Courtesy: Orange Show for Visionary Art | Photos: Danitza Ladwig
Following a record year in 2022, the oldest and largest celebration of art cars in the world will take over the city of Houston, showcasing more than 250 mobile masterpieces from across the country, including nearly 100 new, never-been-seen creations, while engaging the public with over ten days of opportunities to express their artistic vision.
The Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Parade began in 1988 as a small gathering of 40 artists and just 2,000 spectators. The following year, the parade doubled in participant size as the crowd swelled to tens of thousands and has been growing yearly. Today, it maintains its place as one of the city’s largest free public events, drawing hundreds of thousands of curious spectators.
Through its longtime partnership with Houston Independent School District (HISD) – formed by educator and artist Rebecca Bass and her students at Edison Middle School when they created the very first youth art entry at the 1980 Houston Art Car Parade – the Orange Show of Visionary Art will also continue its tradition of integrating Art Car-related programming into the curriculum schools throughout the district and beyond. The result is the participation of 30-plus schools and youth groups from across the state who have designed and built art cars under the instruction of their teachers or mentors.
The highly anticipated Spring spectacle will also prominently feature a contingent of Art Bikes – decked out, modified, and artistically-designed bicycles – in advance of The Second Annual Houston Art Bike Festival presented by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and Houston Parks Board, taking place on May 13 at MacGregor Park and the Orange Show World Headquarters. Over 100 student-led art bike projects of all shapes and sizes will be featured during the Houston Art Bike Festival, and the public is invited to create their art bikes and register to participate. In addition, and new for 2023, the Houston Art Bike Parade will incorporate the 50-year-old Moonlight Ramble, an evening bike cruise around the city. More information can be found at ArtBikeHouston.com.
For more information, visit OrangeShow.org.
