Houston’s Rising Art Scene and How You Can Be a Part of It
Photo credit to Patricia Ortiz, houstonpublicmedia.org
When thinking of Houston, the mind often jumps first to NASA, the energy sector, and the city’s thriving medical industry. Perhaps the most internationally known aspect of the city is the phrase ‘Houston, we have a problem’. Often overlooked, however, is the art scene intrinsically intertwined with the city’s diverse culture. Artists, performing artists, gallerists, curators, collectors, art consultants, and arts enthusiasts alike call Houston home. Areas like the Museum District, Arts District, and the Third and Fifth Wards carry an expansive art history. Project Row Houses, a project in the Third Ward founded in 1993, has been called “the most impressive and visionary public art project in the country” by the New York Times. The Sawyer Yards campus spans several blocks of the Arts District, providing studio and exhibition space to over 400 local artists. The city also boasts more than 70 galleries, making the city an art market hub rivaling the level of New York or London, according to Bill Arning, former director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston from 2009 through 2018.
While the Houston art scene might not have been top of mind in the past, big names in the art world like Christie’s and Hyperallergic have certainly taken notice. In a 2022 Hyperallergic article titled “A History of Houston’s Creative Terrain,” writer Kealey Boyd discusses the history of artist-run spaces in Houston following the publication of an anthology “Impractical Spaces: Houston” by Houstonarthistory.com, a project by researcher Pete Gershon. Boyd highlights the phenomena of “every generation [telling] the next one their city’s art scene used to be great,” an idea examined in Gershon’s book that chronicles the city’s art community since 1947. Boyd then challenges this idea, asking how could “anyone judge this kind of decline when art spaces, especially artist-run spaces, are often ephemeral?” Gershon’s book looks to preserve the ephemeral history of Houston’s art scene and highlight the vibrant communities and histories that Houston artists come from and work within.
A travel guide-style article published in 2018 by Christie’s titled “Art Cities: How Houston became a hotbed of contemporary art” showcases some of the venues, institutions, and neighborhoods that are pillars of the city’s contemporary art scene, before announcing the auction house’s own Houston projects planned for the year. Jessica Phifer, Associate Vice President of Christie’s in the Southwest US, reflects on Houston as a city that “defies categorization and boundaries,” acknowledging the “robust legacy here of celebrating the ‘outsider’ or visionary artist.” Consistently ranking as one of the most diverse cities in the United States, Houston celebrates its people. Houstonians know how to enjoy the simple things in life, whether that’s meeting up with friends on the weekend to try a new cuisine or passing time with family in the city’s public parks. But they also know how to take care of one another, coming together in times of need and being ‘Houston Strong’. This celebration of life is easy to see in the city’s art scene, where art ranges anywhere from outdoor sculpture to the readymade, photography to mixed media painting, public murals to art cars.
Creating art cars is a practice that began in the 1960s, only becoming a recognized art community in the 1990s. Art cars typically have modified exteriors and are made from old or second hand vehicles. Art car artists - also known as ‘cartists’ - follow no rules when creating an art car, with some ‘cartists’ adding painted designs, attaching found objects, or sculpting directly onto the vehicle. Houston has been a hub for this community practically since its conception, with the Houston Art Car Parade hosting its inaugural parade in 1988. Today, the parade attracts more than 250,000 spectators and ‘cartists’ from Canada, Mexico, and over 23 states. Artists like Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama expanded their practice to art cars, applying bold paint jobs to various old car models.
Whether it’s art cars or abstract painting, Houston artists embrace it all in their craft. This city offers a rich spectrum of artistic style and medium, and there’s truly something for everyone. As Houston continues to gain traction in the global art scene, American Art Resources is proud to serve as a trusted voice of art expertise in Houston and beyond. For nearly five decades, we’ve worked at the intersection of creativity and strategy, collaborating with local, national, and international artists to curate collections that are both visionary and grounded in purpose. Our team brings keen knowledge and an understanding of how art can transform a space, whether it’s for healing, inspiration, or community connection. Through our full-service art consulting approach, we make it simple to turn creative visions into lasting impact.
Further Reading
Interested in learning more about Houston’s art scene? Read our sources linked below!