introducing Paul Coffey

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston names new leader of its prestigious art school

Paul Coffey takes over at Glassell in July.

Photo by Cosmo Coffey

The nation’s only museum-affiliated art school serving pre-K through post-graduate students now has a new leader. Paul Coffey, a long-tenured leader at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is the new director of the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Coffey takes over for beloved Glassell director Joseph Havel, who steps down after a 30-year run. The new director begins on July 18, per an MFAH announcement.

“Paul Coffey brings to the Glassell School of Art and to Houston an extraordinary commitment to art, education and community,” said MFAH director Gary Tinterow in a statement, “one that he has demonstrated over two decades in leadership roles at the renowned School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I know that he will bring thoughtful leadership to the Glassell School, which is so essential to the Museum’s educational and artistic mission and which, under Joe Havel’s direction, became a center of creativity.”

Most recently, Coffey served as vice provost and dean of community engagement at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for the past 11 years.

There, he is credited for spearheading a series of innovative community-focused programs. These include: SAIC at Homan Square, the School’s campus in the underserved Chicago neighborhood of North Lawndale, offering free art and design programming for residents of all ages, degree courses for SAIC students and an artist-in-residence program.

Other work includes summer intensives for military veterans with PTSD, in collaboration with CreatiVets; and the College Arts Access Program in Continuing Studies, a free, three-year college-bridge program for Chicago Public Schools students with artistic talent and financial need.

Academically, Coffey also oversaw the planning and implementation of new programs at SAIC, including the Low Residency MFA, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies, Master of Design in Designed Objects, Bachelor of Arts in Visual Critical Studies, BA with emphasis in Writing and BA with emphasis in Art History, Theory and Criticism, per his bio.
He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1989; an MFA in art and design from the University of Chicago in 1992; and completed the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, in 2018, per a release.

A longtime Chicagoan, Coffey tells the Houston Chronicle’s Andrew Dansby that he was inspired by Houston and the MFAH long before he took up employment here. “Having studied art all my life, being an art student since I was a teenager, I learned about the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel,” he says. “I’ve studied paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.”

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Get inspired

Noted Houston street artist paints vibrant new mural at downtown venue

Photo courtesy of Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

GONZO247 poses in front of his new mural, "Houston is Inspired" inside Hobby Center

Visitors to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts can now see an incredible new mural by one of Houston's most iconic street artists.Mario Enrique Figueroa, Jr., known as Gonzo247, debuted his piece, "Houston is Inspired" on Friday, December 12.

“This piece is all about capturing the energy that makes Houston, Houston," said the artist in a statement. "It’s that raw, vibrant hustle — the music, the culture, the stories we’ve been telling for generations. I wanted to create something that pulls people in, gets them hyped for what they’re about to experience. Every color, every shape, every detail is telling a story, a vibe. This ain’t just a mural or a piece of art — it’s a journey. It's about the grind, the growth, and the inspiration we pass on to each other, on and off the stage.”

The piece is called "Houston is Inspired," after the program at Hobby meant to showcase local performers by offering them week-long residencies on a prestigious stage. This season includes CJ Emmons's one-man comedy musical show I'm Freaking Talented; a rhythmic interactive storytelling experience called Our Road Home by Jakari Sherman; and Lavanya Rajagopalan's combination of music, dance and verse, Kāvya: Poetry in Motion. Information about all three shows, including ticket prices and availability, can be found at TheHobbyCenter.org.

The last show (debuting May 1) was a particular inspiration to Gonzo247. Viewers may notice a pair of hands in a traditional Indian dance pose, a direct reference to Rajagopalan's show.

The Houston is Inspired program was launched launched in the 2023-2024 season. In addition to the residency in Zilkha Hall, artists are given a $20,000 stipend for production and marketing costs. It is now a permanent fixture of the Hobby season. Applicants for future seasons can submit here.

Known for his original "Houston is Inspired" mural in downtown's Market Square, Gonzo247 has been an active force in Houston art for 30 years, including producing the video series Aerosol Warfare about the street art scene in the 1990s and 2000s as well as founding the Graffiti and Street Art Museum. He also served as the artist liaison for Meow Wolf's Houston installation. If anyone's visual vision is perfect to welcome audience members to shows highlighting homegrown talent, it's him.

“Art’s all about telling stories, but it ain’t just what you see — it’s what you feel," he said. "This piece speaks to the heart of everything we’re about: culture, rhythm, struggle, and triumph. When you walk into the space, you gotta feel the anticipation, the energy building up. That’s what I wanted to capture — the vibe of the whole city, the passion in the work, and that next-level hunger to rise up and create something fresh. It’s like the beat drops, and everything just connects.”

visual-art downtown mural gonzo247