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When I met him for the first time, I was in my twenties—an international student from Japan, studying art in Houston, Texas, where I had no relations. At that time, I had a big dream, like “meeting all the people in the world,” or “seeing the bigger world,” and I was quite enthusiastic about challenging whatever interested me. One day, my art teacher, Joanne Brigham, took the class to a private museum about five minutes from the school on foot. I hadn’t noticed there was a museum at such a close distance until then, probably because it didn’t look like a typical museum. As soon as I entered, I was shocked since the exhibition content was very bloody and looked like scenes after mysterious rituals, but at the same time I was very fascinated by neatly displayed works of art such as ceremonial objects, paintings, photographs, and videos. When I looked around the exhibition and came back to the entrance area, I sat down on a bench to digest what I had jus
James Harithas’s twinkling eyes and broad smile drove his desire to enlist Art as a vehicle for truth and social justice. With curatorial talent he fearlessly enlisted incredible artists to exhibit at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art. Through this venue, Jim promoted artists that corporate funded museums could not. The community was invited to exciting openings with titles like Portrait of a Corporate Crime, Crude, Red Fall, Torture, or Hermann Nitsch: The Orgies. For inspiration, I would take my students on field trips to those exhibitions.
James Harithas was a visionary museum director and curator whose passion for art and culture enriched countless lives in the cultural landscape. With profound sadness, we remember a person whose dedication and innovation transformed our understanding of creativity and its profound impact on society. It should be noted that he along with his partner Ann Harithas, together, constituted a formidable force in the Houston arts scene whose legacy continues to resonate deeply.