March 25 - December 15, 2024
From True North:
“True North 2024
The project’s eleventh exhibition was cleared for landing and has been installed for its 2024 run. Greeting residents and visitors at Houston Heights’ entrance on the south end of the esplanade is fourth generation Houston artist Dion Laurent’s sculpture, “AirPlane 1”— a conceptually-imagined work designed to specifically run on solar energy and produce fresh air for its pilot and explorer—Laurent’s alter ego, “EarthMan 1.” Also in this year’s exhibit—as you head north from the boulevard’s entrance—are seven more extraordinary and diverse sculptures, including Texas artists Art Shirer’s “WISH,” Nela Garzón’s “Pre-Columbian Unlooted Bat or Vampire for the New World,” Ricardo Paniagua’s “Intersections of Dimension,” Wyatt Little’s “BRICK PHONE,” Suzette Mouchaty’s “Monument to Sea Slugs,” Clayton Hurt’s “Apprehensive Dog” and Patrick Renner’s “dauber.” Visit the sculptures up close along the esplanade’s foot paths (1.5 miles from end to end), cruising the street’s bike lanes, or of course, as you simply drive from here to there. You can scan the QR codes at each site, or download the “Otocast” app from any location, to listen to the artists’ statements on their works—in their own words, and visit our website at www.truenorthheightsblvd.com for all the latest news and information.
About True North Beginning in 2014 and named for the compass bearing of Heights Boulevard, True North is a temporary outdoor public art installation on eight designated sites along the winding trails of that boulevard’s beautifully forested esplanade. Working in cooperation with the City of Houston Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments and the Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, True North is organized by an all-volunteer team, in partnership with the Houston Heights Association—its nonprofit/fiscal sponsor. A wide range of sculptures, by Texas artists, is chosen each year—based on media, theme, color and visibility—and the works remain in place for a nine-month permitted period from March to December.
Started by Gus Kopriva and Chris Silkwood, team members behind the sculpture project now are Donna Bennett, Kopriva, Dean Ruck, Silkwood and Kelly Simmons. The project is underwritten entirely through private donations from art- and community-minded individuals, businesses and professionals who wish to support the popular public art project and its ongoing success. Large enough in scale to be seen from passing vehicles and bicycles, with more intimate views along the winding trails of the esplanade, True North sculptures are seen by hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors to the Houston Heights each year.
Heights Boulevard’s esplanade is a designated City of Houston park which runs directly through the heart of Houston Heights. Patterned after Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, the boulevard’s 60-foot-wide esplanade was the site of Houston’s first electrified streetcar system, ferrying Houston Heights residents the “considerable distance” of four miles to the big city. Fast forward and thanks to the Houston Heights Association and extensive community activism, volunteerism and fundraising over the years, the esplanade is now home to show-stopping architectural gardens, pavilions, old-growth treescapes, one of the most popular foot trails in Houston and the True North sculpture project.
True North Mission Statement True North’s mission is to organize and install a temporary public sculpture exhibition on the esplanade of Heights Boulevard – representative of works by prominent and emerging Texas artists – to advance the accessibility, understanding and enjoyment of contemporary art for the community and its visitors.”
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