Open MFA is an artist collective that provides community, dialogue, and cross-disciplinary collaboration for artists based in the Houston area. The artist-run organization is shaped by everyone who takes part—participation is free and open to artists of any discipline.

Open MFA provides accessibility to arts education by creating space for community and collaboration amongst artists on the periphery of Houston’s art scene. Inspired by desirable elements of a traditional MFA program, we create opportunities for artists to share knowledge and skills, explore new ideas within their individual practice, and gain intellectual and social exchanges between each other and the broader public. We invite artists, who may otherwise take on student debt to pursue an MFA program, to challenge their work and have meaningful conversations with a community of artists. We are a resource for artists to continue their education—whether they already have a University degree, intend to pursue one in the future, or want to pursue an alternative route.