INTRODUCING BLACK ART HOUSTON

Can't-miss weekend museum showcase celebrates vibrant Black art in Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents "Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence"

"Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence" will be part of the showcase.

Image courtesy of Kehinde Wiley

This weekend, Houston will celebrate Black History Month and African American art at the same time.

Black Art Houston is a weekend of exhibitions, programs and open studios in celebration of contemporary Black art throughout the city of Houston.

The event is a collaboration the following museums and organizations: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and community partners, including the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, the Glassell School of Art at the MFAH, the Holocaust Museum Houston, Art is Bond, Sanman Studios, and The Reading Room HTX, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, The Houston Sun Foundation, Community Arts Collective, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Free Black Women’s Library HTX, The Anderson Center for the Arts, WONDERLIKEWANDER, and Project Row Houses.

The weekend also coincides with the opening of "Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage," a new exhibition at the MFAH.

Throughout the weekend, guests will have access to a range of venues across the Houston area. Programming includes writing workshops presented by The Free Black Women’s Library HTX, wellness programs with the Black Man Project + Black Woman Project, panel discussions at the Glassell School of Art, 9th City Wide Annual African American History Parade & Symposium with The Houston Sun Foundation, and gallery tours.

Catch "THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show" at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.Photo via Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Several exhibitions will also be on view during the weekend. At CAMH, "Six Scenes from Our Future" and "THIS WAY: A Houston Group Show." The Houston Museum of African American Culture, will be showcasing three exhibitions: "Pervs, Peppers, and the High Chaparral: Michael Abramson’s Chicago South Side Photographs"; "Bert Long, Jr. Gallery Spring Survey Exhibition"; and "One Nation, One Groove: African American Music as the Story of American History."

"The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection" will showcase the pioneering exhibit. Image courtesy of the Kinsey African American Art & History Collection

Holocaust Museum Houston will have its featured exhibition "The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection," on view in HMH’s Josef and Edith Mincberg Gallery. Considered one of the most comprehensive surveys of African American history and culture outside the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibition of the same name features the shared treasures amassed by Shirley and Bernard Kinsey during their five decades of marriage.

The collection includes masterful paintings and sculpture, photographs, rare books, letters, manuscripts and more that offer a well-rounded look at the African American experience and provide new perspectives on the nation’s history and culture. On Sunday afternoon, Khambrel Marshall, whose painting Ancestor’s Torch is featured in the collection, will be in conversation with Houston artist Ava Cosey.

Community Arts Collective will have "Here and Now - Cultural Expressions" on view, featuring works by artists Earlie Hudnall, Ann Johnson, Delita Pinchback Martin, and more. Participants can also view "Microcosm by NEGRASSO" at Art is Bond and “Everything in Color” by NELXART at Sanman Studios.

On view at the MFAH will be "Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence" and "Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage," which opens to the public Sunday, February 18.

Beyond the multiple exhibitions on view, several artists are hosting open studios, including, Will Maxen, Randy WROSIV, Tay Butler, Billion Tekleab, Anthony Suber, Christopher Paul, Phillip Pyle II, and more.

For the full programming and open studio schedule, which includes addresses and hours, please visit the Black Art Houston website. Venues are free of charge, except where noted on the schedule.

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.

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