, with the WOW Project serving as its fiscal sponsor, meaning that the art house can use its nonprofit status to make donations and grants tax-deductible.

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“We’ll be able to spearhead the thought process and what kind of wellness events we want to bring to the community, because this community doesn’t have that, it’s on the under-served side of Houston,” Lipscomb said. “We’re trying to make wellness available to everyone in the Alief community, regardless of where they fit into the tax bracket.”

Above all, the Alief Art House is meant to expose the neighborhood to the world of possibility afforded to them by art, in whatever form that may take. They have hosted drag shows and concerts alongside traditional art exhibits. The next installation is set to open in April and will feature an exhibition of textile-based works from a Florida artist.

“I don’t try to be a gatekeeper. If someone from Alief comes to me and brings me an idea that is solidified in what they want to see and do, then I say ‘OK, let’s do it,’” Manalo said. “Through that, we’re giving them a space, an opportunity and confidence to believe in themselves and their ideas, and also giving them advice on how they can present their ideas or tell their stories better.”

“I believe that’s how we’re able to bring tangible action to the community,” Manalo said.

Sam González Kelly is a reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

You can reach Sam at sam.kelly@chron.com

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