About the Programs & Activities

Gallery Talks
During monthly Gallery Talks, Museum curators, conservators, and librarians highlight a great work of art in Rienzi’s collection. Gallery Talks are held at 1 pm on the third Thursday of every month beginning on Thursday, October 15, and are free with general Rienzi admission. Please visit www.mfah.org/rienzi for more details.

Book Club
Discover good books and enjoy great conversations by participating in the Museum’s book club inspired by history. Every other month, MFAH house museums Rienzi and Bayou Bend host free discussions, focusing on books about life and culture in America and Europe in the 1700s and 1800s. Meetings alternate between Bayou Bend and Rienzi.

Houston Grand Opera Studio Recitals
Rienzi continues its collaboration with Houston Grand Opera Studio artists this fall. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience the exceptional talent of up-and-coming artists through evening recitals held in Rienzi’s intimate gallery. A wine and dessert reception follows each performance. Admission is $40 per person, and includes valet parking. Late seating ends 10 minutes after the performance begins. Thursday, November 12, 2015, at 7:30 pm Sunday, November 15, 2015, at 5 pm

Sketching and Photography in the Gardens
Sketching every Wednesday afternoon, 1:30–4:30 pm
During open sketching hours, visitors can draw from Rienzi’s selection of 18th-century decorative-art objects in Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. Open to all ages and skill levels. Free with general Rienzi admission.

Photography every Sunday afternoon, 1–4:30 pm
On Sunday afternoons, visitors are encouraged to visit Rienzi’s gardens and capture the oasis-in-the-city beauty of its flowers, lush green spaces, and architectural details from behind the lens. Amateur photography only. Share your photos using #rienzigardens. Admission to the gardens is free.

Exhibition: Á La Mode: Fashioning European Silver, 1670–1825
On view Saturday, October 10, 2015, through Sunday, February 14, 2016
For centuries, silver was one of the most popular expressions of style and taste, with its universal appeal and powerful hold on the imagination making it a necessary luxury. Silver was designed for almost every occasion, from everyday drinking and dining to commemorating christenings and weddings. Drawing from the rich collections of the MFAH, Rienzi, and two private collections in Houston, this exhibition will explore the social life of silver, examining how prevailing attitudes and changes in fashion determined the form and function of objects, and how people thought about and utilized silver.

Related Links

Learn more here.