Educational Engagement and Outreach
at Public Art UHS
World Renowned Art Collection | 50 Years of History
Exclusively for Everyone
Create Here
Operating across the University of Houston Systems, Public Art UHS is Houston’s front porch for visual arts outreach and education. Our educational programs span four university campuses and connect visual arts education across academic disciplines.
We work with the university student body, professors, and HISD K-12 educators across the Houston metroplex. Our educational programming has connected with over 2,426 people in the 2022-23 academic year alone. We are one of the most expansive, engaging, and community-driven public art organizations in the United States.
Double Feature Tours – Expanding Creativity Through Outreach
Public Art UHS offers multi-faceted educational experiences from live music at the Moores Opera House, literary programs that bridge visual arts and creative writing, to STEAM initiatives proving art has the power to change the worlds of science, technology, and math. We work directly with University of Houston faculty and students to further enrich their campus experience and expose them to groundbreaking artists from across the world.
The feedback that we have received from students and educators alike about the educational programming showcases the importance of this endeavor in supplementing K-12 arts education across the Houston area, especially during a time when districts such as the Houston Independent School District are facing well-publicized budget cuts.
“Thank you so much for hosting us for our Advanced Art Field Trip. The kids definitely enjoyed themselves, and I had a great time exploring with them. This trip turned out to be so much more than a typical art-viewing experience, and the students were able to gain exposure to campus activities (graduation, final exams, food court, bookstore, and games). They were so excited and told all their teachers and friends about their trip upon return and shared pictures and stories. I am surely looking forward to working Public Art UHS in the future,” said April Davis, Art Educator at Pilgrim Academy, when visiting UH.
“I really enjoyed my time with our class at the University. I made memories with my friends that I won’t ever forget and will cherish forever. I enjoyed looking at the paintings as well. My favorite ones were the one with the fabrics and the one with the ship in the ocean. I would like to visit the University again with my friends. It was awesome. I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit the campus,” said Leonardo C., student at Pilgrim Academy.
Expanding our Reach – Engaging in Our Creative Community
Unlike many art museums, our educational programs are not bound by walls or the boundaries of our campuses. Public Art UHS arts educators are able to visit local classrooms and partner with public school teachers to expose their students to our unique and world-renowned art collection.
We work with schools in Houston’s historic Third Ward to schools located at the furthest boundaries of the HISD system, which is the largest in Texas and 8th largest in the nation. We also charter buses for in-need schools to our campuses. In 2023, we chartered over 70 HISD students to UH and UH Downtown. Public Art UHS arts educators break down the boundaries of what it means to visit a museum and learn about contemporary artists by embodying the spirit of public art and putting the public first. What we create here connects us everywhere.
“Without Public Art UHS, we would have never been able to have this experience and it was so much fun and my students really enjoyed themselves. Thank you for hosting us, it means so much,” said Mychon Deslandes, Art Educator at NQ Henderson Elementary, after visiting UH Downtown.
“When I started at Public Art UHS, I wanted to help create programs I was not exposed to as a young artist growing up in the Texas public school system. Art always seemed distant: large artworks from faraway places hung on pristine white walls. Yet our collection is interactive and available to anyone who steps foot on campus,” said Debra Barrera, Public Art UHS Teaching Artist, MFA ’10.
“Many of the artists in the collection are from the state we live in, which is incredible to see. Yet, it is not just the caliber of the Public Art UHS collection that is astonishing but the fact that you truly can interact with the artwork in ways you usually can’t at most art museums. There are no lines to step across, no boundaries to keep you from what art has to offer. We engage the public not just with artworks, but with the democratic spirit of creation.”