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21-606: The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Gallery was founded in 1973, named in honor of the late Sarah Campbell Blaffer , who during her lifetime made available to the University a collection of major artworks dating from the 15th century to modern day. This collection was purchased in 1979 by the Blaffer Foundation , an independent organization which is unrelated to the museum and the University, and has been housed at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston since that time. The income from

42-436: A broad range of programs, Blaffer presents enriching museum experiences while providing arts education opportunities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. 29°43′29″N 95°20′33″W  /  29.72472°N 95.34250°W  / 29.72472; -95.34250 Sarah Campbell Blaffer Sarah Campbell Blaffer (née Campbell ; August 27, 1885 – May 13, 1975) was an American philanthropist and contributor to

63-826: A collection of early modern paintings from the Netherlands. Notably, Blaffer also owned Mark Rothko 's abstract No. 7 (1951). Blaffer is the namesake of the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston . The non-collecting contemporary art museum was founded in 1973 and is housed within the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at the university. Some of its early activities consisted of loaning works of arts for travelling expositions within Texas. In 2000,

84-649: A convent in Lampasas, Texas , before matriculating at the Boston Conservatory . In 1964, Blaffer created the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation. Its mission of sending works of art on tour to make them more accessible to people who live in smaller communities. The foundation assembled collections of Francisco de Goya etchings and William Hogarth engravings, and also amassed a collection of Italian Renaissance paintings and

105-465: A final project which is displayed in a museum exhibition and the top two students in the program win college scholarships. Education programs are central to Blaffer Art Museum's mission to serve as a resource for the study of art, art history and other related disciplines. By extending the educational and scholarly programs of the University to the community, the museum promotes learning as a continuous process, linking contemporary ideas and people. Through

126-531: A sea shell of the Murex snail in bright violet colour, and substantially enlarged in size. The colour refers to the colour of the alarm at oil rigs that flashes when it is about to explode. Al Qadiris sculpture acts as a warning signal for the current climate crisis. Another recurring theme is gender identity . In several of her performances, Al Qadiri can be found cross-dressing . She states that it acts as 'a vehicle for transformation and chameleon-ism'. An example

147-644: Is a Senegalese-born Kuwaiti visual artist, who is currently based in Berlin. Her work employs various media, including video, sculptures , installation art and performances . She's had several solo exhibitions, which include the Blaffer Art Museum in Houston, Haus der Kunst in Munich , and Sursock Museum in Beirut . Her works have also been part of group exhibitions in internationally renowned museums, including

168-1306: Is a reference to the English abbreviation of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an economic and political consortium of Arabian Gulf nations. In 2016 she started a residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam . Venues to have shown her work include the Blaffer Art Museum in Houston, Berlinische Gallerie , Haus der Kunst in Munich , Kunstverein Göttingen , Gasworks in London , Palais de Tokyo in Paris and MoMA PS1 in New York. The Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven and Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai have works of Al Qadiri in their permanent collection. Pearls and oil are recurring motifs in Al Qadiri's work. Her grandfather

189-610: Is dedicated to conducting original scholarship and research in contemporary art history. The museum frequently forges collaborative partnerships from among Houston's wealth of cultural organizations and educational institutions. Exhibition-related public programs and activities complement and elucidate each exhibition, from casual Brown Bag Lunch Tours to lively audience interaction during their "Contemporary Salons." Recent major exhibitions of artists include Radcliffe Bailey (2001); Fred Wilson : Objects & Installations, 1979-2000 (2003); Chuck Close (2003); Jessica Stockholder : Kissing

210-595: Is free to the public and attracts over 30,000 visitors annually. In 1988, Blaffer Gallery began a unique educational program for school children, UHReach. This program is now recognized nationally as an exemplary, multi-faceted outreach initiative. Blaffer has built intensive relationships with 18 elementary, middle and high schools in the neighborhoods surrounding the museum and UHReach serves schools from 24 area districts. Students from University of Houston and Texas Southern University are extensively trained and employed as docents for UHReach. They lead dialogue-based tours of

231-526: Is her performance Abu Athiyya (Father of Pain), in which Al Qadiri portrays the southern Iraqi singer Yas Khodhor . Her fascination for drag can be traced back to her youth in Kuwait, where women are housebound for safety reasons. She started to link being male to being powerful, and wanted to become like them. In her teen years, she would often have a buzz cut and wear fake moustaches. While she does not do drag anymore, her works are still filled with it. Also,

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252-669: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) established permanent display space for part of the Blaffer Foundation Collection. These are housed in five different galleries of MFAH’s Beck Building. In 1909, she married Robert Lee Blaffer , one of the co-founders of Humble Oil . The couple had four children, including arts patron Jane Blaffer Owen . Blaffer died in Houston on May 13, 1975. Monira Al Qadiri Monira Al Qadiri (born in Dakar , Senegal , 1983)

273-643: The 1991 Gulf War . Al Qadiri moved to Japan at age 16, where she studied for ten years. In 2010, she obtained her PhD in Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts, with a dissertation called 'The Aesthetics of Sadness in the Middle East'. In 2013 Al Qadiri founded the Gulf art collective GCC, together with her sister, Fatima Al Qadiri , Nanu Al Hamad , Khalid Al Gharaballi , Sophia Al Maria , Aziz Al Qatami , Barrak Alzaid , and Amal Khalaf. GCC

294-532: The Museum of Modern Art in New York and Palais de Tokyo in Paris . Recurring themes in Al Qadiri's work are petrostates and gender identity . Al Qadiri was born in Senegal, where her father was a diplomat. Her mother, Thuraya Al-Baqsami worked as an artist, and her older sister, Fatima Al Qadiri , would later become an artist and musician. In 1985, the family moved back to Kuwait, where they lived through

315-1228: The Wall, 1988-2003 (2004); Urs Fischer : Mary Poppins (2006); Amy Sillman (2007); Jean-Luc Mylayne (2007); Chantal Akerman : Moving Through Time and Space (2008); Existed: Leonardo Drew (2009); Jon Pylypchuk (2009); Josephine Meckseper (2009); Gabriel Kuri (2010); Tony Feher (2012); Andy Coolquitt (2013); Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art (2013); Zineb Sedira (2013); Candice Breitz (2014); Miguel Amat (2014); Mel Chin (2015); Janet Biggs (2015); Hubbard/Birchler (2015); Zina Saro-Wiwa (2015); Matthew Ronay (2016); Hilary Lloyd (2016); Slavs and Tatars : Mirrors for Princes (2016); Analia Saban (2017); Blake Rayne (2017); The Propeller Group (2017); Sergio Prego (2017); Anton Vidokle (2018); Richard Rezac (2018); Alfred Leslie (2018–19); Rebecca Morris (2019); Amie Siegel (2019); Paul Mpagi Sepuya (2019-20); Mariam Ghani (2020); Rodney McMillian (2020); Simon Fujiwara (2020); Stephanie Syjuco (2020); Martine Gutierrez (2021); Jamal Cyrus (2021); Molly Zuckerman-Hartung (2021); and Monira Al Qadiri (2022). Blaffer Art Museum

336-637: The art collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston . She inherited two fortunes based on oil money – one from her father's investments in Texaco , and the other from her husband's investments in Humble Oil . She was born on August 27, 1885, to William Thomas Campbell and his wife Sarah Turnbull in Waxahachie, Texas . William Thomas Campbell co-founded the Texas Company . She attended school at

357-705: The context of a major capital campaign for the museum's redesign. The newly-renovated museum facility designed by the New York-based firm Work Architecture Co. opened on October 12, 2012. The museum presents and originates between six and eight exhibitions annually. The annual schedule may include major traveling exhibitions that have a particular relevance to Houston audiences; mid-sized retrospectives of national and international artists; exhibitions of regional artists; thematic surveys which place artists' work into new contexts; student exhibitions; and special projects and performances by local artists. Blaffer Art Museum

378-762: The exhibitions and also visit school classrooms to conduct pre- and post-tour activities. In 1998 the Blaffer Gallery founded the Young Artists Apprenticeship Program (YAAP), which provides a free after-school arts program to at-risk and special needs high school students. It is a six-week, after-school workshop and provides an in-depth exploration of an artistic medium, such as printmaking or videography . Students work with Blaffer staff and University of Houston students to create art, study current exhibitions and take field trips to local museums and galleries. The program finishes with

399-514: The investment of the sale proceeds provides a portion of Blaffer Gallery's program budget. The Blaffer Art Museum has presented over 250 exhibitions. The current exhibition policy, adopted by the Advisory Board and University Regents in 1986, focuses upon art of the past 100 years and its artistic, cultural and intellectual antecedents. In 1999, the museum expanded. The museum created and hosts education and outreach programs. In 1988, UHReach

420-436: Was a singer on a pearl diving boat, which was Kuwaits main industry before the country became a petrostate . With her work, Al Qadiri tries to preserve collective memories in the risk of disappearing. In several works, Al Qadiri connects pearls to oil, as they both have the same iridescent colour. The work Spectrum I is an example of this. Another example of the petrostate motif is the sculpture Empire Dye (2018). It shows

441-540: Was founded and in 1998 Young Artists Apprenticeship Program (YAAP) was founded. The Blaffer Art Museum was honored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services on November 4, 2009 when first lady Michelle Obama awarded the museum with the Coming Up Taller Award. The award gives $ 10,000 to art programs that help underprivileged youth. In 2010, Blaffer Gallery was renamed to Blaffer Art Museum in

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