parties

With Custom Tapestries and Jeweled Archways, MFAH Transforms Into Indian Palace for Glam Gala

With Custom Tapestries and Jeweled Archways, MFAH Transforms Into Indian Palace for Glam Gala

Fay Zakhem, Rania Daniel, Donatella Benckenstein and Sima Ladjevardian (photo by Wilson Parish)

GALAS AT THE Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, are always a spectacle — but the 2023 Art of the Islamic Worlds Gala, which drew more than 300 guests to the Museum District campus, was especially dazzling.

Gala-goers began the evening in a red-carpet-lined tent before walking through a jeweled archway and into the MFAH's Cullinan Hall. Custom tapestries, painted to recall the City Palace of Jaipur, hung from the ceiling, while rose-gold linens and beautiful florals, courtesy of The Events Company, adorned the tables.

The night included a lively performance by FJK Dance and dinner — harissa- braised beef short rib, grilled sea bass slathered in saffron butter — catered by City Kitchen. Attendees also cast their vote for which art objects should be next acquired for the museum's permanent collection, and got a sneak peek of the new 6,000-square-foot Art of the Islamic Worlds gallery, named for Hossein Afshar. Exhibitions in this space will reflect the "breadth of historic Islamic lands, such as Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Egypt, Türkiye, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India."

Performance by FJK Dance (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Sophie Elhage, Lynn Tohme and Maya Fleyhan (photo by Wilson Parish)

Arshad and Shazma Matin (photo by Wilson Parish)

Bobby and Phoebe Tudor (photo by Wilson Parish)

Art of the Islamic Worlds Gala (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Shohreh Aghdashloo and Monsour Taghdisi (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Sabiha Rehtmatulla, Aziza Rehmatulla Noshani, Amina Malik, Zinat Ahmed and Sana Malik (photo by Wilson Parish)

Randall and Tiffany Wong (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Rabeea and Robert Collier (photo by Wilson Parish)

Jacey and Fanny Jetton with Naushad and Narmin Kermally (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Kathy and Marty Goossen (photo by Wilson Parish)

Nancy and Rich Kinder (photo by Wilson Parish)

Mary and Jack Dawson (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Majid and Mojdeh Jourabchi (photo by Wilson Parish)

Kent Lucas, Reginald DesRoches and Bobby Tudor (photo by Daniel Ortiz)

Nisreen Barazi and Nour Barazi (photo by Wilson Parish)

From Your Site Articles
promoted

Duos, Trios and Teams: ‘Next-Generation’ Mother-Daughter Leppert Duo Debuts

Al Torres
Duos, Trios and Teams: ‘Next-Generation’ Mother-Daughter Leppert Duo Debuts

Clare Leppert and Clementine, the Cavachon. Leigh Leppert and Benny, the Bernedoodle.

HOW DID YOU come together as a team? This fall, we are celebrating the introduction of an exciting real estate collaboration between Clare Leppert, longtime Houston Realtor®, and daughter Leigh Leppert. Clare shared a 20+ year real estate partnership with her mother, Bette Carpenter, until Bette’s death in 2016. Having worked solo for several years, Clare in 2021 was awarded Houston Business Journal’s No. 2 Luxury Realtor® in Houston. Leigh, who has been working in marketing for the past decade, has always shared a passion for real estate and watched Clare successfully balance family and career. We are excited to re-create the next generation of a mother-daughter duo at Compass!

Keep ReadingShow less
food

Crawfish Season Has Arrived. Here's Where to Get Crackin'!

Orleans Seafood (photo by Becca Wright)

FORGET MARCH MADNESS — mudbug madness has arrived. Fans think the little critters taste like baby lobsters, so they can’t gobble up enough. Here’s where to hit for the most badass boils in town.

Keep ReadingShow less
Food

Symphony, Sasha Cooke Sweep Listeners Off Their Feet — and Bring Them Back Down with 'Songs of the Earth'

Sasha Cooke (photo by Stephanie Girard)

THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY’S Songs of the Earth festival, a two-week series of concerts exploring the influence of Asian music on the Western canon and vice versa, begins this weekend.

Keep ReadingShow less