Launched by a mail carrier paying homage to his favorite fruit and now a local folk art institution, The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will more than triple in size when it completes expansion on its east Houston space around 2026.
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The Orange Show acquired a 5.7-acre property with a 31K SF concrete building in 2017 adjacent to its current property at 2402 Munger St. Though no date is set yet for a groundbreaking, it announced late last week it will soon build more structures on the space, including an 800-foot ramp to showcase a rotating cast of art cars. It’s the first permanent place for artists to show their decorated cars, made famous by The Orange Show’s yearly, springtime Art Car Parade.
The nonprofit folk art organization is known for several permanent and rotating art exhibits throughout Houston, including the Rice Military-area Beer Can House, the Orange Show Monument and the aforementioned Art Car Parade. The expansion will increase audience capacity for the monument, the Orange Show said in a release, with two new stages and more seating. Additionally, the organization will add more spaces for artists to showcase work, programming space and offices.
The Orange Show will touch nearby Fonde Park as part of the expansion. Though it doesn’t own the park, it will begin to host more programming there, including installing a 70-foot sculpture by Texas artist Bob “Daddy-O” Wade.
Rogers Partners is the architecture firm on the project.
“The expansion, once completed, will simultaneously advance OSCVA’s accessibility and mission to the public and honor the traditions and history of the organization,” Rogers Partners founder Rob Rogers said in a statement. “At the heart of the various expansion lies a commitment to sustainability, accessibility, and civic engagement. The future of the OSCVA encourages exploration and innovation; it serves the community through art by providing a programmed built environment that ignites the artist in everyone.”
After Houston-area arts organizations took a significant hit in 2020, the climate is beginning to warm back up. The Museum of Fine Arts Houston opened its Kinder Building this time last year, focusing on contemporary art.
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