The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Kinders have been longtime major supporters of the renowned Museum of Fine Arts, Houston supporting exhibitions and special projects. Rich Kinder serves as chair of the board of trustees and as a life trustee.

Nancy and Rich Kinder Building from above; Photo by Peter Molick, Thomas Kirk III
Street-level gallery in the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building; Photo by Peter Molick
In October 2015, the museum broke ground on the campus and the new Glassell School of Art opened to the public in May 2018.

Campus Redevelopment

In 2015, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston unveiled plans for the redevelopment of its 14-acre campus, including a unifying master plan; a new building for 20th- and 21st-century art; a new home for the Glassell School of Art; and a new center for conservation. The project would transform both the museum and the surrounding neighborhood to be the region’s cultural hub.

The foundation committed a principal grant of $50 million, and in 2018, announced an additional $25 million challenge grant to complete the capital campaign goal of $450 million.

On November 21, 2020, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opened the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building to the public, inaugurating Houston’s newest cultural landmark and marking the completion of  the decade-long expansion and enhancement of the Museum’s Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus.

The third gallery building of the MFAH, dedicated for the display of the Museum’s outstanding and fast-growing international collections of modern and contemporary art, the 237,000-square-foot Kinder Building was designed by Steven Holl, Principal and Lead Designer of Steven Holl Architects.

The redevelopment of the Sarofim Campus and off-site art-storage facilities has been the largest cultural project in North America, with some 650,000 square feet of new construction. Steven Holl Architects designed the master plan for the redevelopment, along with the Kinder Building and a new home for the Glassell School of Art. Lake|Flato Architects designed the new Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation. Both the school and the conservation center opened in 2018.

Read about the campus redevelopment.

mfah.org

“This is the most exciting single project in the history of the Museum, not only marking the completion of the campus but also the Museum for years to come.”
—Rich Kinder

Kinder Foundation Education Center

In keeping with the Kinder’s desire to strengthen resources for educators, the foundation pledged $2 million in 2000 to help re-launch the former Teacher Resource Center at the Museum. Today, the Kinder Foundation Education Center is the MFAH education department’s hub for all interpretive resources and materials and serves as the main source of information on the museum’s collection for the public.

The KFEC offers resources and Learning Through Art Workshops for teachers.
Adults, families, students and teachers are invited to browse the KFEC library and chat with staff members about what to see in the galleries during a visit to the MFAH.

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