HOUSTON — The Museum of Fine Arts Houston is inviting you to celebrate Pride 2021 by enjoying the works of some two dozen LGBTQ+ artists from all over the world.
“We are incredibly fortunate that we have this gorgeous facility, the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building for Modern and Contemporary Art,” said MFAH Membership Manager Andrew Edmonson. “It opened in November 2020.”
The Kinder building at 5500 Main Street in Houston’s Museum District features more than 1,000 objects that were primarily created during the 20th and 21st century.
“I'm a gay man who's lived in Houston for 30 years, and when I first walked through the galleries and I saw so many LGBTQ artists from all over the world, from China, from Africa, from Europe, we have Texas LGBTQ artists here, and I was like, this is amazing," Edmonson said.
The MFAH’s collection includes work from LGBTQ+ artists like Andy Warhol, Mark Bradford, Rachel Hecker and Zanele Muholi.
“They are an artist who is incredibly hot right now, and they've made a career over the last 20 years of documenting LGBTQ life in South Africa, “ Edmonson said.
“And for me, when you walk into the photography gallery on the second floor and you see that stunning image, and it is of a Black trans person, knowing that in America, Black trans people are under attack, and in Texas we have the highest murder rate for Black transgender people in the country, that is a profound and powerful statement of affirmation for me," Edmonson said.
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston is celebrating Pride Month 2021 with an interactive companion to the traditional museum visit.
Pride at the MFAH: A Rainbow of Artists includes four short videos featuring Houston LGBTQ+ artists talking about how they were inspired by work featured in the Kinder Building.
MFAH Pride Interview: Artist Mo Penders
MFAH Pride Interview: Artists Preetika Rajgariah & Lovie Olivia
You can enter the Museum of Fine Arts Houston for free every Thursday, or click through the museum’s collections online anytime for free.
“It says to me that we are a resilient community, that America can make progress, that there's a place for so many artists and telling the great story of art history and American history,” Edmonson said.
Pride at the MFAH offers a more inclusive point of view that’s now on display for the world to see.