Public Art's Moment

Stories.UH.edu // Sara Tubbs // 05.01.19: UH System Celebrates 50 Years of Public Art with Ambitious New Temporary Art Program and Texas-sized Commission

For the University of Houston System, 2019 is a year to celebrate. It marks 50 years since UH became the first university in Texas to adopt a Percent for Art program. It happened back in 1969 when lawmakers allowed state agencies to set aside up to 1% of capital construction budgets for a public art installation. The breadth of the collection today comes as a surprise to most: there are more than 700 works in UH System public art collection- it’s one of largest and most important collections of its kind featuring internationally renowned artists.

The program that oversees the collection, Public Art of the University of Houston System (PAUHS), is invigorating audiences and enhancing campus life at all four UH System universities through a series of bold new initiatives in 2019 happening at UH, University of Houston-Downtown, University of Houston-Clear Lake and University of Houston-Victoria. The goal: welcome the public to visit the free, world-class open air museum that spans the UH System universities.

TEMPORARY PUBLIC ART PROGRAM

The UH System announced in March 2019 it would be the first public university system in Texas to launch a temporary public art program. Marta Chilindrón, a New York-based Argentinean artist known for her collapsible and reconfigurable sculptures will have the first installation in PAUHS’s Temporary Public Art Prgoram in late summer 2019. Her sculpture, “Houston Mobius,” will be installed within the University of Houston arts district.

“I think public art is very important and necessary for everyone.”

Marta Chilindrón