The upstairs Brown Foundation Gallery at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) morphed into a lantern-lit fever dream as CAMH Party 2026 unfolded in full black-tie splendor.

Photo by Jenny Antill

David McGee, Kate Criner Bellin, Georgie Bellin, Susie Criner, Campbell and Annie Eifler, and Sanford Criner.

More than 300 guests floated through the immersive scene designed by Rebecca Johnson of Bergner & Johnson Designs, where glowing orange, pink, and light green lanterns offered something between a contemporary art installation and a chic late-night garden party.

Co-directors Ryan N. Dennis and Melissa McDonnell Luján welcomed supporters and honored longtime patrons and former trustees Sissy and Denny Kempner, whose four decades of dedication to the museum served as the evening’s north star. Chairs Susie and Sanford Criner alongside Cece and Mack Fowler kept the night humming as guests sipped cocktails, mingled among auction works, and sized up a limited-edition print by artist Francesca Fuchs created exclusively for the event. Additional works by artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Nari Ward, and Tomashi Jackson reminded attendees that this was still, at its core, an art-world affair enticing art collectors.

One with very good lighting and even better tailoring.

Charity auctioneer Ruth Mason Mauldin took command of the room as bidding wars erupted over works by artists including Mel Chin and Mario Ayala. Once the final paddle dropped, DJ MAV and Gulf Coast Entertainment shifted the mood from polished philanthropy to dance-floor diplomacy.

The museum raised more than $900,000, making it one of the most successful fundraising evenings in CAMH history.

On full party mode were Alexandra and David Pruner, Elisa Stude Pye, Leslie Elkins Sasser, Kirby Liu and Chris McCarthy, Franci Neely, Louise Jamail, Mary Ann and Mark Miller, John Guess and Melanie Lawson, Page Kempner and Chris Johns-Krull, Courtney and Christopher Sarofim, Poppi Massey, Lauren Rottet, Chris Goins and Josh Pazda, Danielle S. O’Bannon, Catherine Anspon and John Walker, Divya and Chris Brown, Robert Pruitt and Ebony McFarland, and Michael Mandola.