Leaving the Station
The Station Museum announced on November 1 that it is closing. Here is their announcement that was put up on Instagram:
Dear Friends of Station Museum of Contemporary Art,
Station co-founders Ann and James Harithas have had a tremendous influence on art in Houston and Texas and beyond. Station Museum of Contemporary Art has hosted some of the most progressive and revolutionary exhibitions in Houston during its two-plus decades of operation. Those exhibitions have reflected and honored the diversity of our community, while addressing the larger socio-economic issues that affect us all.
We have had many questions about what's next for Station Museum. As most of you know, we have recently just finished exhibiting Clark V. Fox: Subversion and Spectacle.
Going forward, Station Museum of Contemporary Art will be on a hiatus from public exhibitions and programming until further notice.
We are grateful for the support of the community that we have been a part of through the years. It is through the participation of artists, performers, and especially our visitors that we have been able to foster dialogue, expression, and activism for a better world, and we thank you all.
We will communicate further information as it becomes available. In the meantime, please visit our website for updates.
With thanks,
The Staff of Station Museum of Contemporary Art
Unlike most of the other museums in Houston, the Station Museum was privately owned. Owned by Ann and James Harithas. According to HCAD, the property is owned by AWH REAL ESTATE LLC, which is itself owned by Ann W. Harithas in Victoria, where she was living. “Was” because Ann Harithas died in 2021. I’ve heard that James Harithas’ health is not so good. This is sheer speculation, but Ann’s death may have made him decide it was time to lighten his burden.
This closing makes me wonder if it is easier for a privately help operation like the Station Museum to dissolve itself than a non-profit organization. Of course, non-profits go bankrupt all the time, but the ownership of a non-profit has its own set of rules that are different from private property. A non-profit has a Board of Directors that has to make such decisions. James Harithas could just wake up one day and say to himself, “Enough’s enough” without having to consult anyone else.
I’ve been going to the Station Museum since I started this blog. In fact, one of my first posts about a visit to an art space was about the Station Museum’s exhibit of a beautiful installation by Peruvian artist Carlos Runcie Tanaka. A beautiful, poetic installation that affected me strongly. I’ve written occasionally about art at the Station over the years.
Hearing this news wasn’t a shock, but it was sad. To celebrate the passing of this part of Houston’s art history, I walked over there this morning to take some photos.
This is the view from Retrospect coffee, just north of the Station. Retrospect is located in an old gas station building that for several years acted as an outpost for some Station exhibits.
This is the front of the building seen from across La Branch.
This art object has been at the Station since I started going there. I’m told it is by Sal Scarpitta, but that’s all I know. I know that when I saw it, I knew I was in the presence of art.
Other artworks on the outside of the Station have come and gone over the years. They tend to reflect the Station’s commitment to political artwork.
This image seems eerily apropos for a time when Americans may be about to willingly give up living in a democracy.
But not every artwork is politcal. I think it would be hard to assign a political meaning to Scarpitta’s work, and over the front door is a black relief sculpture by George Smith, who attempted to teach me sculpture at Rice university many decades ago.
Raise a toast to the Station Museum!
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