This week in Houston, there’s a whole soup of sounds, stitching, and spectacles. Whether you want to drift into some free-form experimental music, lose yourself in craft, or let your mind drift into the void until it returns expanded so vastly by the cosmos that your day-to-day seems like the smallest particle in the tapestry of the universe, you’ve got it. There’s Peruvian poetry, daydream-inducing installations, and even a whole art fair crash-landing in downtown Houston.

Wowee, this Hidden Agenda is Jam-Packed with flavor.

Monday, 9/15

They, Who Sound | 7:30 PM

Lawndale Art Center | 4912 Main St

They, Who Sound returns for a new season this Monday, kicking things off once again at Lawndale Art Center. They have several ensembles for this iteration, with performers including Juan Garcia, James Murphy, Ivette Róman-Roberto, Ryan Edwards, Rachel Hulsey, and Masumi Kataoka. TWS is always free, but these free events need support, which you can provide to Nameless Sound.

Tuesday, 9/16

Stitch & Bitch Crafting Night | 6:00 PM
Brazos Bookstore | 2421 Bissonnet St

Brazos Bookstore is partnering with local yarn provider Scout and Skein to host an open crafting night. Whether you want to participate in the fiber arts or bring your own, join a growing community of makers and grab a new read while you’re there.

Wednesday, 9/17

Wednesday night we make sweet, weekly love. (I didn’t see any events for Wednesday, sorry.)

Thursday, 9/18

Collage Workshop with STAR Studio | 3:00 PM

Project Row Houses | 2521 Holman St

Is that crafting itch not yet scratched? Project Row Houses with working with STAR Studio to help folks unlock their creativity with a collage workshop, materials provided on site. All ages are welcome, and all you need to bring is your imagination, so yeehaw for that.

Opening Reception: Rapt in Wonder and Surface | 6:15 PM

Houston Center for Photography | 1441 West Alabama St

HCP is opening two new exhibitions this Thursday featuring artistic environmental interventions. Rapt in Wonder exhibits the work of River Claure, Jason DeMarte, Adam Ekberg, Julianna Foster, Xuan-Hui Ng, and Thomas Jackson while Surface is a solo exhibition by Houston-based photographer Alejandra Regalado.

“Facts and Fantasy: Illustrations of the Natural World” | 6:00 PM
MFAH Hirsch Library Reading Room, lower level of the Beck Building | 5601 Main St

Nature nerds assemble for a discussion with Hirsch librarian Rebekah Boulton on book illustrations that feature a blend of realism and fantasy to showcase the creative aspect of human investigation and nature illustration from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Falling on a Thursday, this event requires no admission what with their free Thursdays.

Friday, 9/19

Opening Reception for Off the Wall: Yifan Jiang | 5:00 PM

Moody Center for the Arts - Brochstein Pavilion

Moody Center for the Arts presents the latest iteration in their Off the Wall series, which contrary to popular belief is not a collaboration with Vans. The latest site-specific installation is by artist Yifan Jiang, titled Cafeteria in reference to her frequent visits to the pavilion as she audited classes during her stay in Houston as a Core Fellow.

Of the installation, Jiang said “I wanted to show how easy it is to drift into a daydream. Sleep-deprived. Before your coffee. After a heavy lunch. Staring off, zoning out. And then you see something in a place you’ve seen hundred times before; a sun-bleached wallpaper of bread on a cafe wall. But this time, something’s off.”

Opening: Spectral Field | 6:00 PM

DiverseWorks – Gallery @ MATCH | 3400 Main St

Join DiverseWorks for the unveiling of a newly commissioned plasma sculpture installation by artist Anahita (Ani) Bradberry. Spectral Field is the artist’s investigation of the mindset necessary to comprehend and the unfathomable scale of the universe, and the interconnectedness of particles, displacement, time, and loss. The installation is both environmental and psychological, offering visitors an opportunity to commune with the most ineffable aspects of existence. Sounds neat!

Escritores en la Casa: Mariela Dreyfus | 7:30 PM
Inprint House | 1520 W Main St

Inprint welcomes acclaimed Peruvian poet and professor Mariela Dreyfus to Inprint House for a presentation of her new book, Gravedad: Poemas Reunidos. After her reading, Dreyfus will join writer Raquel Abend for a conversation about the collection. This event is part of the Inprint Escritores en la Casa series.

Saturday, September 20

Opening: love | 3:00 PM
Seven Sisters | 805 Rhode Pl

Roll through Seven Sisters for their first presentation of LA-based painter Allison Miller in her exhibition love. The exhibition features a new body of works blending visual language and improvisation presented in dialogue with the architecture of the space.

Lecture: Roberto Lugo | 4:00 PM

Glassell School of Art | 5101 Montrose Blvd

In conjunction with the recently opened exhibition Pigeon Crib: Houston Edition, artist Roberto Lugo will deliver the 2025 Booker-Lowe Lecture over at the Glassell School of Art. The two-part event includes a demonstration by the artist before he delivers the lecture, a great opportunity for viewers to see an artist at work while learning about his approach to ceramics.

God’s Waterslife | 6:00 PM

Cody’s Dad’s House | 2375 Bolsover

Carrie Cook presents a body of work that ranges from 2017 to new works created on site. The exhibition considers the many ways in which we attempt to find meaning.

Be careful where you park, though, because the last Cody Showdy became a Cody Tow-dy. This time you can email Cody your license plate # to get some sort of permit, so hit him up ahead of time at codyledvina@gmail.com.

Myth and Logic | 10:00 PM
Art Club at POST Houston | 401 Franklin St

Jawwaad Taylor lands at Art Club for a night of sound and vibration as he blends hip hop, jazz, indie, and various other grooves. Swing on through for what’s sure to be a dope time with his experimental performance.

The Untitled Elephant in the Room

The weekend of 9/19-21 also marks the first iteration of Untitled Art Fairs’ venture into Houston. The fair will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center with a VIP and Press Preview will be held on September 18, 2025. A whole mess of local art nonprofits are presenting there alongside the invited galleries, so if art fairs are your thing, it’s sure to be a hoot.

You’ll see Houston staples like Inman Gallery present works by Jamal Cyrus and Francesca Fuchs as well as places you’ve perhaps never heard of before bringing new artists into the ecosystem.

You can get tickets here, but there are probably free tickets out there somewhere.

*This is not sponsored, and I personally don’t care whether you go, but spaces and people I like will have work there, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cosmic Something Or Other