HOUSTON – A Houston artist is being showcased on the city's seventh Art Recycle Truck making its debut.
Iva Kinnaird's Wet Cement art wrap on a recycling truck transforms the vehicle into mobile artwork. City officials said it's bringing public art into neighborhoods and sparking awareness and participation in the city's recycling program.
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"The Art Recycle Truck project is another avenue to bring public art into communities. This mobile artwork will travel thousands of miles on the roads of Houston for an anticipated seven years, bringing art and city recycling services to Houston residents," Mayor Sylvester Turner said. "The Art Recycle Trucks have been a big hit with everyone, and with summertime, we hope children will be on the lookout for an Art Recycle Truck in their community."
Kinnaird graduated in 2014 from the University of Texas at Austin and has since been living, working and driving in Houston. City officials said her art uses humor to playfully address issues that confront us.
Kinnaird's work has been presented at Lawndale Art Center and galleryHOMELAND in Houston, 500X Gallery in Dallas, and CoLab Projects in Austin, city officials said.
"Houston is connected by many thousands of miles of concrete streets and sidewalks and is continuing to grow rapidly," Kinnaird said. "The artwork is intended as a visual metaphor to show that individual action makes a lasting difference and to illustrate that we must take care with the decisions we make today, because of the mark they will leave on the future of our city."
City officials said Kinnaird was selected by a panel of Houston art professionals and a representative of the Houston Solid Waste Management Department following an open call for applicants.
"As Houston's support for recycling grows, it is an added benefit that the collection trucks bring 'art on wheels' to their daily routes," said Harry Hayes, director of Solid Waste Management and chief operating officer. "The community enjoys seeing the small fleet of Art Recycle Trucks parade at local educational and celebratory events, and we look to continue expanding our small fleet."
City officials said the first six Art Recycle Trucks were commissioned in 2014 and are still in operation.
The project is made possible by the Solid Waste Management Department and Houston Arts Alliance, which is under contract to manage civic art projects for the city, officials said.
The artwork is funded by the city of Houston Civic Art Program. Officials said the city established an ordinance in 1999 mandating that 1.75 percent of qualified capital improvement project dollars be set aside for civic art. The program is managed by the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs.
Click here for more information about the city's cultural programs or follow the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs on Facebook @HoustonMOCA.
