Popular Destinations in the Houston Museum District

 The Houston Museum District Association (HMDA) is an artistic, scientific, and educational collaborative that uses the collective resources of the many Houston Museum District institutions to provide citizens and visitors with a diversity of experiences. HMDA formed in 1997 with eleven institutions, and is now a 501(c)(3) organization with 19 members within a 1.5 mile radius of Hermann Park. These institutions include the Museum of Fines Arts, Houston, and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

With a collection exceeding 65,000 works of art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston ranks as one of the 10 most comprehensive art museums in all of America. The museum’s campus features six main areas, ranging from the Glassell School of Art to the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden, along with multiple cafes and libraries and a cinema. In the past the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has hosted special exhibits such as Soul of a Nation, a virtual panel discussion highlighting multiple Black cultural organizations in Houston. Individuals interested in the decorative arts, meanwhile, can explore the two adjacent house museums, Rienzi and the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens.

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston was established in 1948 with a goal of sharing and preserving exciting art not just from the Houston region, but from visual artists around the world. In addition to hosting exhibits and special events highlighting new art, the museum is committed to exploring art’s function in the modern world through a series of lectures, programs, and museum publications. The museum also operates a store that contains contemporary art pieces and designer-made jewelry, as well as educational toys and games. A stainless steel building designed by renowned architect Gunnar Birkets, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is one of the most recognizable buildings in the city.

A few of the other institutions making up HMDA include the Houston Center for Photography (HCP) and the Houston Zoo, Inc. HCP began as a small visual arts gallery in 1981. Over the course of more than four decades, HCP has provided the public with more than 300 photography classes for photographers at every level, along with year-round workshops and free access to the HCP gallery. Exhibits at the museum in 2022 included Beyond the Record: Muriel Hasbun, Stephanie Concepcion Ramirez, Jessica Carolina Gonzalez and Collaborations XIX: Rooted, part of the Access and Community Education program that promotes artists and photographers from local high schools.

Finally, the Houston Zoo is a global leader when it comes to protecting and saving animals in the wild. The zoo is the proud home of more than 6,000 full-time residents, with each animal receiving the highest possible standard of treatment. The Houston Zoo educates upwards of 2 million visitors every year, while supporting nearly 50 wildlife conservation initiatives in countries around the world. It is the best attended attraction in the Houston region, and the second most visited zoo in the United States.

Additional HMDA institutions range from the Asia Society Texas Center to the Houston Museum of African American Culture. More information about these and other venues can be found online at houmuse.org.