Houston Community News >> Bayou City Art Festival
1/28/2008 Houston – Spring is in the air
and the art when the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park unfolds
Friday, March 28 through Sunday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nestled
amidst the towering Texas pines, the Festival’s more than 300 visual and
performing artists -- from around the corner and around the world --
will transform the park’s meandering trails into an outdoor art gallery
blooming with juried art and multi-cultural music and dance. Bayou City
Art Festival Memorial Park festival was ranked #3 in Sunshine Artist
Magazine’s 2006 “200 Best” Festivals, a list of the top-selling art
festival events in the country voted by the artists themselves.
Spring 2008 Festival’s featured artist Bruce Holwerda will highlight the field of artists with his painting, “In the Fast Lane,” which blends fine art with illustrative cartooning. The piece projects a high-energy, theatrical ‘anti-clown’ figure, who, with mouth ajar and arms thrust forward, is propelled through the air on a flying orb. “It’s fantasy art,” says Holwerda, who paints a combination of all the things he’s learned and liked in his life.
Of the 300 visual artists, two-thirds will be returning to the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park and one-third will be first-time participants. Showcasing works representing 19 media formats, Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park covers the gamut, including clay, drawing/pastel, fiber/textiles, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor and wood.
To engage budding artists, the Festival sponsors an Emerging Artists program encouraging area high school students to create and exhibit their installation art in the park. Younger children will enjoy the on-site Creative Zone, an interactive area designed for children and families to explore the fun of art such as mask making, face painting, mini art car building, painted rock art and wax hand sculptures. All proceeds of donations made in the Creative Zone are divided equally among the Festival’s participating non-profit partners.
Cadillac’s Broadway Across America Houston Broadway Café will feature a pianist playing pieces from the upcoming musical theater season, including the “Sweeney Todd” and “The Wedding Singer.” The Houston Arts Alliance produces the performing arts stage with ongoing multi-cultural musical and dance entertainment. With the park setting as its stage, CORE Performance Company’s costumed dancers will perform a world premiere performance art amidst the pines. There also is a wide range of international food and beer and wine cafes and a variety of beverages and snacks.
The City of Houston, Budweiser Select, Houston Parks & Recreation Department, and KTRK-TV are the Festival sponsors. The Festival is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
Over the past 37 years, the Art Colony Association, the 501c(3) organization that produces the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park and Bayou City Art Festival Downtown, has raised more than $2.4 million for local non-profit organizations. The 2008 Non-Profit Partners are: Art League Houston, Bering Omega Community Service, DiverseWorks Art Space, Downtown YMCA, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Lawndale Art Center, Memorial Park Conservancy, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, Several Dancers Core, SPARK School Park Program, Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) and Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA). They will receive a percentage of Art Festival net proceeds.
Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 12 and under.
There is no public parking in Memorial Park. The Festival provides free shuttle service 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. to and from Memorial Park on Friday from Northwest Mall on Hwy. 290; and on Saturday and Sunday from Northwest Mall and Downtown: Memorial Drive at Rusk, Rusk at Smith and Smith at Capitol.
For schedules and further information check www.bayoucityartfestival.com or call (713) 521-0133.
Spring 2008 Festival’s featured artist Bruce Holwerda will highlight the field of artists with his painting, “In the Fast Lane,” which blends fine art with illustrative cartooning. The piece projects a high-energy, theatrical ‘anti-clown’ figure, who, with mouth ajar and arms thrust forward, is propelled through the air on a flying orb. “It’s fantasy art,” says Holwerda, who paints a combination of all the things he’s learned and liked in his life.
Of the 300 visual artists, two-thirds will be returning to the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park and one-third will be first-time participants. Showcasing works representing 19 media formats, Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park covers the gamut, including clay, drawing/pastel, fiber/textiles, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor and wood.
To engage budding artists, the Festival sponsors an Emerging Artists program encouraging area high school students to create and exhibit their installation art in the park. Younger children will enjoy the on-site Creative Zone, an interactive area designed for children and families to explore the fun of art such as mask making, face painting, mini art car building, painted rock art and wax hand sculptures. All proceeds of donations made in the Creative Zone are divided equally among the Festival’s participating non-profit partners.
Cadillac’s Broadway Across America Houston Broadway Café will feature a pianist playing pieces from the upcoming musical theater season, including the “Sweeney Todd” and “The Wedding Singer.” The Houston Arts Alliance produces the performing arts stage with ongoing multi-cultural musical and dance entertainment. With the park setting as its stage, CORE Performance Company’s costumed dancers will perform a world premiere performance art amidst the pines. There also is a wide range of international food and beer and wine cafes and a variety of beverages and snacks.
The City of Houston, Budweiser Select, Houston Parks & Recreation Department, and KTRK-TV are the Festival sponsors. The Festival is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
Over the past 37 years, the Art Colony Association, the 501c(3) organization that produces the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park and Bayou City Art Festival Downtown, has raised more than $2.4 million for local non-profit organizations. The 2008 Non-Profit Partners are: Art League Houston, Bering Omega Community Service, DiverseWorks Art Space, Downtown YMCA, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Lawndale Art Center, Memorial Park Conservancy, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, Several Dancers Core, SPARK School Park Program, Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) and Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA). They will receive a percentage of Art Festival net proceeds.
Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 12 and under.
There is no public parking in Memorial Park. The Festival provides free shuttle service 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. to and from Memorial Park on Friday from Northwest Mall on Hwy. 290; and on Saturday and Sunday from Northwest Mall and Downtown: Memorial Drive at Rusk, Rusk at Smith and Smith at Capitol.
For schedules and further information check www.bayoucityartfestival.com or call (713) 521-0133.