Anointed & Adorned: Indian Weddings in Houston
Anointed and Adorned explores continuity and change in the artistry and festivity of Indian weddings in Houston. A complex mix of East and West, ancient and modern, Indian weddings here offer participants the opportunity to enjoy the traditions of the mother country performed with nuances that reflect a Western environment. They celebrate the beauty that resides in the old and accustomed, alongside the appeal of the new and surprising.
Houston SLAB Parade & Family Festival
Houston's first-ever official SLAB Parade and Family Festival comes to MacGregor Park! This family friendly event will celebrate SLABs, a vehicle art form that originated in the African-American neighborhoods of Houston, Texas.
Juneteenth: a Texas Tradition
This collection of videos was presented as part of a joint venture with Miller Outdoor Theatre in 2017 and 2018 as part of its annual Juneteenth observance and concert. Individuals from throughout the city were invited to share their memories, thoughts, recollections and experiences about Juneteenth, past and present.
Stories of a Workforce
At the Port of Houston and along the Houston Ship Channel, for all of their one hundred years, knowing how to get the job done—whatever the job—has always been the priority. Over time, however, the knowledge and skills associated with the many jobs that make up a working port have been transformed. The introduction of automation, containerization and technology have drastically altered both the workplace and what it takes to do the work. Nevertheless, even in the face of change and modernization, the age-old practices of peer-to-peer learning and the development of local knowledge remain as important today as the newer kinds of training that a worker acquires in a classroom or at a computer terminal.
Storm Songs & Stories
Multimedia open mic featuring stories, spoken word pieces, poems and songs about Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike.
Voices of the Spirit
Houston is a remarkably diverse city—and in no domain of city life is that more apparent than in its faith communities. Many immigrants to the city have created a sense of home for themselves through membership in churches, mosques, temples and the like. It is not surprising, then, that most of these communities have fostered rich sacred music traditions. The folklife program Voices of the Spirit concert is held annually at Asia Society Texas Center and ran a total of five iterations.
Weaving Home
Houston is home to refugee communities from around the world. They all bring with them distinctive traditions. The exhibition Weaving Home focuses on the weaving traditions practiced by women from one such community—a collection of Karenni families who now live in the city. Formerly from Myanmar (until recently known as Burma), the Karenni are a distinct ethnic community with origins in the country's mountainous region bordering Thailand.
Winter Celebrations
Winter Celebrations is a trio of installations, along with live performances and interactive events centered on the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Lunar New Year and the African-American trail riders who help kick off the annual Livestock Show and Rodeo. These distinctive traditions share more than a season—they are all public, participatory, festive events involving parade-like processional activities, music and dance, and fancy garb or costume.
Celebrating the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe
The celebration of the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is a powerful religious and cultural event in the Mexican and Mexican American Catholic community. This exhibition explores the artistic and cultural traditions that surround it on all sides—the music, dance, food, drink, special garments, altar building and storytelling.
Exploring Lunar New Year
The Lunar New Year celebration that is most popular in Houston is grounded in the Chinese calendar and is observed by the many nationalities with strong cultural ties to China. In Houston that is mostly the Chinese and Vietnamese communities. Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the single most festive and important holiday in these communities and its commemoration involves weeks of preparation.
Honoring Houston's African-American Trail Riders
While the Rodeo is usually the one event where most Houstonians see the trail riders, these clubs and associations are active year-round. Some of their events draw thousands of people. Camping, riding, socializing, celebrating with music and food create bonds among family and friends that are usually forged for life and over generations.