The event will include various interactive activities where guests can create their own artwork. | Courtesy of Michael Guidry
Students, faculty, staff and members of the community will soon have a unique look at a campus feature that won UH a title as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.
The Public Art Collection and the Blaffer Art Museum will host the second annual Public Art Day on April 22. The tour of the collection showcases some of UH’s most noteworthy paintings, sculptures, and art installations.
“This is an opportunity for UH and the surrounding community to come to campus, see our amazing world-class collection, learn about it, have fun, make some art and know they are always welcome,” said Michael Guidry, curator of the Public Art Collection.
Public Art Day will be free and open to the public from noon to 3 p.m. at the Blaffer Art Museum and adjacent courtyard. Tours of UH’s public art will be available every 30 minutes, starting at 12:30 p.m.
Guidry said the event is a chance to raise awareness about the Public Art Collection, the first at any Texas public university, in the campus community and the city at large.
The event is designed to allow the community to be engaged in the arts and will give them the chance to see the works of art the University has to offer, Guidry said.
The collection acquired “The Snake is Out,” a work by minimalist Tony Smith, on loan from the Menil Collection until 2020. Other works include a hanging glass bead sculpture in the Wortham Theater, “A Moment in Time,” by Alyson Shotz; “Collegium” by William King and the “Blue Trees” by Jim Love.
“Public Art Day is a great opportunity for Blaffer to work with the Public Art Collection to design a day of fun and learning for communities both on and off campus,” said Curator of Education at the Blaffer Art Museum Katherine Veneman. “It provides a way for the public to actively take part, to discover their own insights about artworks and make art that expresses their own perspectives.”
The event offers guests of all ages the opportunity to make their own monotypes, a type of art print, that are inspired by the installations.
“Two art-making activities—printmaking and a collaborative two-dimensional project—will spark the imagination of participants as they draw connections between the visual arts experienced through the tours with text, language arts, writing and image to make their artworks,” communications coordinator Richard Zagrzecki said.
The event will also include food, music, activities for people of all ages, performances from the University’s dance program and tours of the Blaffer Art Museum.
