Over 200 artists create street paintings in Houston

HOUSTON - More than 200 artists from around the world took part in this year's Houston Via Colori, one of the largest and most well-known art festivals in the city in the US state of Texas. Now in its 12th year, Via Colori saw an attendance of around 30,000 people, three stages of live music, an array of local food and beverage vendors, and award-winning street painters.

Chinese artist Wu Yingde participated in the festival for the first time.

And, inspired by the scenes of people helping each other during Hurricane Harvey, Wu did a piece on the topic.

"During Hurricane Harvey, I could feel the power of people helping each other. I was deeply moved," Wu says.

Wu, who is used to working in a private studio, says street painting is really enjoyable.

"Here, you can see the whole process, and you can better communicate and exchange views with other artists," he says.

Art teacher Kevin Richert, who has been attending the event for eight years, says: "It's a wonderful get-together for the community. Because if you notice the crowd, it just gets bigger and bigger.

"We as artists get exposed to different things, from film stars to philosophy," he says.

Young artist Brenda Melgar says she took part in a contest to participate in the event for the first time as a high school student several years ago.

"It's great for young people. But besides it's benefiting the Center for Hearing and Speech, which is one of the biggest and probably the only center in Houston that helps kids with hearing impairment to live a life without using sign language. So it's really for a great cause," she says.

The festival, promoted by the Center for Hearing and Speech, aims to fund critical health and educational services for local children with mild to profound hearing loss.

Xinhua

(China Daily 11/21/2017 page18)