Meet Bayou City Art Festival 2026 Downtown Featured Artist, Lijah Hanley on March 28–29, 2026
Iconic outdoor festival brings a weekend of art, entertainment, food and family fun
One of the nation’s premier outdoor art festivals returns to Downtown Houston this month as Bayou City Art Festival, produced by the Art Colony Association (ACA), transforms the city into a vibrant celebration of art, creativity, food, music and family-friendly entertainment.
Taking place Saturday and Sunday, March 28–29, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the festival will once again fill Sam Houston Park and Allen Parkway with a lively outdoor gallery featuring more art, hands-on activities, culinary experiences and nonstop entertainment against the backdrop of Houston’s skyline.
ABOUT FEATURED ARTIST, LIJAH HANLEY:
Lijah is a digital photographer from Vancouver, WA and has been telling stories through a lens since he was 13. Now, his photos take you on a journey through the backroads of the American West, where history blends with myths and tales of the modern cowboy. Although his photos teeter on the edge of reality, every image captured is 100% real using only practical effects.
Here’s what to know about LIJAH HANLEY’S work and journey in his own words:
Please share a little about yourself & how you developed as an artist:
I started photography at a young age following in the footsteps of my mom who was a portrait photographer, often being her second shooter at weddings. When I was 13, I won the National Geographic Student Photography competition, which gave me the chance to study with National Geographic photographers in Peru and England. That experience taught me a lot about photography and the importance of storytelling.
For much of my career, I photographed more traditional landscapes, and I had a lot of fun, but felt I wasn’t challenged enough creatively. I missed being able to tell a story in my images. Landscape photography can be very technical, relying only on good conditions such as weather and lighting to get a good image, and after a while it all began to feel the same. I wanted to capture something I had never seen before, and create whimsical images that brought ideas from my imagination to life.
I started working on developing a series of interesting characters and stories for my images. I rented a Hollywood-grade astronaut suit from a production company in Los Angeles and photographed my grandpa wearing it in the desert, alongside cowboys, and other characters. I want my images to ride the line between reality and mystery, capturing stories where optimism, ambition, and myth collide. Almost all of the people in my photos are my family — my wife Gabby, my son Desmond, my Grandpa, and my Mom have all made appearances. It makes the process fun and personal.
What do you hope viewers take away from your art?
I want people to enjoy the image first. I want them to have fun with it. And I want people to see that I had fun making them. All of the images are real, no composites, no CGI. It’s all built practically and captured in one frame. It’s a lot more work, but I want people to be able to see the real people, collaboration, and the fun that goes into each image.
Talk about your concepts and what inspires you:
I’ve always loved the American west, and the tall tales that have been created from it. Most of my images might not be literal legends of the American west, but the inspiration is the same– larger than life characters, oddities, and legends living in the vastness of the American West.
My most recent work features an astronaut wandering through the desert. The desert has always carried a quiet sense of mystery—an expanse where scale distorts, time feels suspended, and anything seems possible. Placing an astronaut in that vast emptiness was meant to amplify that feeling of the unknown.
There’s also a playful side to desert mythology that I’m drawn to—the culture of aliens and UFO lore, endless dark highways, roadside oddities, abandoned gas stations, and strange lights on the horizon. The desert invites tall tales and suspended disbelief. It feels like a stage set for encounters, both cosmic and absurd, and that sense of possibility is what makes it such a fun and compelling place to build stories.
Thoughts on being the featured artist for Bayou City Art Fest.
It’s a huge honor. I’m grateful to be included. The Bayou City Art Fest is one of the best art shows in the country, and I’m blown away that my work was chosen to represent it. Festivals like this are much more personal than gallery showings. It lets people see the work up close and in person, at scale, and get to meet the artist firsthand. I’m excited to share my work, connect with people, and tell the stories behind each image.
Words for upcoming artists:
Make the work you actually care about. Make it personal. Make pieces that show a little bit about who you are.
Don’t rely on shortcuts if you don’t have to. Building something for real — even if it’s harder — usually shows in the final work.
At the end of the day, tell a story. If people stop, look twice, and smile or start imagining what’s happening — you’ve done your job.
ABOUT THE BAYOU CITY ART FESTIVAL
Consistently ranked among the top art festivals in the United States, Bayou City Art Festival offers patrons the rare opportunity to meet artists in person, explore original works and purchase one-of-a-kind pieces across 19 artistic disciplines, including paintings, prints, jewelry, sculptures, photography and more.
For art-loving food enthusiasts, the festival’s popular Chef’s Table will once again celebrate Houston’s culinary creativity. Throughout the weekend, chefs will demonstrate signature recipes and offer delicious samples following each presentation. Demonstrations begin at Noon daily and will feature chefs from Cake Fine Pastry, Chubbies, La Taquiza Street Tacos, Opa Yummy, Cotton Culinary, and more.
Festivalgoers can also explore a variety of local food trucks and festival fare while enjoying craft beer and wine in the festival’s beer and wine gardens — the perfect place to relax and take in the energy of the weekend. Bayou City Art Festival will also feature onsite food trucks catering to everyone’s taste buds. A list of food vendors and food trucks can be found here.
Families and young creatives will find plenty to explore in the TJH Active Imagination Zone, where guests of all ages can enjoy oversized bubbles, face painting (Saturday only), caricatures by artist Bonnie Blue, and hands-on art projects led by the festival’s nonprofit partners. A portion of the proceeds from the 2026 Bayou City Art Festival Downtown will benefit community organizations including ARTreach, Brave Little Company, Fresh Arts, Pink Bows Foundation, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The festival will also celebrate emerging young artists through the 13th Annual Middle School Art Competition, showcasing the top 30 student finalists in a special exhibition. The competition will culminate in an awards ceremony recognizing first, second and third place winners, along with the “Nadia Community Choice Award,” on Sunday, March 29 at 1 p.m.
Adding to the fun, guests can step into playful photo moments inspired by Wicked and Barbie inside the TJH Active Imagination Zone in lower Sam Houston Park. Featuring themed props such as a giant pink shoe, sparkly purse, convertible sports car, life-sized throne, heart-shaped ball pit and dress-up station, the area is designed for interactive photo opportunities, creativity and family fun.
Throughout the festival grounds, visitors will discover additional selfie stations and large-scale art installations, including the popular ART FEST letters, oversized picture frames and the Be Someone sculpture, while enjoying live music and entertainment on stage all weekend long. Click here for Bayou City Art Festival’s entertainment schedule.
For the ultimate festival experience, a limited number of VIP Hospitality Lounge tickets will be available. Set beneath a canopy of trees, the lounge offers a relaxing retreat with complimentary light bites, beer, wine and refreshments, along with roaming musicians and artistic décor. VIP guests will enjoy access to the lounge from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, as well as VIP parking.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Online tickets are available at www.bayoucityartfestival.com for $20 for adults, while children attend through the TJH Kids Free Program. General admission weekend passes are available for $30 each. VIP tickets are $95, and a weekend VIP pass is $150. Online pre-purchased tickets are required to enter the festival.
For the most recent updates, follow the official event hashtags #HouArtFest and #BCAF, like the Facebook page, or follow on Instagram.
For more information, please visit www.bayoucityartfestival.com.
PHOTO CREDIT: BAYOU CITY ART FESTIVAL