Exhibits - Visit Us at Houston Public Library

Installation views of 2024 Citywide African American Artists Exhibition at the African American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus and Central Library

January 25 - April 25, 2025

The African American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus | Gallery

and

Central Library | 1st Floor Gallery

The biennial Citywide African American Artists Exhibition is a collaboration between the University Museum at Texas Southern University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibition offers all artists of the African Diaspora in the Greater Houston area the opportunity to show their work to a broader public and art-collecting community.

The 2024 exhibition was curated by Christopher Blay, director of public programs at the National Juneteenth Museum. It was on view at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from December 12, 2024, through January 12, 2025. The 2024 Artist prizes were juried by Dr. Laura Augusta, Jane Dale Owen Director & Chief Curator of Blaffer Art Museum; Christina Grubitz, Curator at Houston Public Library; and Christopher Paul, Houston artist.

1st Prize: Sir Charles, II by Afi Ese

2nd Prize: Green with Envy by Jon Gilcrist

3rd Prize: Circle of Trust by Eddie Filer, Jr.

Special Mentions: Fragmentation I by Ebony, Opulence V by Jaymes Earl, All Night Long / Around the Way Girl by Quentin Pace

Curator's Choice Award: Jesus Pieces by Christopher Crooke

5A (MFAH African American Art Advisory Association) Choice Award: Our Bookcase by Patricia Henderson

Please visit both locations to see artwork by Shawn Artis, Mathieu Jean Baptiste, Mikal Boston, Rodney D. Butler, Sinden Collier, Christopher Crooke, John NEGRASSO Duncan, Jaymes Earl, Ebony, Anne Edwards, Afi Ese, Eddie Filer, Jr., Melissa Fontenette-Mitchell, Sara Ford, Marc Furi, Jon Gilchrist, Karl E. Hall, Patricia Henderson, Prof. Charles Holmes a.k.a. Hakeem Hassan, Monae Jacobs, Dannye Jones, Christie Leday, C. M. Lewis, Terry Madison, Quentin Pace, Romeo Clay Robinson, Daniel Sam, Shunshieva, La'Toya Smith, Oluseyi Soyege, Kamryn Sterling, Roy Vinson Thomas, Vonola Joseph Trinidad, Vernon, and Rickale West.

EXPLORE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Oscar and Maudene McNary Collection (MSS 0022)

The Oscar and Maudene McNary Collection reflects the lives of Oscar and Maudene McNary as art collectors and art consultants, and the many artists they have known both professionally and personally over the years. This collection, which dates from 1915 to 2008, consists of news clippings, correspondence, programs, photographs, art books, art related publications, and art and artifacts created by African American artists including John Biggers, Carroll Harris Simms, Jacob Lawrence, and Robert Neal Williams.

CHECK OUT THE CATALOG

Kid/Juvenile

Ames, Lee J., Draw the Draw 50 Way: How to Draw Cats, Puppies, Horses, Buildings, Birds, Aliens, Boats, Trains, and Everything Else Under the Sun
Crilley, Mark, The Drawing Lesson: A Graphic Novel That Teaches You How to Draw
Freeman, Daniel, The Beginner Art Book for Kids: Learn How to Draw, Paint, Sculpt, and More!
Knutson, Julie, Project Row Houses
Llimós Plomer, Anna, Easy Clay Crafts in 5 Steps
Vagts, Carolyn S., I Can Quilt

Adult

Biggers, John Thomas, Black Art in Houston: The Texas Southern University Experience
Bunch, Robert Craig, The Art of Found Objects: Interviews with Texas Artists
de Lima Greene, Alison, Texas: 150 Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Graves, Laia Farran, The Story of the Hermès Scarf
Finkelpearl, Tom, What We Made: Conversations on Art and Social Cooperation
McEvilley, Thomas, Bert Long: The Artist's Journey
Theisen, Ollie Jensen, A Life on Paper: The Drawings and Lithographs of John Thomas Biggers
Theisen, Ollie Jensen, Walls that Speak: The Murals of John Thomas Biggers
Wardlaw, Alvia, J., The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room

Watch

Garrison, Andrew, Third Ward TX

Create with our Library of Things!

This exhibition is partnership with Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the University Museum at Texas Southern University, and is generously supported by Houston Public Library, Houston Public Library Foundation, and the City of Houston.

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BLACK STEREO by Tierney Malone - OPENING RECEPTION MAY 10

Image courtesy Tierney Malone May 10 - September 27, 2025The African American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus | Gallery Black music is the soundtrack to the struggle for self-determination and liberation of Black people in the New World. It is the musical history of our evolution in this country. Black music has been key to shaping American culture. Africans stolen from their homeland were forced to give up their languages, rituals, names, and the drum. Yet, they retained the essence of these things and created spirituals, gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and hip hop - musical forms whose powerful influence is undeniable on the cultural fabric of this county and beyond. Black music is a connection to our past and a source of inspiration, a space-creating force that encourages and seeds dreams for the future.In 1968, when singer Archie Bell said, “Hi, everybody. I'm Archie Bell of the Drells of Houston, Texas” on the hit record Tighten Up, he helped put Houston's music scene on the world map. The music for this song was created and performed by the TSU Toronadoes, a group formed by students from Texas Southern University in the heart of Third Ward, aka “The Tre.”In the exhibition Black Stereo, I am telling the stories and connection that African American artists and institutions of Greater Houston have with the city and the country. The works presented take the forms of concert posters, showbills, and album covers, infographics meant to highlight, educate, and entertain like music. The message is in the music. - Tierney Malone About Tierney MaloneMalone is a visual artist and modern-day storyteller who blends African American history and pop culture to create mixed media works that challenge contemporary culture and politics. He is the host of “Houston Jazz Spotlight,” a weekly program on Radio KPFT. JOIN US>>> Opening Reception for BLACK STEREO with Tierney Malone | May 10, 2:00 - 4:00 PM <<< Events for EveryoneDATETIMEEVENTLOCATION Monday, June 92:00 - 3:00 PMMusical Performance by Sax MinistryFreed-Montrose Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereMonday, June 1612:00 - 1:00 PMMusical Performance by Sax MinistryMcCrane-Kashmere Gardens Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereWednesday, July 161:00 - 2:00 PMMusical Performance by Sax MinistryMancuso Neighborhood LibraryRegister Here Events for KidsDATETIMEEVENTLOCATION Tuesday, June 310:30 - 11:30 AMInstrument Explorers with Tom's Fun BandVinson Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereSaturday, June 2111:45 - 12:15 PMMusical StorytimeCentral LibraryRegister HereTuesday, July 153:00 - 4:00 PMInstrument Explorers with Tom's Fun BandScenic Woods Regional LibraryRegister HereTuesday, July 222:00 - 3:00 PMMusic and Movement with AndyRooStanaker Neighborhood LibraryRegister Here EXPLORE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Black Music in Houston Collection (MSS 0159)The Black Music in Houston Collection contains newspaper articles, programs, correspondence, and photographs of African American musicians and musical activity in Houston during the 1980s. Between WWI and WWII, Houston became a regional center of jazz music, a style popularized during the 19th century. Houston experienced a flourishing music scene from the 1960s to the 1980s with a variety of prevalent genres including blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Blues music was popularized in Houston during the 1940s with Gold Star Studios, more recently known as Sugar Hill Studios, who produced several prominent musicians including Lighting in Hopkins and Bobby Blue Band.Texas Jazz Archive (RG E 0071)In 1986, Arnett Cobb and his daughter Lizette Cobb created the Jazz Heritage Society of Texas as a non-profit education, literary, and cultural arts organization. Arnett Cobb expressed an interest in creating a jazz archive. In 1987, the Jazz Heritage Society of Texas partnered with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (now Houston History Research Center) to document the under-represented jazz scene of Texas by establishing the Texas Jazz Archive. The strong points of this collection are the oral history interviews and the number of photographs chronicling these musicians' professional careers.Jazz Education Inc. (RG 0041)The Jazz Education Inc. Collection contains records related to the operations of Jazz Education Inc. between 1990-2022. Jazz Education Inc. was established in 1970 by Bubbha Thomas, to provide training and educational opportunities to children about the history and culture of jazz music, which were unavailable at both private and public institutions. The organization also sponsors four main programs: Music in the Schools (Jazz and Poetry Series), Summer Jazz Workshop, SJW Scholarship Jazz Brunch, and the Houston International Jazz Festival.Carlos Johnson Papers (MSS 0051)This collection contains the personal and professional records of Charles “Carlos” Johnson during his career as a percussionist. Charles Harold “Carlos” Johnson was born on August 31, 1945, to Ernestine and T.Z. Johnson in Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas. He attended Kashmere Junior and Senior High School and performed under Conrad Johnson. He attended Texas Southern University and performed with the TSU Jazz Ensemble. During his 35-year career as a percussionist, he adopted the stage name “Carlos” and in addition to jazz, he performed with classical, country, rock, and pop musicians. Johnson taught music, performed as a solo artist through Congos By Carlos, and was part of music groups such as D.R.U.M. (Divine Rhythm United Motion). CHECK OUT THE CATALOG Kid/JuvenileAdoff, Arnold, Roots and Blues: A CelebrationDell, Pamela, The Blues: Birth of an American SoundEarl, C. F., Hip-Hop: A Short HistoryKoopmans, Andy, The History of the BluesLoney, Andrea J., The Double Bass BluesMour, Stanley I., Innovators of American JazzMyers, Walter Dean, JazzWheeler, Lisa, Jazz BabyWilliams, Jarrett, Hip-Hop: The Beat of AmericaWinter, Jonah, How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz AdultBradley, Andy, House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording StudiosCorcoran, Michael, Ghost Notes: Pioneering Spirits of Texas MusicCorcoran, Michael Joseph, All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas MusicFaniel, Maco L., Hip-Hop in Houston: The Origin & the LegacySteptoe, Tyina L., Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow CityWalker, Lance Scott, Houston Rap Tapes: An Oral History of Bayou City Hip-HopWood, Charles Roger, Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues WatchWhen Houston Had the BluesBeyonce ListenRhino Hi-Five: Archie Bell & The DrellsArnett CobbThelonius Monk: The London Collection Vol. 1The Dixie HummingbirdsThe Crusaders Library of ThingsPortable record player This exhibition is generously supported by Houston Public Library, Houston Public Library Foundation, and the City of Houston....

Fashion Fusion IX: Arts of Asia

Images courtesy of Houston Community CollegeMay 7 - July 31, 2025Central Library | 1st Floor Gallery Fashion Fusion VIII: Arts of Asia features garments from Fashion Fusion, an annual competition presented by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), and the award-winning Fashion Design program at Houston Community College (HCC). This most recent competition required HCC students and alumni to design original outfits inspired by the MFAH collections of Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean art. The garments created by HCC's emerging designers were entered into one of four representative categories: Sustainable & Unconventional, Street & Sportswear, Evening & Cocktail Wear, and Avant-Garde & Conceptual. This exhibition features the winning garments from designers Maria Dyevre, Estefania Espindola, Maria Hammond, Emily Herrera, Kuteka Hill, Bailey Reber, and Jennifer Valencia. JOIN US DATETIMEEVENTLOCATION Saturday, May 102:00 - 4:00 PMCelebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!Collier Regional LibraryRegister HereTuesday, May 2011:00 AM - 12:00 PMTasting the Archive: Exploring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and/or Pacific Islander FoodsOnlineRegister HereTuesday, June 33:00 - 4:00 PMSharpie-Dyed ScarvesScenic Woods Regional LibraryRegister HereThursday, June 123:00 - 4:00 PMSharpie-Dyed ScarvesStanaker Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereThursday, June 126:00 - 7:00 PMPride Fashion ShowPark Place Regional LibraryRegister HereMonday, June 161:00 - 2:00 PMSharpie-Dyed ScarvesTuttle Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereThursday, June 261:00 - 2:00 PMSharpie-Dyed ScarvesPleasantville Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereThursday, June 266:30 - 7:30 PMPride Fashion ShowAlief-David M. Henington Regional LibraryRegister HereWednesday, July 26:00 - 7:00 PMSharpie-Dyed ScarvesLooscan Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereMonday, July 711:00 AM - 12:00 PMHenna Workshop with Henna Love HoustonTuttle Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereThursday, July 1711:00 AM - 2:00 PMSewing Workshop: Learn to Sew on a Sewing MachineJungman Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereThursday, July 311:00 - 4:00 PMSewing Workshop: Learn to Sew on a Sewing MachineHeights Neighborhood LibraryRegister Here CHECK OUT OUR CATALOG Kid/JuvenileBingham, Jane, Indian Art & CultureChan, Maisie, Danny Chung Sums It UpGavin, Jamila, Tales from IndiaHodge, Susie, Hokusai: He Saw the World in a WaveHughes, Emily, The SnailKhanduri, Kamini, Japanese Art & CultureHibbert, Claire, Chinese Art & CultureLeung, Julie, Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and ArtistZhang, Kat, The Magic Paintbrush AdultAdornment and Splendour: Jewels of the Indian CourtsBeyond Golden Clouds: Japanese Screens from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Saint Louis Art MuseumChen, Walter, The Fine Art of Chinese Brush PaintingCraven, Roy C., Indian Art: A Concise HistoryDehejia, Vidya, Art of the Imperial CholasKaretzky, Patricia Eichenbaum, Chinese Buddhist ArtKee, Joan, Contemporary Korean Art: Tansaekhwa and the Urgency of MethodKorean Art: The Power of NowLee, Soyoung, Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600Mahon, Joi, Create the Perfect Fit: Measuring and Pattern Fitting for Real Sewing SolutionsOkim, Komelia Hongja, Korean Metal Art: Techniques, Inspiration, and TraditionsOno, Takumasa, The Simple Art of Sumi-E: Mastering Japanese Ink PaintingPaget, Rhiannon, Divine Felines: The Cat in Japanese ArtSmith, Alison, Dressmaking: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own ClothesThorp, Robert L., Chinese Art & Culture WatchChina Avant-Garde: From Bicycles to BMWsThe First Monday in MayInfinity: The LIfe and Art of Yayoi KusamaSewing EssentialsSumi-e: The Art of Japanese Ink PaintingVaastu Marabu Library of ThingsCrafts & Hobbies: Sumi-eGoHues and Clues: A Guessing Game of Colors and CluesPete the Cat: I Love My Buttons Game This exhibition is in partnership with Houston Community College, Fashion and Costume Design Department and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston...

The Writers: Portraits by Laura Wilson

Haruki Murakami and Paul Theroux Book Signing | Zadie Smith | Margaret Atwood Library | All images © Laura Wilson February 14 - June 14, 2025The Julia Ideson Building | Exhibit Hall Renowned photographer Laura Wilson offers us intimate glimpses into the everyday lives of more than 30 influential and internationally acclaimed writers. This exhibition features of a selection of portraits from her book, The Writers: Portraits (Yale University Press, 2022), which was inspired by the popular photo essays published in Life magazine in the mid-20th century. After viewing this collection of portraits and candid photographs, borrow and enjoy the works of these best-selling writers from Houston Public LIbrary's collection.Laura Wilson's photographs have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and London's Sunday Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, among others. She has published seven books of photographs and text including Avedon at Work (2003), Grit and Glory (2003), That Day: Pictures in the American West (2015), and From Rodin to Plensa (2018). JOIN USOpening Reception with Laura Wilson | Thursday, February 13, 2025, 5:00 - 7:00 PM RELATED MEDIA CHECK OUT OUR CATALOG Books by Laura WilsonAvedon at Work: In the American WestHutterites of MontanaThat Day: Pictures in the American WestWatt Matthews of Lambshead Writers Featured in this ExhibitionMargaret AtwoodRussell BanksJohn BanvilleBrit BennettA. S. ByattPeter CareyMichael ChabonTa-Nehisi CoatesJ. M. CoetzeeRachel CuskEdwidge DanticatLouise ErdrichRichard FordCarlos FuentesGabriel García MárquezSeamus HeaneyCormac McCarthyDavid McCulloughIan McEwanThomas McGuaneLarry McMurtryHaruki MurakamiTim O'BrienMichael OndaatjeAnnie ProulxMarjane SartrapiSam ShepardZadie SmithTom StoppardPaul TherouxColm TóibínTobias Wolff This exhibition is generously supported by Houston Public Library, Houston Public Library Foundation, and the City of Houston. Special thanks to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin....

Space for Us: Afrofuturism and the Poetic Imagination

MSS0137-PH018 Courtesy African American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus, Houston Public Library March 21 - June 28, 2025The Row House Galleries at the Gregory Campus | 1206 and 1208 Victor Street Space for Us: Afrofuturism and the Poetic Imagination is a multidisciplinary exhibition that seeks to usher in a new Houston by exploring both the historical and contemporary demands of organizers, poets, archivists, and community members within this city. Pairing photos and materials from the archives of the African American History Research Center at the Gregory Campus with multilingual poems exploring ideas of home, community and imagined futures, audiences will experience the urgency of worldbuilding, using the tools we have and the tools we create, to actualize a liberated Houston. Alongside these poems and archives, a poetic tapestry of interviews from Black community leaders across Greater Houston will showcase the present organizing efforts that move through, beyond, and alongside the page to create the Houston we deserve. Through this exploration of poetry, preservation and movement building, Space for Us is a poetic manifesto of this audacious city we aim to see in our lifetime and long after.Facilitated as part of Aris Kian Brown's community outreach project as 2023-2025 Houston Poet Laureate, this exhibition aims to challenge the boundaries between art and organizing, protest and poetics, imagination and demand. Audiences will be able to engage with the demands of Houstonians in real time, allowing the urgency of poetry to serve as a tool for contemporary organizing, worldbuilding, and language justice for communities in Houston fighting for all marginalized people. JOIN US Opening Reception - March 20, 2025 | 6:00 - 8:00 PM Rap & Poetry Workshops for TeensSaturday, April 122:00 - 3:00 PMPark Place Regional LibraryRegister HereTuesday, April 1510:00 - 11:00 AMShepard-Acres Home Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereTuesday, April 153:00 - 4:00 PMMoody Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereFriday, April 253:00 - 4:00 PMHeights Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereSaturday, April 264:00 - 5:00 PMCentral LibraryRegister HereSaturday, May 33:00 - 4:00 PMWalker Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereSaturday, June 143:00 - 4:00 PMWalker Neighborhood LibraryRegister Here Creative Writing Club for AdultsThursday, May 12:30 - 3:30 PMCarnegie Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereThursday, June 52:30 - 3:30 PMCarnegie Neighborhood LibraryRegister Here Summer Reading for Grown-Ups: Talking PoetryTuesday, June 105:30 - 6:30 PMFlores Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereTuesday, June 175:30 - 6:30 PMFlores Neighborhood LibraryRegister HereTuesday, June 245:30 - 6:30 PMFlores Neighborhood LibraryRegister Here EXPLORE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Ben Desoto Photographs Collection (MSS 0118)The Ben Desoto Photographs Collection documents his career in Houston as a freelance photographer and as a photojournalist for the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post from the 1980s to 2020s. This collection contains over 30,000 photographic items including photographs, negatives and slides, newspapers, and notebooks that depict life in minority communities and the early stages of gentrification in historically Black neighborhoods and hip hop and rock music during the 1980s and early 1990s. His work captures Freedmen's Town, the Allen Parkway Village and Direct Exposure youth projects along with local social problems including homelessness and poverty in his Understanding Poverty Project.Eliza Johnson Home for Aged Negroes Collection (RG 0047)The Eliza Johnson Home for Aged Negroes began as a dream of Anna Dupree. Dupree moved to Houston from Galveston in 1916. When the Eliza Johnson Home opened in June 1952, it was largely due to her determination and resources, as well as support and encouragement of her husband, Clarence (C.A.) and others in the black community. The goal of the Home - located on a 35-acre tract off Chocolate Bayou Road in the historically black neighborhood of Sunnyside - was basic: to provide a place “where our old people enjoy kind, human care and freedom from fear and want in their remaining days.”Black Photographic Collection (MSS 0137)This collection is composed of mostly photographic images having to do with African Americans in the Houston area from 1896 to 1968. Except for its singular focus on images of African Americans, this collection is miscellaneous. Several of the photographs are of Jack Johnson, the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion and a Juneteenth Parade float. Some images are tintypes of well-dressed people in Third Ward and downtown Houston during the early 20th century. CHECK OUT THE CATALOG AdultAnastacia-Reneé, Here in the (Middle) of NowhereBrookins, KB, Freedom House: PoemsDuplan, Anais, Blackspace: On the Poetics of an AfrofutureHersey, Tricia, Rest is Resistance: A ManifestoNational Museum of African American History and Culture, Afrofuturism: A History of Black FuturesZepeda, Gwendolyn (ed.), Houston Noir Works by past Poet LaureatesDavidson, Robin, City that Ripens on the Tree of the WorldDavidson, Robin, Luminous OtherMouton, Deborah D.E.E.P., Black Chameleon: Memory, Womanhood, and MythSchwartz, Leslie Contreras, From the Womb of Sky and EarthZepeda, Gwendolyn, Better With You HereZepeda, Gwendolyn, Falling in Love With Fellow Prisoners: PoemsZepeda, Gwendolyn, Houston We Have a ProblemaZepeda, Gwendolyn, Monsters, Zombies + Addicts: Poems This exhibition is generously supported by Houston Public Library, Houston Public Library Foundation, and the City of Houston....