Keeping an Eye on Houston’s Public ArtHouston, famous for NASA’s space center, its world-renowned medical center, and its champion sports teams, also offers internationally lauded arts organizations– opera, ballet, symphony, theatre, and visual art museums. But what about the city’s art collection? The City of Houston owns more than 400 public artworks, ranging from paintings to grand monuments. Approximately 110 pieces of the collection are outdoors, the majority in parks. Although the City of Houston’s art collection is impressive, its condition left a lot to be desired in the early 1990s. The outdoor sculptures had never received maintenance or conservation treatment, and many desperately needed care.
During an effort to create an official inventory of the art collection, a letter was received from Save Outdoor Sculpture!, warning cities that outdoor sculptures were decaying, possibly beyond repair. Realizing the necessity of caring for the city’s collection, the Houston Municipal Art Commission and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department established the Houston Municipal Art Conservation Office in 1996. The mission of the office is to catalogue, restore, maintain, and promote municipal art. An archive was set up to keep inventory records of each artwork, including identification, historical summary, conservation, and scheduled maintenance records. A Web site, www.ci.houston.tx.us/municipalart, was launched on the City of Houston’s home page. In 2000, Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian American Art Museum recognized the Houston Municipal Art Conservation Office with the Monumental Defender Award. Getting the Word Out
An integral part of promoting the art preservation program is educating the public, especially younger generations, about the historical and aesthetic significance of the collection. The Municipal Art Conservation Office provides educational programs for school groups focused on art tours, art history, and hands-on workshops to teach preservation. Through educational outreach, the youth of Houston gain a sense of ownership and eventual stewardship of the public artworks in the city. With the assistance of the Parks and Recreation Department’s Office of Marketing and Special Events, a massive campaign was launched to educate Houstonians about their art collection. The Art All Around Houston campaign has produced several outstanding publications featuring some of the most prominent artworks in the city’s collection, including a set of postcards for the Mayor’s special guests visiting Houston and a coloring book featuring prominent sculptures to give to children at city festivals, along with a set of crayons. A press conference is held on completion of the conservation treatment of major works of art or unveiling of new ones. These opportunities result in television and radio interviews, as well as newspaper articles on the collection and the necessity for its preservation. Media outlets continue to follow the art program.
Concern and participation has emerged as citizens claim Houston’s municipal art collection as their own. Houstonians are excited about the progress of the conservation and continued maintenance of these treasures. To date, through the generosity of citizens, foundations, grants, and some limited city funding, conservation treatments have been completed on 48 works of art with an approximate total cost of $670,000. Preserving and Expanding
The City’s Building Services Department is charged with managing the Civic Art Program and overseeing the art acquisitions services provided by the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County (CACHH), a non-profit corporation under contract to the city. The Municipal Art Conservation Office oversees all art conservation projects. The Houston Municipal Art Commission reviews and makes recommendations to the Mayor and City Council on all new art acquisitions and conservation projects. The mayoral-appointed Civic Art Committee was established to create the annual civic art plan, which includes new art acquisitions and conservation projects to be executed and funded by the Civic Art Program. This committee meets monthly to review and qualify new art and conservation projects to become part of the annual Civic Art Plan. Bond funds cannot be used for maintenance, so all regularly scheduled maintenance is conducted by Houston Municipal Conservation Office personnel and trained workers from various city departments that have art under their jurisdiction. When a work of art has serious conservation problems, an assessment and proposal are obtained from a professional conservator and the proposed project becomes part of the Civic Art Plan. After the approval process is completed, the Municipal Art Conservation Office directs conservation project. The challenge is great and the job is never ending, but the benefits of having beautiful art as part of Houston’s environment will endure for many generations to come. Photos, from top: Adopt-A-Monument Celebration - Bunker Hill Elementary fifth grade class in front of their adopted sculpture, Sam Houston. Credit: file photo. Bunker Hill Fifth grade students and staff with Erik Stolz, Municipal Art Conservation Office instructor – These 14 students were selected for the preservation workshop for outstanding work on the Sam Houston Project. Credit: file photo. Pam Ingersoll, Municipal Art Conservation Coordinator, assists students cleaning sculpture during a bronze workshop. Credit: file photo. Members of the Civic Art Committee at work: (left to right) Richard Vella, Pam Ingersoll, Sally Reynolds, and Chris Hageney. Credit: Gerald Milligan. To see previous Preservation Spotlights (formerly Preservation Projects of the Month), click here. |
