Whether exploring the world-class museums and installations that fill the Museum District, or venturing through thought-provoking displays found throughout the Greater Houston area, there is no shortage of exhibits that locals and visitors alike will find fascinating and engaging.
365 Houston has compiled a list of featured exhibits currently on display at museums and renowned destinations throughout the city of Houston, including free offerings that are always open to the public.
Museums and exhibit venues have been organized by prominence in both ticketed and free admission categories. They’re also listed by area of focus (art, history and science, and kid-specific) in the sidebar at the top of this page.
These current exhibits require a dedicated ticket—either included with general admission or as a separate ticket—at several of Houston’s flagship museums, including The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS), The Health Museum, Holocaust Museum Houston, and more.
Most museums offer free admission on certain days or during certain hours, though tickets to some exhibits are still required.
Scroll down to check out current museum exhibitions and art installations in Houston.
Current Ticketed Museum Exhibits in Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) in the Museum District
One of the Museum District’s crown jewels, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) routinely hosts some of the most prominent temporary exhibits in Houston each year. Joining the exhibits from the museum’s permanent collection, these curated crowd-pleasers consistently draw Houstonians and visitors alike.
- The Sugar Shack by Ernie Barnes | Through Saturday, December 31, 2022 – On loan to MFAH through the end of the year, this iconic painting from American artist Ernie Barnes features a dynamic, dancing crowd at a Black music hall in segregated mid-century North Carolina. It graced the cover of Marvin Gaye’s 1976 album, I Want You, and was posted to the end credits of the 1970s CBS sitcom, Good Times, both of which grew the work’s popularity. Included with general admission.
- Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power | Sunday, October 16 to Monday, January 16, 2023 – Photographs from iconic photojournalist and artist Gordon Parks are on display in this exhibition which draws from the time the photographer spent with Black Power activist Stokely Carmichael in a cross-nation journey for Life magazine in 1967. Included with general admission.
- Philip Guston Now | Sunday, October 23 to Monday, January 16, 2023 – Stretching from his earliest paintings in the 1930s to his large, often apocalyptic works in the late 1970s, this retrospective of the influential artist examines his paintings, prints and drawings that are pulled from public and private collections, and show the artist’s engagement with topics like social justice and personal anxieties. Included with general admission.
- Golden Worlds: The Portable Universe of Indigenous Colombia | Sunday, November 6 to Sunday, April 16 – With around 400 works that include cast gold jewelry and masks to ceramic effigies and rare ancient textiles, this exhibition showcases the diversity of ancient Colombian cultures, centering on the voices and concepts of descendant Indigenous communities.
- Alberto Giacometti: Toward the Ultimate Figure | Sunday, November 13 to Sunday, February 12 – The towering sculptor and artist is on display in this exhibition of 60 masterpieces by Giacometti that explore his creative process and how his focus on the human form developed over time.