Menil Collection closes main building for artful updates, but the shows go on

The Menil's main building is closed, but there is plenty of auxiliary programming this season.

Courtesy photo

After giving the city quite the temporary goodbye present in the form of two stellar exhibitions Thirty Works for Thirty Years and Mona Hatoum: Terra Infirma, the Menil Collection’s main building closed its door on February 25 for the season. As CultureMap previously reported last summer, the main building will close to the public for updates and repairs for several months.

We’ll grudgingly forgive the 30 years young Menil Collection for closing the Renzo Piano-designed building to get a little work done on such as major birthday, especially since projects include refinishing the museum’s Loblolly pine floors, replacing non-loadbearing gallery display walls, the enhancement of interior and exterior lighting, and updating fire detection sensors.

While we await news on the new public opening date for the Menil Drawing Institute, we’ll console ourselves by enjoying the beautiful campus greenspaces whenever we need some nature therapy in the heart of Houston. The other Menil Collection building will also be open as usual, Wednesday through Sunday, including: the Cy Twombly Gallery, Byzantine Fresco Chapel featuring Francis Alys: The Fabiola Project, and Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall.

To tide us over, we’ll also be taking in some of the amazing public programming this spring. Here’s what to look (and listen) for in the coming months:

Dickie Landry Concert 
Byzantine Fresco Chapel, March 16 at 7 pm
 
Landry, a founding member of the Philip Glass Ensemble and a noted visual artists has been presenting solo tenor saxophone concerts and exhibitions national and internationally for decades. See and here him in an entirely new way, in the intimate space of the BFC.

Arrivals and Departures: Cage, Cunningham, and Johns
Richmond Hall, March 25 at 1 pm

 Don’t miss a rare only-at-the-Menil kind of event, as dance and visual arts combine. Former Merce Cunningham dancers Patricia Lent and Andrea Weber stage this event for the Houston Ballet, the performance includes excerpts from dances for which Jasper Johns provided costumes and decor, including Canfield (1969), Landrover (1972), Un jour ou deux (1973), and Exchange (1978), while musicians perform compositions by John Cage, including his "Inlets", "Branches," "Third Construction," "Cheap Imitation," and "Telephones and Birds."

We’ve never had such an opportunity to see some of our favorite Houston Ballet dancers so near, including Dancers are Connor Walsh, Oliver Halkowich, Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson, Jessica Collado, Allison Miller, and Bridget Kuhns. Musicians include Ling Ling Huang, Brandon Bell, Craig Hauschildt, Luke Hubley, Brady Spitz, Yvonne Chen, Julia Fox, and Bethany Baxter. Required reservations for the event will only be accepted on and after March 1. Email Laura Nauert at lnauert@menil.org or call 713-525-9435.

William Middleton Double Vision: The Unerring Eye of Art World Avatars Dominique and John de Menil
Rothko Chapel, March 27 at 7 pm 

The Rothko Chapel and Menil Collection co-present this special book launch, celebrating author William Middleton biography of Dominique and John de Menil, one of the art world’s greatest power couples. The book chronicles not just their life together but their enormous influence on 20th century artists.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer) 

The Menil Collection
Front lawn and façade, April 6 at 8:30–10:30 pm (Rain date: Friday, April 20, 2018)

Register your own “beamer” — a.k.a projector — beforehand at the Aurora Picture Show and join in or just come out a watch the chaotic fun as filmmakers and videographers aim their beamers on the exterior façade of the museum to create a beautiful cacophony of light and art together.

Gideon Alorwoyie and the University of North Texas African Percussion Ensemble African Music and Dance
The Menil Collection, front lawn, April 15 at 4 pm

Ghana’s foremost virtuosos of traditional music and dance, Professor Midawo Gideon Foli Alorwoyie brings together an array of dancers and musicians, including University of North Texas African Percussion Ensemble, to present traditional works from Togo, Ghana, and Benin.

concerts museums dance

building ballet's brand

Houston Ballet recruits ex-Netflix exec to serve as first-ever CMO

Photo by Grace Hwang

Adama Sall starts as the Houston Ballet's first-ever chief marketing officer on January 26, 2026.

The Houston Ballet announced it has hired Adama Sall as the organization’s first-ever chief marketing officer.

Sall, who starts her tenure with the Ballet on January 26, will oversee all marketing and brand strategy as part of the executive leadership team. Sall brings more than 20 years of experience building global, culturally influential brands to this newly created role.

“Having worked with the best and the brightest, Adama is passionate about what Houston Ballet is set to accomplish, including building a brand that feels essential, modern, and deeply integrated into people’s lives,” executive director Sonja Kostich said in a statement. “We are focused on aligning how we show up across ticketing, digital platforms, public relations, events, education, and community engagement — so that every touchpoint tells a cohesive, compelling story. This is not about following traditional ballet marketing playbooks, this is a rare opportunity to shape the identity of an already stable, well-resourced organization and bring fresh creative energy to an institution poised for reinvention. We are thrilled to have her joining us at this pivotal moment for the Company’s growth.”

Sall is excited for what comes next.

“Sonja's vision for elevating Houston Ballet into a global cultural force resonates,” Sall tells CultureMap. “It reflects the kind of bold ambition I grew up with in advertising: building iconic brands, reshaping categories and setting aspirations that inspire not just an entire organization, but the culture at large.”

Throughout her career, Sall has worked with both top creative agencies and held in-house leadership roles at some of the most innovative, culture-shaping companies in the country. She is known for collaborating with deeply creative teams and partners who are ready to think differently, and for translating big, imaginative ideas into scalable strategies. She has partnered with leading agencies including Mekanism, Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO, McCann, TBWA\Chiat\Day, and R/GA, and has led brand strategy for some of the world’s most recognized companies, including Disney, Coca-Cola, HBO, Gap, Peloton, Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, Samsung, Jeep, Nasdaq, HP, GE Appliances, and UPS.

During her time as director of global brand strategy at Netflix, she helped create brands that maintained consistency in different mediums worldwide. That worked is credited with helping the streaming platform drive "global cultural conversation," according to press materials.

“Arts marketing is similar to my work in entertainment at Netflix,” she said, explaining how marketing an organization like the Ballet can be unique. “We weren't just selling a product or a service. The marketing was centered on building meaning, emotion and cultural value. In the arts, brand doesn't just support the mission, it is the mission made visible. At its best, arts marketing invites people into something that matters, amplifying artistic intent.”

As chief marketing officer, Adama will develop integrated marketing campaigns that elevate Houston Ballet locally, nationally, and globally. She will oversee digital, social, content creation, public relations, and brand storytelling, all designed to raise Houston Ballet's profile and make a compelling cultural case for ballet overall.

“I'm eager to dive in,” Sall said. “One of my favorite parts of brand strategy is listening and learning, then translating those insights into a fresh perspective that inspires people to see ballet in a new light. Houston Ballet is a powerhouse, and I can't wait for more people to discover it.”

Sall holds a degree in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University and is a longtime mentor, educator, and advocate for diversity in the creative industries.

In a press release announcing her appointment the Ballet noted that Sall’s hiring reflects a continued evolution toward a more integrated, future-facing approach to the Ballet’s brand and audience engagement.

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