VICTOR ANCHETA

BIOGRAPHY

Victor Tomás Banzon Ancheta is a gay Filipino American multidisciplinary artist and writer. A storyteller at heart, he creates short stories and poetry, as well as visual works—installations, altars, sculptures, and paintings—that explore grief, the colonial past, post-colonial experiences, and cultural traditions. Through both words and art, he connects people, cultures, and communities.

Victor grew up in the Philippines before moving to Houston, Texas, where his foundation in the arts began at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). He continued his studies at the University of Houston–Downtown, focusing on Studio Art and Creative Writing, and served as general editor of The Bayou Review.

Victor works at the intersection of government communications and the arts. He oversees the Ceremonial Documents of the Houston Mayor’s Office of Communications, crafting proclamations, certificates, and letters of recognition that honor civic, cultural, and community achievements across the city. From 2021 to 2024, he also served as the community liaison for the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, where he curated exhibitions at Houston City Hall, managed the Houston Poet Laureate program in partnership with the Houston Public Library, and collaborated with Writers in the Schools on the Houston Youth Poet Laureate program. During this time, he also contributed to shaping policies for several of Houston’s cultural and arts initiatives.

A proud Filipino, Victor remains digitally connected to the Philippines. In 2006, together with Robby Villano Dela Vega, he founded Semana Santa Filipinas and Santos: Images of Faith—two online communities with thousands of members that helped spark a renaissance in Filipino ecclesiastical arts and renewed appreciation for the traditional craft of the Filipino Santero.

Beyond his professional and community work, Victor is a dedicated art collector. He gravitates toward antique Santos, folk art, and artworks with sincere, expressive qualities. His collection focuses on works by Indigenous artists and artists of color, particularly from Mexico, Latin America, and the Philippines.

Victor lives in Houston with his husband, their three black cats, and what he affectionately calls his “hoard of carved saints with missing limbs and accusatory faces.”

-

CURRICULUM VITAE

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2024

Empathy Unveiled, The Jung Center, Houston, TX

Second Time Around, Jamestown Arts Center, Jamestown, RI

2023

Lumikha Arts Showcase - We Are Rising, Pilipino American Unity for Progress at the Orange Show, Houston, TX

2022

30th Annual ArtCrawl at Hardy & Nance Studios, Hardy & Nance Studios, Houston, TX

2021

A New Landscape/ A Possible Horizon - Texas Biennial 2021, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX

Pintura, ATBP, Philippine Consulate General Houston & Filipinx Artists of Houston, Houston, TX

Lumikha Arts Showcase - We Are Growing, Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Houston, TX

2020

Solo Show: Los Refugiados: An Exhibition by Victor Ancheta, Multicultural Education & Counseling through the Arts (MECA), Houston, TX


Solo Show: Meditations on Loss: An Exhibition by Victor Ancheta, MECA at TBH Center, Houston, TX

Faces in Pandemic, Organized by the Houston Asian American Archive, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas

Lumikha Arts Showcase - We Have Begun, Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Houston, TX

2019

Solo Show: Los Refugiados: A Nativity Scene in Support of Latin American Refugees, Bering Memorial Church, Houston, TX

Imagenes de la Madre, MECA, Houston, TX


Araw ng mga Patay, Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park, CA

Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, Morbid Anatomy, Brooklyn, NY

SELECTED CURATORIAL WORK

2024

Grounded in Clay: Rooted in Community, Houston City Hall, June - September 2024; curated full exhibition featuring the ceramic works of Third Coast Clay Studio artists. The first installment in the “Feels like Home” series, the show explored what home and community meant to local ceramicists

2023

Escala, Houston City Hall, September - October 2023; curated full exhibition that was fifth in the Expressions! series with works by Salvadoran American artist, Darwin Arévalo

Garden Traces, Houston City Hall, April - May 202; curated full exhibition that featured the work of artist Naomi Kuo and showcased her ongoing research about Asian American home gardeners in the Greater Houston area

2022

Trans——fer, Houston City Hall, September - November 2022; as part of FotoFest Houston and as a tribute to immigrants, curated full exhibition that consisted of photographs and mementos of artist Veronica Gaona’s family

From Where the Son Rose: A Story of Immigration to the West, Houston City Hall, March - April 2022; curated full exhibition focusing on the work of Filipino American artist Anthony Pabillano

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2023

Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Works by Darwin Arévalo by Victor Ancheta for City of Houston

The Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs to Showcase the Works of Queer Latinx Creatives in City Hall by Victor Ancheta for City of Houston

Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs Announces Its Third Exhibition in the Expressions! Series with "Garden Traces” by Victor Ancheta for City of Houston

MOCA Opens 2nd Exhibition in the Expressions! Series with Poet Laureate Emeritus of Houston, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton by Victor Ancheta for City of Houston

MOCA Opens 2023 Exhibition Series, Expressions! With a High-Tech Exhibit to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month by Victor Ancheta for City of Houston

2022

MOCA Concludes 2022 Exhibition Series, Putting Down Roots: A Series of Exhibitions on Art and Immigration by Victor Ancheta for City of Houston

2020

Faces in the Pandemic by Lillian Hoang for Outsmart Magazine


Faces in the Pandemic by Maggie Galehouse for TMC News


Local Asian American artists respond to the pandemic in new Fondren exhibit by Josie Garza for The Rice Thresher