Client: Discovery Green

Overview

In honor of Earth Day, Discovery Green, Downtown Houston’s green oasis, commissioned fourteen murals from local artists to celebrate the diversity of the community, the breadth of its cultures, and the rich natural environment.

This program began with a multi-day live outdoor painting event that was open to the public, and the murals were on view for six months afterward. Brought together to build awareness of our ecological fragility through artwork, the artists sparked conversations both visually and conversationally with the engaged audiences as they painted. The murals (some sized at 8×8 ft and some at 8×10 ft), were arranged into large cube structures and featured work by established street artists, long-time muralists, and emerging artists who had the opportunity to create their very first murals for this event.

Each mural compellingly depicted a glimpse of the Houston we wish to see: from flocks of birds to bountiful gardens, powerful words to moments of human kindness, these paintings reminded those who experienced them that the most simple of choices can make a difference.

Goals

Our goal for this project was to create multiple moments of gathering and dialogue around the primary subject of the environment.

In addition, it allowed Discovery Green to support a sizable group of local artists whose activities had been curtailed during the pandemic.

The pathway of murals led audiences through the Park, sparking narratives and facilitated dialogue around a theme that touches all.

Process

We solicited designs through an open call to artists in the Greater Houston region.

From the 110 submissions, Discovery Green and Weingarten Art Group selected 14 artists who reflected a diversity of perspectives and a deep appreciation for our natural world.

This was Discovery Green’s first-ever mural program of this scale and was successfully received by the public who enjoyed the murals while on view for 6 months at the Park.