Art in Context: Art, Architecture, and the Middle Landscape is the latest in a series of symposia presented by The Chinati Foundation. Since 1995, Chinati has organized six symposia — each one focused on a particular aspect of the museum’s mission or collection and documented in an accompanying publication that includes essays and edited transcriptions of conversations. Art in Context is organized by Troy Schaum, associate professor at The Rice School of Architecture and principal at Schaum Architects; Caitlin Murray, Executive Director of The Chinati Foundation; and Stephen Martin, Director of Preservation and Planning at The Chinati Foundation. It investigates art and architecture practices in socially, politically, and ecologically turbulent times, while imagining productive and sustainable futures of maintenance and repair, adaptive reuse, and environmental conservation.

The symposium takes place in two parts: first in Marfa (from April 4 to 6, 2025) and then in Houston (November 14 to 15, 2025). Part I will explore the relationship between art, architecture, and land at Chinati by focusing on one of the most significant examples of their integration: the former artillery sheds that house Donald Judd’s 100 untitled works in mill aluminum. Considering both the history of the buildings and their broader influence on museum architecture, Part I will focus on current efforts to restore the structures, preserve Judd’s architectural interventions, protect the art, and care for the surrounding landscape. The speaker roster includes Carme Pigem, Tatiana Bilbao, Alberto Kalach, Rosetta Elkin and Fabiola López-Duran.