A new public art installation is about to turn three windows at Rice University's Fondren Library into something resembling stained glass, and it draws its imagery straight from one of the campus's stranger research holdings: a collection of more than one million documents and recordings on UFO sightings, alien encounters, and unexplained aerial phenomena. The piece, titled Entangled Portals, is the work of artist Sharmistha Ray and marks the newest installment of the Moody Center for the Arts' long-running Platform series.
Ray's installation consists of a vinyl design across three windows at the library's east entrance, built to evoke stained glass, according to the Rice University Moody Center for the Arts. The piece was directly inspired by her research into Rice's Archives of the Impossible, the same Fondren Library collection of UFO and alien-encounter materials, which was founded by religious studies professor Jeffrey J. Kripal. As reported by CultureMap Houston, the Moody Center will celebrate the opening of the new work with a free public reception.
That free reception is scheduled for Thursday, October 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Fondren Library's east entrance, per the Moody Center. The evening will include live performances followed by remarks from the artists, and then a reception, according to the same institutional account.
A Houston Dancer and a Local Vocalist Take the Stage
The opening night lineup includes a performance by dancer Jasmine Hearn, a Houston native now based in New York. Hearn was named one of Dance Magazine's “25 to Watch” for 2025 and has earned two NY Dance and Performance Bessie Awards, along with a Creative Capital Award and a Rome Prize, per the Moody Center for the Arts.
Joining her is Jhon R. Stronks, a Houston-based vocalist, whose performance is also part of the evening's program, per CultureMap Houston. Following the performances, the artists will provide comments, the outlet notes, before the night winds down into the reception itself.
Backing From Rice's Religion and Gender Studies Programs
The performance and reception are co-sponsored by Rice University's Department of Religion, Fondren Library, and the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, according to the Moody Center for the Arts. That interdisciplinary backing reflects how the project bridges visual art with religious studies and gender research, the same account notes.
Ray herself brings a substantial academic pedigree to the project. She serves as the Estella Loomis McCandless Assistant Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University and holds a dual MFA in painting and MS in art history and theory from Pratt Institute, according to Carnegie Mellon University's School of Art. Her practice spans painting, drawing, installation, and public art.
A Track Record of High-Profile Public Art
Ray is no stranger to large-scale public commissions. In 2021, she co-founded the spiritualist feminist art collective Hilma's Ghost, which completed a 600-square-foot glass mosaic public installation titled Abstract Futures at Grand Central Terminal in New York City in April 2025, according to Shiftworks Community + Public Arts. That collective's work bridges abstraction, esoteric themes, and public transit spaces, per the same source.
Entangled Portals joins a series with its own history at Rice. The Moody Center launched its Platform series in October 2017 to bring temporary, site-specific public art projects to campus locations that respond to the university's architecture and academic research, with the inaugural project created by artist Jarrod Beck, according to the Moody Center for the Arts. The Moody Center itself opened in February 2017 as a $30 million, 50,000-square-foot interdisciplinary arts facility designed by Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan, featuring exhibition space, a black box theater, and maker labs, per Visit Houston.
The Archive Behind the Art Is Also Headed to TV
The Archives of the Impossible that inspired Ray's work are getting national attention well beyond campus. The collection is the subject of a six-part documentary series, Archive X: Unexplained Phenomena, premiering on SundanceTV and AMC+ in October, according to Rice University News. Much of the documentary was filmed inside Fondren Library's Woodson Research Center, the university reports.
Admission to the Entangled Portals opening reception is free, and the event takes place at the Rice University Moody Center for the Arts, located at 6100 Main Street in Houston. Organizers note that weather or other concerns may cause changes to the event schedule, and attendees are advised to check with the venue to confirm the event is proceeding as planned.
