Artists chalk it up to a good deed
Colombian artist Camilo González uses chalk to sketch a taco truck driving by an urban shopping center.
González’s emerging artwork — one of hundreds of Texas-themed chalk murals lining the streets surrounding City Hall on Saturday — is part of the Via Colori street painting festival, featuring 200 artists raising money for children with hearing loss and The Center for Hearing and Speech.
“I’ve always been interested in activating art and doing something else with it and not just art by itself,” González said. “This is why I love it and it’s a good cause. I think we should try and replicate this (festival) in many other aspects.”
For this year’s Texas theme, González said, his image depicts Houston’s food culture and fast-paced environment. The taco truck can also represent the combination of working life and social life in the city, he said.
“I kind of like the different layers of the story of it,” González said. “Right now, taco trucks are huge, but before it wasn’t — you didn’t want to go to a taco truck or you would only see them out in the suburbs or construction sights, but now it’s a big thing.”
González has participated as an artist every year in the festival since it first began 13 years ago. He moved to Houston from Bogotá, Colombia, 15 years ago to study digital media and photography at the University of Houston. He now works as a media arts and education manager at The Aurora Picture Show, a nonprofit media arts center.
“There are not many platforms where we can come together and talk and make a big difference, so that’s what I love about this (festival),” he said. “We only have this once a year and you can give back to the community.”
Fernanda Gratton, a spokesperson for the Center for Hearing and Speech, said this is the center’s biggest fundraiser. She said the funds are important because the center recently expanded to see more than 8,500 children a year.
“It is also a good way to give back to the community and invite everybody to be a part of something bigger,” she said.
Gratton said artists view the murals more as a performance since the chalk washes away quickly.
“Artists see it as performance art,” Gratton said. “Kind of like when you go to a concert: You take some pictures, but you still leave with just the memories of that experience and how you felt there.”
Spring Woods High School art teacher Rebekah Tee participates in the festival with her students every year. She said her students have fallen in love with it because they are not only building their portfolios, but also helping others.
Tee said she wanted to go out of the box for her street mural this year. She is creating an image of native Texas celebrities and artists Carol Burnett, Willie Nelson, Dan Rather and Tommy Lee Jones playing poker together. She also brought poker cards and chips so that the mural can be interactive.
Tee has seen many of her students return to the festival as adults, including one who was working on a mural next to hers.
“That’s the best feeling in the world because you want your students to surpass you,” Tee said. “If you’re not doing that, you’re not doing your job as a teacher.”
The festival continues 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.