Voices Breaking Boundaries

Founded by Sehba Sarwar, the mission of Houston non-profit organization Voices Breaking Boundaries (VBB) is to “cross borders, sustain dialogue and incite justice through the arts.”
Although there were informal readings throughout the city, Sarwar and her long-time friend Marcela Descalzi wanted to create a more structured program and did so through funding from the Cultural Arts Council (now Houston Arts Alliance). In February 2000, VBB was started with five women as a twice-monthly series of readings in a Borders bookstore. Their association with the bookstore ended after only about eighteen months when the store manager asked them to censor readings after a customer complaint.<ref name=":0" /> Instead, they resumed their programming in venues throughout the city through partnerships with different organizations.<ref name=":0" />
A two-weekend long South Asian film festival hosted with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 2001 was extremely successful, and VBB applied for their non-profit status later that year. In 2006, Living Room Art, a successful series of exhibits installed in homes in diverse neighborhoods, was initiated. The Borderlines series (2013-2016) explored commonalities between Latin American and South Asian cultures, examining similarities such as border conflicts as well as more positive aspects of the cultures.<ref name=":0" />
Sarwar still directs VBB.<ref name=":0" />

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