From Meow Wolf to Artechouse to a family-fun stroll around Discovery Green, new large-scale, immersive art installations and whole art venues seem to be popping up in Houston at a fantastic rate these days. Next up is Art Club, a merging of audio and visual immersive art with a new nightclub experience at downtown mixed-use development Post Houston.
Opening December 7, “X,” as in the Post's X-atrium, will mark the art-clubbing spot for this new venue dedicated to those looking for a unique nightlife experience as well as art lovers who seek the very latest in internationally-acclaimed multimedia art. The two-story, 28,500-square-foot venue will house both connecting galleries featuring cutting-edge immersive light and sound art installation. It will also include lounge and black box theater spaces. These clubbing and concert spaces can also double as galleries that will be outfitted with a full bar and the latest in audio-visual equipment for DJs to create new sound and visual worlds.
The Art Club concept comes from Post director Kirby Liu, who was partially inspired by Day for Night, the Houston music festival that integrated large art installations and immersive light and sound sculptures into the music programming. The 2016 and 2017 iteration of the festival was staged at the Post – then still known as the former Barbara Jordan Post Office – before its massive renovations. Along with the music, the festival offered large-scale laser and light installations within the cavernous spaces.
Yet, this Art Club certainly appears to be its own concept with a vision for downtown Houston very much focused on 2025 and beyond.
“With the exception of Houston, thriving downtowns of major cities are almost always anchored by a museum,” Liu said in a statement. “Art Club is a fusion of art museum, performing arts venue, and entertainment facility. By melding these elements together, our goal is to establish a new museum and nightlife destination unlike anything the city has seen before.”
For its first season, Art Club will showcase 13 exhibits and installations from a wide range of national and international artists working in equally diverse mediums of sculptural and multimedia material, including light, sound, lasers, video and even water. The lineup includes: Shoplifter / Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, media.tribe, Lachlan Turczan, Lumus Instruments, Daniel Anguilu with Taylor Knapps, Reynier Leyva Novo, Skyler Smith, Boris Acket, TUNDRA, Aka Chang, and Nerdy Artist Union.
This first season of works will likely run from nine months to a year before a new round of artists are selected. Art Club designers say that first-time visitors will likely need at least 90 minutes to fully explore the artwork and spaces. Along with the installations and exhibits, Art Club will feature performances from local favorites as well as national and international star DJs.
As CultureMap previously reported, POST will also be the new home for TOMO, the distinctly Houston magazine and design shop that offered global publications difficult to find anywhere else in the city. TOMO will now reopen inside the Post and also act as the museum store for Art Club, offering Art Club merchandise collaborations and exclusive, limited-edition design goods and well as its curated magazine selection.
TOMO, a former Montrose shop beloved for its art vibe and books, is set to reopen at Post Houston this fall.
Art Club will offer single admission tickets but also a membership allowing year-round, unlimited visits and discounts on concert tickets.
Another view of the garden. Photo by Brian Austin, courtesy of Rothko Chapel.