Museum of Asian Texans Opens with Exhibitions on Heritage as Living Practice

Key facts

• Museum of Asian Texans (MAT) opened in September 2025.
• Co-founder Stephanie Drenka says many Asian Americans have internalized invisibility.
• MAT's first four exhibitions: 'Untitled Homeland', 'Transient Recollections', 'Offerings', 'Taste in Memory'.
• 'Untitled Homeland' curated by Kyla Gaganam, on view October 17–November 15, 2025.
• Harini Nilankantan fuses Bharatanatyam with waacking and hip-hop.
• Ravi and Mohana Kodimela draw from Telegu artist Bapu Bommalu.
• Kyla Gaganam uses chai-stained paper and documents family tea recipes.
• Matthew Jones is Japanese-American and Ohioan, not culturally Texan or Asian.
• Jones' grandmother married an American soldier and stopped teaching Japanese.
• Jones' 'Castaways' depicts pollution at Trinity River Audubon Center.
• 'Transient Recollections' on view September 5–October 5, 2025.
• Christina Hanh's 'Offerings' on view February 7–March 1, 2026.
• Hanh examines child sacrifice through Confucianism and Christianity.
• Jack Hein is a refugee from Myanmar who moved to Malaysia at age 8.
• Hein's 'Taste in Memory' on view March 14–April 5, 2026.
• Hein uses unglazed porcelain to invite viewers to project their own memories.
• Drenka: 'Art is something tangible that can interpret our experiences.'