Houston may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of art, but it's quickly becoming a top destination for art enthusiasts from all over the world.
Welcome to Houston—a city that's as diverse as it is colorful, and its art scene is no different. From world-renowned museums to hidden art galleries, there's something for every art lover. We've put together a list of iconic Houston art museums and art institutions you absolutely must see:
The Alley Theatre
The Alley Theatre is one of America’s leading nonprofit art theaters and a nationally recognized performing arts company. The theater produces up to 16 plays and nearly 500 performances each season, ranging from the best current work and re-invigorated classic plays to new plays by contemporary writers.
Blaffer Art Museum
The art exhibitions and programs at Blaffer Art Museum are free and open to the public to create community through dialogue and participation, and to inspire an appreciation for the visual arts as a vital force in shaping contemporary culture.
The Children's Museum of Houston
The Children’s Museum of Houston is transforming communities through innovative, child-centered learning. The Houston area has one of the largest populations of children in the entire United States, and the Children’s Museum of Houston serves an audience of more than 1 million children and families each year. And of course, there are a ton of art-themed learning modules and play experiments to be found!
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is free to the public and dedicated to presenting the best, most exciting, international, national, and regional art of modern times. The museum prides itself on presenting new art and documenting its role in modern life through art exhibitions, lectures, original publications, and a variety of art educational programs and events.
The Health Museum
The Health Museum inspires artistic passion and curiosity in health, the medical sciences, and the human body—right in the heart of Houston. This museum is the most interactive and most popular science learning center of its kind.
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
The mission of the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is to expand Houston's reputation as a world-class cultural and arts center by providing a premier performing arts facility, fostering accessibility to the performing arts, and promoting arts education. The center has a strong emphasis on musical theater.
The Houston Holocaust Museum
The Holocaust Museum of Houston is charged with artistically educating the public about the dangers of prejudice and hatred in society. Since opening its doors in March of 1996, impassioned notes, poems, artwork, and other gifts from school children and adults alike attest to the life-changing thoughts generated by just one visit to this unique facility.
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts is home to both the Houston Symphony and the Houston Society for the Performing Arts. More than 400,000 visitors attend some 250 exceptional orchestral and non-orchestral performances every year.
The Menil Collection
The Menil Collection is an art museum and neighborhood of art spanning 30 acres in the heart of Houston, Texas. The main gallery building anchors the campus and is surrounded by four additional art museum buildings: the Menil Drawing Institute; Cy Twombly Art Gallery; Richmond Hall, which features an installation by artist Dan Flavin; and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel.
Miller Outdoor Theatre
The Miller Outdoor Theatre provides professional-caliber artistic performances, free to the public, for the cultural enrichment of Houston.
The Houston Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is among the 10 largest art museums in the United States, with an encyclopedic collection of more than 65,000 works of art!
Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the most heavily attended museums in the United States, and a favorite thing to do in Houston! This museum has five floors of permanent exhibits, spanning astronomy, space science, Native American culture, paleontology, energy, chemistry, geology, seashells, and Texas wildlife, alongside a slew of rotating special exhibits. HMNS also houses three other venues: the Burke Baker Planetarium, Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, and Cockrell Butterfly Center.
The Wortham Center
The Wortham Center is home to both the Houston Ballet and the Houston Grand Opera. Since its opening in 1987, the Wortham Center has entertained more than 8 million people. Bold and beautiful, the Wortham Center is an art facility like no other—it is a masterful, creative playground for performing artists and offers an array of public spaces, both monumental and intimate.
The George Theatre
A.D. Players at the George Theater focuses on Christian-based arts, and seeks to provide audiences with challenging, redemptive, and joyful stories that move the spirit. The theatre also emphasizes an "arts for all" motto and takes great measures to ensure performances are fully accessible to everyone via visual, hearing, and other aides.
If you're looking for more of the best places Houston has to offer, check out our helpful guide—download your copy FREE here.