Photographs: My Favorite Houston Murals

Like major cities across the nation, Houston, Texas has numerous outdoor murals – the estimate of 750 as noted on the community-sourced Houston Mural Map is probably much lower than the reality – the number of murals ebbs and flows, often flowing more than not. Typically, murals aren’t intended to last forever — in many cases, they are intentionally ephemeral, and while many still exist, a few wonderful artworks are now gone.

While several of today’s current murals are commissioned by businesses to attract customers, encourage selfies for organic promotion, and increase property values, some are created independently by an artist who may or may not paint with others, and sometimes, who may work in partnership with the community. For the latter, they can be a public artist statement of interest to the neighborhood. Some commissioned works are intended to promote awareness of a project — sometimes commercial (like to sell albums), sometimes for the betterment of social good (like to elevate awareness of domestic violence). When linked to cultural preservation efforts, murals can also highlight diversity and resilience initiatives.

This gallery of “My Favorite Houston Murals” is just a starting point of what I like now from the ever-changing selection of murals in Houston.