Public Programs

The Menil Collection organizes a variety of public lectures, conversations, and performances to deepen visitors’ appreciation of the art on view. These programs are free and open to everyone.

During Fiscal Year 2022, the Menil organized forty-five public programs. Highlights included two community days; six Artist Talks, featuring Mel Chin, Marcia Kure, Rick Lowe, Lilliana Porter, Kate Shepherd, and William T. Williams, as well as seventeen lectures, panel discussions, and conversations with noted curators, writers, and scholars.

In November 2021, writer and critic Hilton Als presented the annual Marion Barthelme Lecture Series. In his two-part talk, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of Some American History and The De Luxe Show, Als explored Dominique and John de Menil’s curatorial practice in the late 1960s and early 1970s and how it led to their support for these two Houston-based exhibitions.

To celebrate the exhibition Enchanted: Visual Histories of the Central Andes, the museum hosted a Community Day, featuring an outdoor performance of Raíces del Perú by the Ballet Folklorico of Houston and a musical performance by Leyenda Andina, along with talks on the exhibition. Following the afternoon of programs, Axelrad Beer Garden hosted a special “Noche de Cumbia” event spotlighting the Menil’s exhibition.

The Menil inaugurated a new Neighborhood Community Day in April 2022, with an afternoon of art, music, poetry, and family activities in celebration of the museum’s vibrant neighborhood. Participating organizations included DACAMERA, Houston Center for Photography, Inprint, Pride Chorus Houston, Rothko Chapel, Watercolor Art Society, and Writers in the Schools (WITS).

In June 2022, the museum hosted a 35th Birthday Party, featuring short curator-led gallery tours, live music by Keyun and the Zydeco Masters, and refreshments and dessert on the Menil’s front lawn.