Bayou City Art Festival names Kelly Batterson as its new Executive Director.
Houston’s Bayou City Art Festivals, founded 48 years ago and the umbrella name for both the Bayou City Art Festival Downtown (in the fall) and Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park (in the spring), has named Kelly Batterson as its new Executive Director. The Art Colony Association, Inc. (ACA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing the Bayou City Art Festivals, made the announcement last Thursday.
Batterson last directed The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival, and served as the sponsorship developer and coordinator for Bayou City Art Festivals in 2017. She was also an assistant to the co-producer for the “Apollo 11 50th Live” show at Space Center Houston. In a statement released by ACA, Batterson writes: “I am excited to be a part of an organization that has a rich history of giving back to the community and producing successful high-quality art festivals. I look forward to growing the Bayou City Art Festivals and reaching new heights as we approach a half-century celebration in 2021.”
The soonest Festival opens in Memorial Park on Friday-Sunday, March 27-29, 2020, showcasing work by 300 artists from around the country, representing 19 different disciplines.
Joe Pogge, ACA’s board president, states: “With Kelly’s experience and creative approach to event producing, she will bring exciting new elements to the festival. I can’t wait to see her vision come to life and continue to grow Houston’s largest art festival.”
For more information on Batterson’s appointment and the Bayou City Art Festivals, please go here.
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Via the ACA:
ACA has provided a venue for more than 20,000 artists to showcase their work to thousands of art lovers from all over the world at Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park in the spring and Bayou City Art Festival Downtown Houston in the fall. For every festival, a new jury selects participating artists, with some new and some returning, creating a fresh and different festival year after year. Patrons have the opportunity to personally meet the artists, view original works, and purchase world-class art. A percentage of proceeds from the Bayou City Art Festival benefit its local nonprofit partners. Since the founding of the Westheimer Art Festival, now known as Bayou City Art Festival, ACA has raised more than $3.6 million for local nonprofits.
The ACA gives a percentage of its proceeds to local art organizations and nonprofits. Grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, corporate sponsorships, and private contributions support the organization, and the group has raised more than $3.6 million for local nonprofit programs from proceeds of its festivals, which include Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park in the spring and Bayou City Art Festival Downtown.
