The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

Join us for a conversation about visionary art with Pete Gershon, Curator of Programs at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, and Edouard Kopp, John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator of the Menil Drawing Institute. Held in conjunction with the Menil Drawing Institute’s exhibition, Joseph E. Yoakum: What I Saw, Gershon and Kopp consider the parallels between self-taught artists Yoakum and Jeff McKissick, founder of the Orange Show, a folk-art environment located in Houston’s East End.

This program takes place in the Menil Drawing Institute, located at 1412 W. Main Street. Additional information regarding accessibility and parking can be found here.

As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.

Pete Gershon is a writer, researcher, art historian, and Curator of Programs at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. He is the author of Painting the Town Orange: The Stories Behind Houston’s Visionary Art Environments (History Press, 2014) and Collision: The Contemporary Art Scene in Houston, 1972–1985 (Texas A&M University Press, 2018), winner of the Texas State Historical Association’s Ron Tyler Award for Best Illustrated Book on Texas History and Culture. His latest book is Impractical Spaces: Houston (Impractical Spaces, 2022) a collection of archival photography and first-hand accounts from founders documenting the histories of artist-run spaces in the city.

Edouard Kopp, PhD, is the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator of the Menil Drawing Institute. He is responsible for the drawing collection at the Menil and also for the Drawing Institute’s programming, research, educational outreach, and administration. His recent exhibition projects include Joseph E. Yoakum: What I Saw (2022), Silent Revolutions: Italian Drawings from the Twentieth Century (2020–21), and Jean-Jacques Lequeu: Visionary Architect (2019–20).