New Kind of Green Space

A new kind of green space: Houston's first visionary art park features fish-shaped grotto and memory wall

The Orange Show — Houston's folk art mecca located in the ever-changing Third Ward — is developing a new, sustainable green space called Smither Park, located right next to the existing property. The new park, which is under construction, will be surrounded by a 400-foot, hand-constructed "memory wall," exclusively crafted using recycled and repurposed materials such as old trophies, vases and silverware collected from members of the community.

The sustainable green space, which is the focus of a recent KHOU CultureMap Moment, will also feature a meditation garden, swings and a grotto/amphitheater and hopes to draw visitors from across the globe.

"It really represents where we are," says CultureMap's arts specialist Joel Luks. "(Houstonians are) resilient people, we have the ability to reinvent ourselves, we're quirky, we're fun, and we embrace that."

Another focal point is the Smither Park grotto, designed by Nashville-based artist, metalsmith and woodworker Matt Gifford, also under construction. The enormous fish-shaped amphitheater is crafted from reclaimed materials like street signs, picture frames and broken mirrors, and Gifford even used old satellite dishes as the whimsical structure's eyes.

Although the art park isn't completed quite yet, you're still able to visit the work-in-progress every Saturday and watch the artists craft the incredible structures.

See the KHOU CultureMap Moment:

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Houston's iconic Rothko Chapel receives new grant to restore Beryl damage

Courtesy of the Rothko Chapel

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Houston's beloved Rothko Chapel is one step closer to recovery after Hurricane Beryl in 2024. A substantial new grant from Bank of America will fund the restoration of Mark Rothko pieces damaged by the storm.

“This grant comes at a pivotal moment – not only for the Rothko Chapel, but in the broader context of our changing climate and growing vulnerability to extreme weather events,” said David Leslie, executive director of the Chapel. “The conservation process will require extensive time, specialized materials, and expert technical support to stabilize and restore these works, ensuring they can once again inspire visitors within this sacred space. Bank of America’s support underscores the urgent need to preserve culturally significant artworks like these, especially as we face new environmental challenges that threaten our artistic legacy.”

The Bank of America Art Conservation Project has been used to fund the preservation and restoration of culturally significant artworks since 2010. In 2021, the project also funded the restoration of an 13th Century Incan textile housed at Houston's Menil Collection. This year's other recipients include the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Museo Nacional de San Carlos in Mexico City, Sir John Soane's Museum in London, and the Sydney Opera House.

Since 1971, Rothko Chapel has been one of the best meditative spaces in Houston. Commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil in 1964, Rothko designed the space and painted its famous black panels. Rothko himself did not live to see the completion, dying by suicide in New York in 1970. Now, the chapel stands as a non-denominational spiritual center, hosting concerts, mindfulness clinics, and other events designed to promote mental healing in visitors.

When Hurricane Beryl hit Houston on July 8, high winds and torrential hammered the chapel's roof. Water leakage damaged the walls and one of Rothko's black triptychs on the east side of the building. It took seven months of work before the chapel was reopened to the public in December, but the damaged art was still housed off site for restoration. Bank of America's grant should hopefully speed up the process of returning the iconic pieces back to public view.

“It is devastating to see the domino effects of an event like Hurricane Beryl, jeopardizing the storied institutions and culturally significant works that provide so much context into the Houston identity,” said Hong Ogle, President, Bank of America Houston. “I am very proud that Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project allows us to support the arts in a unique and impactful way and preserve the works that mean the most to our community.”

In addition to the restoration, Rothko Chapel recently broke ground on a $42 million campus expansion. Two new buildings to the north with house administrative services and an archive, and a meditation garden dedicated to Kathleen and Chuck Mullenweg. A new program center will follow after.