pikachu for you

Houston museum celebrates anime culture in blockbuster fall exhibit

The right panel of Yoshitaka Amano's "Time and Light"

A portion of "Time and Light" by Yoshitaka Amano, one of the pieces on display at Asia Society

Photo courtesy of Asia Society Texas

Anime and Japanese pop culture are extremely popular in America, and Asia Society Texas (1370 Southmore) is celebrating their enduring legacies with a new exhibit. The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture, opening October 17.

On display through March 15, 2026, The House of Pikachu illustrates how 25 artists from around the world incorporate anime's signature elements — including flatness, saturated colors, and stylized features — into 21st century pop art. The exhibit both honor's the genre's pioneers and showcases its continuing cultural relevance by highlights anime's strange, otherworldly, and supernatural dimensions.

“Much of my youth was shaped by a love for Japanese pop culture: binging on Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, and Final Fantasy," said Owen Duffy, Nancy C. Allen Gallery curator and director of exhibitions, in a statement. "In my recent years, I’ve realized I'm far from alone in my nostalgia for these classics and admiration for the art of animation. By encountering these energetic works of contemporary art, I hope viewers will recognize how global anime has become, and that pop culture is an enduring inspiration for artistic expression."

One of the most exciting acquisitions is a massive creation on aluminum with car paint called "Time and Light" by famed Japanese illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. Amano began his career as an animator on Speed Racer, but his most notable pop culture work would be the title and character illustrations in the Final Fantasy video game series. His ethereal figures helped shape the identity of the franchise for decades, cementing him as one of the world's greatest fantasy artists and setting the bar for the entire Japanese Role Playing Game genre.

The exhibit will host several Houston-centric pieces. Local artist Gao Hang created a new entry in his retro-futuristic ouvere featuring the show's mascot, Pokemon's Pikachu. Monsieur Zohore, an artist based between the United States and Cote D'Ivoire, will be showing a massive anime-inspired mural called "Houston, We Have a Problem," full of characters from Naruto, Akira, Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha , Berserk, Mobile Suit Gundam, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Gurren Lagann, and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

“Anime was my first passport," said Zohore. "It connected me to kids in Abidjan and in the U.S. — a shared language of transformation that transcended geography, language, and shame. Long before I understood difference, I understood what it meant to go Super Saiyan in times of crisis. Anime didn’t just entertain me; it taught me how to survive, how to perform, how to belong. It metabolized trauma into critique — and gave me permission to do the same.”

Other artists featured in the show include Chiho Aoshima, Daniel Arsham, Emily Yong Beck, Katherine Bernhardt, Julien Ceccaldi, CFGNY, Chim↑Pom from Smappa!Group, Maya Fuji, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Gao Hang, Loc Huynh, Teppei Kaneuji, Izumi Kato, Taylor Lee, Jarod Lew, Ileana Moreno, Yoshitomo Nara, Robert Nava, Otani Workshop, Rozeal., Keiichi Tanaami, Andrew Norman Wilson, and Yuli Yamagata.

The gallery is open daily from 10 am-5 pm Wednesday, and Friday-Sunday and 12-7 pm on Thursday. Admission to The House of Pikachu is $8.

asia society texas center museums openings

doubling down

Shepherd School builds on 50 years with a 2026-27 season of discovery

Rice University Shepherd School of Music

Photo by Michael Stravato

The Shepherd School's 2026-27 season includes six world premieres.

The next generation of classical music doesn’t wait in the wings at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

It walks onto the stage, often with a world premiere in hand, and slaps listeners with music so energetically performed that they might need a glass of wine or a Xanax to come down from the thrill.

Fresh off its milestone 50th anniversary, the Shepherd School’s 2026–27 season doubles down on discovery. The lineup includes six world premieres, the Texas premiere of Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl’s opera Eurydice, celebrated guest artists, and a steady reminder that Houston audiences can hear rising talent before the rest of the world catches on.

For students, Shepherd continues to function as a foundation where rigorous conservatory training meets the resources of a major research university. For audiences, it’s an invitation to witness artists in the midst of becoming, tackling ambitious repertoire in halls whose acoustics reward every nuance.

The orchestral season, led primarily by Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras Miguel Harth-Bedoya, embraces both pillars of the canon and brand-new voices. Opening night sets the tone with Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, Richard Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration, the world premiere of Jake Berran’s Probabolophony, winner of the 2026 Cooper Prize, and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis.

The season also launches what is planned as a multi-year exploration of Gustav Mahler with Symphony No. 1, “Titan,” while spotlighting Shepherd faculty members as soloists, including pianist Jon Kimura Parker and oboist Erin Hannigan. Along the way come additional premieres by alumni composers, concerto appearances from competition winners, and opportunities for conducting students to take the podium.

Shepherd will present a fully staged production of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos before mounting the Texas premiere — and first university performance — of Eurydice, with composer Aucoin visiting campus to work directly with students and audiences.

Guest artists add another layer, from Aleko Endowed Artist Julia Bullock collaborating with Shepherd opera students to alumna Kate Soper returning with the acclaimed Wet Ink Ensemble. Chamber concerts, faculty recitals, festivals, and family programming round out a calendar of more than 400 events, many offered for free or at low cost.

The season also includes the Adventurous Electric Guitar Festival at Wortham Theatre, where concerts, workshops, and presentations explore contemporary electric guitar and electroacoustic performance in collaboration with Rice Electroacoustic Music Labs (REMLABS).

Notably, the school will also inaugurate its undergraduate orchestral conducting degree, the only program of its kind in the nation.

This author recently caught Miguel Harth-Bedoya deep in score study before a concert, next to his visiting family, meticulously parsing Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso.

It was a fitting snapshot of the institution itself: Craftsmanship behind moments that can feel effortless once the lights dim and the music begins. That dedication has defined Shepherd for more than 50 years, and the 2026–27 season suggests the next movement is well underway.

performing-arts rice university

pikachu for you

Houston museum celebrates anime culture in blockbuster fall exhibit

doubling down

Shepherd School builds on 50 years with a 2026-27 season of discovery

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