Museum Hours General Admission
Wed. - Sat. Always free 11 AM - 6 PM Donations accepted
Support the Houston Museum of African American Culture
Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Your support will help ensure the museum sustainability. Text “HMAAC” to 44-321 to donate!
Images, from left: Lakea Shepard, Lewinale Havette, Arnold J. Browne, Carly Jay Harris, Raymond Thompson, jr., Abi Salami, and Miatta Kawinzi.
Upcoming exhibition: April 12
The Houston Museum of African American Culture is thrilled to present Mami Wata Afrofuturism:500 Years Back to the [Afro][F]uture, curated by HMAAC’s Chief Curator Christopher Blay. The exhibition envisions the future through the lens of the past and focuses on works by artists of the African Diaspora who consider the transatlantic and trans-Mississippi delta journeys of black people across waters, carrying with them histories, mythologies, and cultures towards new futures.
The exhibition includes paintings, photographs, video, and sculpture from the following artists: Arnold J. Browne, Carla Jay Harris, Lewinale Havette, Miatta Kawinzi, Abi Salami, Lakea Shepard, and Raymond Thompson, Jr..
schedule a curator-led tour of current exhibitions. to schedule, click below.
Visit the Culture Shoppe at HMAAC for all your local artists and vendors merchandise!
Visit our most recent exhibitions via our virtual 3D portal. Click anywhere to begin. For more of our other exhibitions, please scroll below.
Latinx Museum of Art in Houston?, curated by Benito Huerta. A glimpse of what a gallery exhibition in a Latinx museum might look like when accompanied by programs defined completely by Latinx voices.
Permanent Exhibitions
The Houston Museum of African American Culture dedicated its Stairwell of Memory on February 19, 2022 with the addition of the portrait of Houstonian Robbie Tolan, “The Survivor.” On December 11, 2021, HMAAC dedicated a portrait of Tolan by artist Cedric Ingram that was added to the ones of Bland and Floyd. The three of them represent our area’s most prominent symbols of police brutality. America is indeed lucky and blessed that one of them survived; a living reminder that justice for black victims of police brutality is so rare as to essentially be non-existent, and that good citizens of all races must be diligent to change our current culture to one of fairness and equity.
The Jazz Church of Houston
“The Jazz Church of Houston is an endeavor by artist Tierney Malone to create a temporary institution dedicated to collecting and sharing the story of Houston's musical tribe. While there are museums in Texas dedicated to music, a space does not exist that chronicles the jazz history of Houston. The name “Jazz Church” drew its inspiration from the Church of John Coltrane in San Francisco. Established in 1970, the church uses John Coltrane’s music as an expression of worship. The Jazz Church of Houston is a secular temple that will serve as a communal gathering place for like-minded people to listen, learn and celebrate jazz music and culture in Houston.
The Jazz Church of Houston’s patron saint is Texas tenor legend, Arnett Cobb. He is the standard bearer for all those who came after him. He made Houston his base of operation instead of New York or LA, as many of his contemporaries have done. He mentored the next generation of jazz musicians who followed in his footsteps to New York. He is the model of rugged individualism that often characterizes Texans. He survived many physical challenges to pursue his passion of making music. He was hospitalized for a year from a car accident, and used crutches for the rest of his life. He never let his physical challenges prevent him from playing for audiences around the world.”-Tierney Malone, via jazzchurchhouston.org
Open Your Eyes
Houston Museum of African American Culture
OUR MISSION
The mission of HMAAC is to collect, conserve, explore, interpret, and exhibit the material and intellectual culture of Africans and African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the southwest and the African Diaspora for current and future generations. In fulfilling its mission, HMAAC seeks to invite and engage visitors of every race and background and to inspire children of all ages through discovery-driven learning. HMAAC is to be a museum for all people.
OUR VISION
HMAAC seeks to be a cultural portal through which people share and converge histories and contemporary experiences that acknowledge and expand the African American experience, and from such interactions come together to build a common future.
