Delightful Arcade from The Color Condition comes to Avenida Houston

Sculptures will remain on view at Discovery Green® and in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center through November

Discovery Green and Houston First Corporation have teamed up to present a series of site-specific installations that will delight downtown visitors this summer and fall.

Arcade, a series of dynamic streamer sculptures by noted Texas-based artist duo Sunny Sliger and Marianne Newsom of The Color Condition, brings explosive hues and whimsy to Avenida Houston. Arcade will be on view from August 17 to November 15, 2017.

Discovery Green and Houston First invite the public to celebrate the installation at “Color the Ave,” a free event on Saturday, September 9, 2017, from 4 to 8 p.m. Activities will include a site-specific dance performance by Karen Stokes Dance Company, live music, a wearable art workshop and more. The event will conclude with a spectacular aerial performance off the George R. Brown by VauLT.

Avenida de las Americas will be closed to vehicular traffic during several points throughout the installation of Arcade so that visitors may stroll the Avenida and enjoy the sculptures from street level. The Avenida Central Garage underneath Discovery Green will remain open. The street will be closed August 19 through September 4, October 6 through 8 and November 3 through 5.

“Discovery Green is proud to collaborate with Houston First to bring The Color Condition’s temporary public art installation to Avenida Houston,” said Barry Mandel, president of Discovery Green Conservancy. “Houstonians and visitors alike will be enchanted by this colorful and exciting sensory experience. We are particularly happy to see this playful installation in the area of the park that honors Maconda Brown O’Connor, one of Discovery Green’s founders and the daughter of George R. Brown.”

The Color Condition considers the idea of “play” throughout Arcade, which consists of three separate installations that create a dialogue between sections of the Avenida Houston campus.

The works — made from strips of table cloths, shower curtains and painters drop cloth — respond to the environment, creating new colors as the light changes and new patterns with each gust of wind. Arcade is the artists’ Houston debut and their largest commission since The Color Condition was established in 2010.

Hopscotch uses Discovery Green’s loblolly pine trees to create a dense overhead passageway extending the length of Maconda’s Grove; picking up or “hopping” across the street, a mirroring installation will hang over The Wharf, which serves as the “front porch” of the George R. Brown Convention Center. The two sculptures will come alive at night with LED lights, creating a luminous, colorful canopy. Double Dutch will be playfully suspended above three lanes of Avenida de las Americas, between the park and the George R. Brown. Red Rover skirts light poles across the entire front of the George R. Brown with punches of color, enticing park visitors to “come over.”

“Art is a vital component of what we have developed at Avenida Houston,” said Dawn Ullrich, CEO of Houston First. “Building off the existing public art program in Discovery Green, we were able to add two major works and multiple smaller installations to the George R. Brown as part of our development. And we believe temporary installations like Arcade will further enhance the area, drawing those looking for something fresh and new to experience.”

Arcade is curated by Christine West, Cultural Programs Manager for Houston First, with the Weingarten Art Group and the Conservancy’s Public Art Committee, chaired by Judy Nyquist and comprised of community experts dedicated to bringing original, inspiring art to Discovery Green.

Visitors are invited to share their experiences using the hashtags #ColortheAve, #DiscoveryGreen and #AvenidaHouston.

More information is available at www.discoverygreen.com/color.

PHOTOS BY MORRIS MALAKOFF