walkable window art

Downtown Houston throws open window on cool new public art project

Beast Syndicate "The City of Future Past" WindowWorks 609 Main

"WindowWorks" features works such as The City of Future Past from artist Beast Syndicate at 609 Main.

Photo Morris Malakoff

Downtown Houston is opening up a refreshing new series of public art. As part of the Downtown District’s Art Blocks public art program, “WindowWorks” transforms vacant storefronts with visual art to enliven the downtown streetscape. The new works are now on view.

“WindowWorks” is a partnership between the Houston Downtown Management District (Downtown District) and UP Art Studio. The installation consists of a new series of public artworks by Texas-based artists along Main Street, according to a press release.

Viewers can simply stroll along Main Street to take in the installation. The 18 designs will also be featured on Houston Mural Map. As CultureMap previously reported, Mural Map is a new online source for murals and street art installations throughout the Greater Houston area.

Last December, the Downtown District and UP Art Studio released an open call for Texas visual artists from all disciplines to submit designs. The presentation format will initially focus on windows located on and around Main Street, with the possibility of expanding to other storefronts throughout downtown, according to the district.

Some of the artists featured include:

• Samara Barks (Mixed Hues)
• Beast Syndicate
• Steffany Brady
• Elizabeth Carrington
• Dee Jon
• Erico Estrella
• Angela Fabbri
• Moni Yael Garwil
• Ulys Gold

“We are excited to be rolling out ‘WindowWorks,’ a new program which fulfills a dual purpose: it transforms and enhances the pedestrian experience and supports our property owners by
making vacant storefronts more attractive to businesses looking to open in downtown,” said Angie Bertinot, of Downtown District, said in a statement.

“Also, during a time where people are looking for fun things to do outdoors, a self-guided tour is perfect, and while they’re here, we hope they’ll support one of our many local businesses.”

urban-renewal downtown

a 14 minute tour

Museum of Fine Arts takes Houston to Paris cathedral with new virtual tour

Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.

Museum of Fine Arts courtesy image.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.” (Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.)

Lovers of art and architecture around the world mourned when a 2019 fire destroyed significant portions of the exterior and interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral, one of the most beloved landmarks in all of France. After five years of intense rebuilding and repair, Notre-Dame is set to open again this December. For those who can’t make it to the reopening, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a very special virtual trip planned this holiday season with their just announced monumental installation, the “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

Set within the MFAH’s vast Cullinan Hall, this animated, 14-minute, immersive presentation will surround visitors with images of Notre-Dame, simulating the experience of walking through the medieval cathedral. Viewers will go on a virtual journey from the outside of Notre-Dame as day turns to dusk, then move into the candle-lite interiors and stained-glass windows. The immersive video will also replicate the fire and its aftermath before revealing the cathedral’s newly reconstructed spire, topped with a cross and a golden rooster, a national emblem of France and a symbol of Christianity.

“It is difficult to exaggerate the role Notre-Dame plays in the public imagination, from its iconic architecture, emblematic of the Northern Gothic style, to its magnificent stained-glass rose windows,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow said in a statement. “When fire erupted five years ago, millions of people around the world grieved the loss of a monument that had personal significance to each of them. Happily, the cathedral has been restored, and now Houstonians will be among the first to experience the reconstructed building that rose from the ashes.”

“Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” was created by Ars Electronica Futurelab, in partnership with French start-ups Iconem and Histovery. To create a virtual 3D model of Notre-Dame, the installation uses point cloud data compiled by the late Belgian art historian and Vassar College professor Andrew Tallon, who created 3D laser scans of the cathedral in 2010 that proved instrumental in guiding the reconstruction of the cathedral as well as additional scans and 3D material by Histovery.

Over the years, we’ve come to expect perception-defying immersive artworks from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston every summer, but this “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” November surprise looks to be a perfect place to take any visiting art, history, or Francophile friends and family for the holidays.

The "Notre-Dame Immersive Experience" will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from November 23, 2024, through January 5, 2025.

Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

museum of fine arts houston museums notredame cathedral