HOUSTON — Houston is getting an update, thanks to a mural festival that's freshening our look. Big Wall Big Dreams is normally in Miami, but this year it debuts in Houston.
Rahmaan Statik got off a plane about two hours before he started painting just north of downtown Houston.
“I’m from the southside of Chicago,” Rahmaan says and explains he’s back for “unfinished business” thanks to those big rains in May.
Now he and other artists are back to finish their H-town murals for Big Walls Big Dreams.
Elia Quiles with Up Art Studios helped organize the event.
“The theme is Refresh Houston. We are giving fresh life to some of these older buildings and we wanted something to look forward to coming out of the pandemic,” Elia said.
Most of the designs are painted on walls, and the sides of businesses, like 365 Fitness and MMA on the Gulf Freeway.
Eric Valdez owns the gym and says, “I have seen a lot of people come through and take pictures. Obviously, we want that kind of foot traffic and maybe they have questions about the gym itself.”
A small army of designers and artists have been working in Houston for the last few weeks, putting their imagination to work, using concrete as their canvasses.
Rahmaan is using Metro Rail support columns and incorporating them into his design of towering trees and climbing flowers.
“That makes that piece more natural to the environment,” he said. “Every space counts. Every space has its power.”
Altogether there will be 21 murals around town. Many are hidden gems that seem to pop up out of nowhere. So, organizers made maps.
to locate the murals and even curated them into self-guided bike tours; one for the East End
And one for the West End.
Each bike tour takes about an hour…or you can just drive.
Enjoy!