Multiple Cities, 2015–present
UP Art Studio serves as the project manager, responsible for artist selection and relations, fundraising, marketing and communications, community outreach, media relations, logistics, and the installation of more than 300 artworks on the streets to date. The award-winning project re-imagines traffic signal control cabinets as canvases for works of art, often reflecting the community around the site. Painted by local artists, the Mini Murals, located at intersections with a traffic signal, instill civic pride while beautifying neighborhoods and enhancing the urban landscape.
For these projects, we have raised more than half a million dollars (from the public and private sectors) in the last four years.
Project Partners include: City of Houston Public Works Department, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and a nonprofit, Fresh Arts, which serves as the fiscal agent, making sponsorships tax-deductible for private sponsors.
Select Project Sponsors have included: Municipalities (Cities of Houston, Austin, Bellaire, LaPorte, League City, and Pasadena); City of Houston Council Members Larry Green, Martha-Castex Tatum (District K), Robert Gallegos (District I), Jerry Davis (District B), Karla Cisneros (District H), and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen, Abbie Kamin (District C), Management (Business) Districts (Brays Oaks, Hobby, International, East End, Greater Northside, Greenspoint; Midtown Cultural Arts & Entertainment District); Neighborhood Associations (West Lane Place Civic Association); Non-Profit Organizations (Avenue CDC, New Hope Housing, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra); Corporations (EastCiders, Kuraray Chemicals); Developers (Alliance Residential, Crescere Capital Management); Grants (Houston Arts Alliance), and others sources, making the project a success.