A Sculpture Park

Number 36 in 101 Places You Gotta See Before You’re 12!


“It’s like a museum without walls and without the try-to-keep-your-voice-down rule. No walls means nothing’s too big to fit, so you’ll see the most gigantic sculptures, and sometimes you can touch them or even climb on them (check the park’s rules before you do, please). No walls also means the weather and the sculpture can interact: the wind blows movable parts, the sculpture casts cool shadows on the ground, snow rests on top of it, and rain makes its surfaces slick. The sculpture becomes part of the landscape, like a tree or a rock. And if the sculpture makes you want to do a cartwheel, go right ahead—try doing that in a museum!”

There are several fun outdoor art places in Houston, but Saturday, June 6, AIA will host its 23rd Annual Sandcastle Competition, temporarily transforming Galveston’s East Beach into a surf-side sculpture park!


(Obviously, not all of the sand sculptures are castles. You gotta love a sand sculpture of worms!)



Here are a few more outdoor art places to get your hunt started!
The Eclectic Menagerie Park (awarded “Best Menagerie” by Houston Press readers in 2006)
The MFAH Cullen Sculpture Garden
David Adickes's SculpturWorx Studio
Buffalo Bayou Art Park
The Artery (best viewed from within the walls of “the garden” at night--attend an event there)

Or discover an outdoor art place that’s not on the list!

Even the streets of downtown could be considered a sculpture park!





Resources:
101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12! by Joanne O'Sullivan
Hot Town, Cool City (If you get a chance, the movie is well worth seeing, and its creator is a Montessori mom!)