What if Houston had a Biennial of Contemporary Art? Would there be a curatorial theme? How would the artists be selected? And who would be the chosen artists?

The Temporary Space explores these questions and more through its current exhibition, “Emergent Behavior: Project for a Houston Biennial," on view through Sunday. As noted on the project's website, “Much of the work in the exhibition involves the scavenging of social detritus. This can be seen in the drawings of Aurel Schmidt, the paintings of Mark Flood, and the videos of Cameron Jamie as well as in the work of seminal figures such as Mike Kelley and Jacques de la Villeglé.”

Tonight the Temporary Space will host an in-depth curators' talk about the project, moderated by Raphael Rubinstein. The curators themselves are part of Raphael Rubinstein's Virtual Curating course at the University of Houston School of Art. The talk will be also be broadcast via USTREAM.

I am intrigued by the list of artists being discussed, as they represent an incredible diversity in age, media, and subject matter, including some Houston based-artists. The artists were apparently selected based on individual review over the preceding months, rather than to fit a theme predetermined by the curators. The fact that The Temporary Space will be utilizing USTREAM and social networking outlets to engage the public in this project is also impressive and forward-thinking.

6-8 p.m. tonight, April 21. Free. Audience participation encouraged. 1320 Nance St.