Sustainability coach Rute Collaborative and Senior Curator Rebecca Matalon and her team began by focusing on the materials to be used for the exhibition Mary Ellen Carroll: How To Talk Dirty and Influence People. This included the scaffolding that would make up the actual display armature; what substrates could be used to hang materials from on the scaffolding; and identifying art shippers with electric vehicle fleets to transport the works from New York to Houston—all of which were successfully implemented. After shifting focus to the organization itself, Rute helped museum staff develop an ongoing plan to communicate capital improvements and existing sustainability work internally to staff in a clear and consistent way. Rute also worked with CAMH leadership to incorporate sustainability considerations into DEAI frameworks and policies.
Since the opening of CAMH’s Gunnar Birkerts-designed building in 1972, extreme weather–which continues to increase in severity and frequency in the Gulf Coast region–has necessitated building redesign, systems improvements, and an emergency response plan to ensure on-site monitoring during major events. Houston experienced two combined wind and rain events in 2024 alone: a Derecho wind storm in May and Hurricane Beryl in July. In both cases, key facilities at CAMH were left non-operational, and repairs could not be made efficiently due to a backlog of requests for emergency services. CAMH decided to use the Teiger climate funds for a facilities assessment: a study of existing architectural, structural, and mechanical building systems that proposes improvements to maximize efficiency; reduce energy use, water consumption, and carbon emissions; provide a safe and comfortable environment for CAMH’s staff and visitors; and protect against extreme weather events. With a planned expansion in future years, information from the assessment will be integrated into a comprehensive campus master plan.