paint the town

Houston chosen for new expansion of prestigious Miami art fair

One of the country’s leading contemporary art fairs has chosen Houston for its next expansion. Untitled Art, will take place September 19-21, 2025 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Founded in Miami 12 years ago by collector and entrepreneur Jeffrey Lawson, Untitled Art showcases the work of emerging and established artists. Known for its cutting-edge programming featuring noteworthy galleries and nonprofits from around the world, each fair features a series of curated galleries designed to offer a narrative flow for viewers.

“We’ve been in Houston now for the last two years, having conversations with all the different institutions, collectors, and art advisors to put this together,” Lawson tells CultureMap. “Texas – and Houston specifically with its vast resources, great cultural wealth and standing as a gateway to Latin America – offers myriad opportunities to a growing brand like Untitled Art.”

Lawson sees the Bayou City as a natural place to expand. In 2022, the city saw $1.3 billion in arts-related spending. And Lawson points out that the city’s increased emphasis on the arts, along with expansions at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, among others, demonstrate a commitment to arts and arts programming.

“It's just a really excellent place that's growing pretty rapidly in a really positive way,” Lawson says of the city.

Untitled Art Fair Director Michael Slenske echoed those sentiments.

“Over the past decade and a half, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Houston’s art landscape evolve firsthand, and there’s seemingly no limit to the potential of the city’s cultural infrastructure,” he says.

Untitled Art aims to engage new audiences across the city, state, and region. It will also add yet another cultural touchstone to one of the country’s largest, most diverse, and fastest growing cities.

While plans for the art fair are still being put in place, attendees can expect several things. First, they’ll see art from hundreds of artists and exhibitors. (This year’s annual Untitled Art in Miami, slated for December 4 through 8, features more than 170 exhibitors.) Those works showcase several media, including painting, sculpture, mixed media, even performance or video. All of the artists are working in contemporary arts.

Exhibitors will be a blend of local artists and participants from Untitled Art’s extensive network of galleries across the U.S. and beyond. Some of the participants confirmed for Houston’s inaugural edition include Seven Sisters from Houston; 12.26 from Dallas; Martha's from Austin; Various Small Fires/VSF with locations in Los Angeles, Seoul, and Dallas; Half Gallery of New York and Los Angeles; and Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. A full list of exhibitors will be announced in the spring. Lawson, Slenske, and Untitled Art executive director Clara Andrade will select all of the participating artists.

In addition to being able to go through each participant’s gallery, fair attendees can take part in curator-led tours or watch Untitled Art’s podcast being recorded. Leading up to the fair, Untitled Art will host a series of activities and installations around the city and state designed to show how art can be accessible to all. What those activities will be is still in the works.

Lawson stresses that Untitled Art is for everyone, from collectors to the curious.

“The bulk of the people that come to the fair are not buying art. They're coming to see great art from all over the world,” he says. “They're coming to participate in a cultural event. That's exciting. They're coming to look at what artists are making and what people are doing.”

The announcement of Untitled Art’s expansion to Houston comes in the wake of several significant expansions across Houston galleries and institutions in recent years, and on the heels of the Houston arts community being honored as the first Spotlight city at the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) annual Art Show in New York in late October.

Local partners in the 2025 Houston fair include Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), the University of Houston School of Art, and the historic art-focused hotel, La Colombe D’Or.

Courtesy of World Red Eye

Untitled Art is a contemporary art fair that takes place annually in Miami Beach.

welcome to houston

Musical theater veteran joins prominent Houston company

Courtesy of Stages

Stages has named Valerie Rachelle as its new associate artist director.

A Houston theater company is adding an accomplished artist to its ranks. Stages announced that Valerie Rachelle will be the company’s new associate artistic director beginning in January 2026.

For more than a decade, Rachelle has been artistic director of the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon, where she oversaw artistic vision and operations. That theater specializes in musical theater performances offered in a cabaret setting.

Rachelle comes to Houston with a career spanning nearly 30 years as a director and choreographer. She has extensive experience in developing new musicals and plays for regional theaters and opera companies across the United States, including the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Sierra Repertory Theatre. She was appointed to her position at Stages following a nationwide search.

“I’m beyond thankful for this opportunity to join this incredible company, and I’m excited to be a part of a creative entity that has a strong mission and vision as Stages,” Rachelle said in a statement.

In her role with Stages, she will support artistic director Derek Charles Livingston with season planning and casting; liaise with artists, press, and staff; and coordinate day-to-day operations for the artistic department. She will also assist with crafting educational materials, direct and choreograph productions, and serve as the primary liaison with theatrical unions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie to Stages in this role,” said Livingston. “I have seen her work as a director and director choreographer — she's excellent. Those skills combined with her experience as a theatre artistic director and manager only further fortify Stages' commitment to artistic excellence and community engagement.”

Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Rachelle began her career as a dancer and apprentice ballerina with the Eugene Ballet Company before earning her BFA in acting from California Institute of the Arts. She received her MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine. She has held teaching and directing positions at numerous institutions, including the University of Southern California, Southern Oregon University, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and others. She has also served as a mentor through Statera Arts, an organization dedicated to gender equity in the arts.

Rachelle teaches musical theater, auditioning, and singing at Southern Oregon University when she isn’t on the road as a freelance director and choreographer. She’s also a classically trained singer and toured the world with her parents and their illusionist show as a child.

“Joining the team that has a long-standing reputation of excellence in theater is an honor,” Rachelle added.

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