A Library Dedicated Exclusively to Black Art and Culture

Based in Houston, Texas, The Reading Room also hosts a variety of free cultural and educational programs, including artist talks, film screenings, listening sessions, teach-ins, workshops, salons, and more. Each program is inspired by a book in the library’s collection. This is how we do it, fam.

From Brittany Britto Garley at Houstonia Magazine:

"The first art book Amarie Gipson ever bought came from the gift shop at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston following an exhibit by Trenton Doyle Hancock, one of Houston’s most prominent Black artists. 

She was 18, standing at the edge of a world she didn’t yet know how to enter. 'All the questions started flooding me, like, How did this happen? Who’s in charge? …How does something like this come together?' she remembers thinking. 'That moment was key.'

Since that first purchase, Gipson has collected more than 800 books depicting Black art, culture, joy, and life—books that anchor her reference library, The Reading Room HTX. Nestled in Downtown’s Sanman Studios, the library is filled with striking volumes focused on..." Read more HERE.