Houston Arts & Culture
Art is not just a passing fancy in Houston -- it's a major aspect of the city's personality. Major art institutions and intimate performance companies exist harmoniously, feeding the appetite of hungry arts patrons.
The Houston Theater District is ranked second to New York for the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area and is one of only five cities with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines of opera, ballet, music, and theater.
Sure, there are the major players on the art scene definitely worth seeing, but it's just as important to explore the string of art galleries on Colquitt or the impressive opera that pours from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston.
Two of Houston's major arts communities are conveniently located along the light rail line. The Museum District is home to 16 different museums, most within walking distance to each other. All of the museums are free on Thursday evenings, so expect crowds on that night.
Insider's Guide: The Best of Arts & Culture in Houston
The steel-clad Contemporary Arts Museum (5216 Montrose Blvd) is a soaring space that only asks for donations instead of an entry fee. A visit to the basement gift shop is a must for well-crafted but inexpensive jewelry and other accessories.
©2006 Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau
Be sure to stop in the gift shop at Houston's Contemporary
Arts Museum to peruse the unique crafts.
|
Across the street at the Museum of Fine Arts (5601 Main St), pieces by Frederic Remington and Pablo Picasso both draw an enamored crowd. The museum also offers self-guided audio tours, which help visitors hit the best of what the museum has to offer. From impressionism greats such as Mary Cassatt and Claude Monet to modern artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, this museum is home to many amazing works of art.
The Menil Collection (1500 W Alabama St) is one of the most respected art museums in the world and a true coup for the city, with more than 15,000 works of art ranging from the Paleolithic era to the present day.
The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (4848 Main St) is a hands-on museum that introduces visitors to the process and history of craft art, emphasizing fiber, metal, glass, clay, and wood. In addition to a wealth of original pieces made by local artisans, the museum gift shop sells beautiful jewelry at discount prices.
The Children's Museum of Houston (1500 Binz) is a must for parents of babies and tweens alike. Everything can be touched, crawled on, and explored at the colorful museum, and rotating exhibits keep the slate of activities always exciting.
If the performing arts are more your style, you should head downtown where the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet perform at Wortham Theatre Center (501 Texas Ave). You can see the Houston Symphony at Jesse H Jones Hall for the Performing Arts (615 Louisiana St).
The Alley Theatre (615 Texas St) keeps the curtain up, even during the summer months, with its Summer Chills series. At the newly constructed Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (800 Bagby St), Houston's Theatre Under the Stars performs well-known Broadway musicals. Touring shows also perform at the Hobby Center year-round.
The famed Ensemble Theatre (3535 Main St) is the nation's largest African-American professional theatre company in the United States that produces its own in-house productions, and luckily for theatre-goers, the Metro light rail stops almost at the ensemble's front door.
Budget-savvy visitors should also check out the University of Houston (400 Calhoun Rd) for an entire playbill of shows ranging from musical theatre and dance to plays.
In addition to its collections of art, Houston is renowned for its architecture. In fact, the city boasts some of the tallest and most influential buildings in Texas. Learn about them in the next section.
