Art Car Weekend History

Art Car Weekend is the Orange Show's biggest outreach program, a vehicle for the message that art is an integral part of everyone's everyday life. The weekend's events are part folk art, part fine art, part wholly artistic expression of every kind, entirely monumental and thoroughly spectacular!

Origins of the Parade
In 1984, Kit and Carl Detering donated a 1967 Ford station wagon to The Orange Show Foundation to be auctioned at our annual Gala benefit. Houston artist Jackie Harris transformed the car into a mobile work of art with a budget of $800 for paint and plastic fruit. The "Fruitmobile" was donated back to the foundation by the group of six who purchased it. Also in 1984, Ann Harithas curated an exhibition called "Collision" at Lawndale Art Center that featured two art cars. All this activity resulted in a number of art cars seen on Houston streets. In 1986, Rachel Hecker and Trish Herrera organized a New Music Parade in conjunction with the New Music America Festival. Some 20 artist floats and art cars paraded down Montrose Boulevard, ending at the dedication of the MFAH sculpture garden. A few months later, Susanne Demchak organized a "Road Show" at The Orange Show on June 29, 1986, 11 art cars were exhibited alongside the Fruitmobile at The Orange Show, with Lowrider demonstrations, and children's art bike workshops. 1,400 Houstonians came, along with WFAA-TV and National Public Radio.

In 1987, the Houston International Festival, the City's official celebration of the arts, asked the Orange Show to organize a parade to build on the success of the New Music Parade. The Orange Show agreed to produce an event dedicated to art cars. Roadside Attractions: The Art Car Parade was born in April, 1988 with a 40 car parade seen by an estimated 2,000. By the following year, the parade size doubled and the crowd swelled to tens of thousands. Another important milestone came in 1989, when Harrod Blank came from California with his art car, "Oh My God." On a quest to document America's art cars that eventually led to his two books and two films on art cars, Harrod told artists all over the nation about the Houston Art Car Parade, and soon we began to see caravans of art cars travel thousands of miles to be in the parade. Another major milestone was the entry of Rebecca Bass and Edison Middle School in 1990. "The Body Shop" went on to win major awards, and started educators across the city to see art car projects as tools to teach life skills and engage students with their schools and community.

The Art Car Parade Today
Today, the Art Car Parade enters its 20th year as the highlight of a three-day celebration of the drive to create, Art Car Weekend. The parade attracts 250+ vehicles and other entries from 23 states and Canada, a live audience of some 200,000 and a television audience of 225,000. Parade entries include anything on wheels from unicycles to lawnmowers to cars, and are as likely to be made by members of the general public as by recognized artists. Community groups, public and private schools, and professional organizations have become regular participants. Inspired by what they see, spectators create art cars of their own and often become future participants.

The Art Car Parade is a true public art event, created by the people and for the people. There is no pre-selection process, no juried selection of entries - everyone who makes a decorated, augmented or otherwise decked-out wheeled vehicle can be a participant. And as the parade grows, attracting more and more participants, the complexity and quality of the entries increases.

Main Street Drag
In 1991, the Orange Show brought acclaimed art car artist David Best to Houston to collaborate on an art car with a University of Houston sculpture class. He and Houston artist Paul Kittelson staged an impromptu procession of art cars the day before the official parade around the city's 610 Loop.

The pre-parade art car convoy was such a success that in 1992, the Orange Show formalized the pre-parade event as the Main Street Drag, a caravan from the Astrodome at the South end of Main St. to the North Main barrio. In 1993, with the involvement of the Texas Children's Hospital, the Drag began to include the Texas Medical Center. It has grown into 7 separate caravans that leave from and return to the Houston Zoo, making organized stops at 32 schools, hospitals and community centers, seeing more than 30,000 people.
Art Car Awards Ceremony
Over $10,000 in cash prizes is awarded by a panel of judges in recognition of the effort and expense artists assume in creating their art cars. The panel of judges is comprised of experts and cultural icons from various art, automobile, and entertainment disciplines. The panel has included such notables as Carlos Aguilar, David Best, Robert Delford Brown, Larry Fuente, Ann Harithas, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Dusty Hill, Walter Hopps, Luis Jiminez, Ed and Nancy Kienholz, Eric Staller, Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, Herbert Hemphill, William Fagley, Michael Levy, Bob Wade, Ann Harithas, Jackie Harris, Dusty Hill, Lee Kogan, Phil Linhares, Doug Michels, and Marilyn Oshman.

Origins of the Art Car Ball
As the size and scope of the art car parade grew, additional funds became a necessity. The Orange Show Foundation addressed this issue in 1991 by organizing a populist fundraiser to benefit the foundation's art car events, aptly named the Art Car Ball. That first year, 1,200 enthusiastic supporters showed up to the roof of a downtown parking garage to get a close look at 100 parked art cars, and to dance to the nuclear polka of Brave Combo. The Art Car Ball was an instant success; a tradition was born. The Patron Party - a deluxe addition seated dinner on site - was added in 1994 allowing patrons the option to contribute at a higher level.Today, the Art Car Ball and Patron Party claim the title "Houston's Best Party" as nominated by "Houston Press" readers. Such Texas musical acts as the Road Kings, The Norma Zenteno Band, Joe Ely, Carolyn Wonderland & the Imperial Monkeys, the Naughty Ones, Brave Combo and Santiago Jimenez, Jr have been featured. When we ventured beyond the Texas boarders, it was El Vez and the Rebirth Brass Band that we featured. In 1998 additions to the festivities included an art gallery featuring the work of art car artists, performances by Pat Oleszko and Kal Spellitich, as well as a fashion show featuring Pat Oleszko's inflatable outfits.The Art Car Ball continued to attract upwards of 5,000 revelers to the roof tops of various downtown Houston parking garages and to inspire a myriad of car part costumes thus blurring the line between spectator and performer.

In 2002 a group of artists took on the task of throwing "Houston's Best Party" and enjoyed a huge success! To find out more about the Art Car Ball please visit our friends, the Houston Art Car Klub, at http://houstonartcarklub.com/ or email the 2007 Art Car Ball contact Robert Scott at Rs51@houston.rr.com