RoadsignUSA - The Project

by June Woest and Urban Artists
​The project ran for seven years, from 2009 -2014.

Kickstarter Funding

The project successfully raised $1,000 through Kickstarter.com for the first sign, Monument to Four Mayors,

Press

Monumental Mayors
by Cynthia Leescallett 
Bellaire Examiner, Dec 3, 2009


Houston's Emerging Art Scene
Temporary Art Review
by Sasha Dela, April 2012


Temporary Art Review
Profile Interview

More

See Roadsigns that came later by clicking on the my Community menu on the sidebar and scrolling to the bottom of it.

​Project Location

RoadsignUSA was an overwrought piece of 50's advertising signage located in an unremarkable stretch of land on a heavily traveled boulevard near the dingy gulf coast, within the city limits of the 4th largest city in the United States- Houston, Texas. The sign became available after near destruction during Hurricane Ike, in 2009. It was located on private land in a parking lot of a beer pub. The physical geography of the site was more interesting. The roadway shared space with four independent municipal jurisdictions, West University, Bellaire, Southside Place, and the larger metropolis, Houston. The block long strip of land was known by the police as no-man's land. It was unsightly. Studio rent kept increasing, so Urban Artists Studio space expanded outdoors, with the local pub acting as collaborators of sorts.

The first RoadsignUSA pictured the mayors of the four municipalities. Crowded next to the parking lot was the federal train tracks on the west, a tall cell phone tower and electrical guy wires on the south. It was just another public utility pole, more and less, bounding three of the wealthiest communities in the state of Texas and the nation's 4th largest city.

RoadsignUSA was a culture initiative. Many outdoor advertising billboards in Houston were simply abandoned after Hurricane Ike. ​Over a span of 8 years 9 different artists participated in the project.  Signage was donated to June Woest & Urban Artists by Larry Kelley Real Estate. 

RoadsignUSA.mobi

Friends, neighbors, and our drive by audience could find out about the current exhibition on their cell phones at this no longer working address: RoadsignUSA.mobi.
​

RoadsignUSA Location
4200 Block Bellaire Boulevard
Houston, TX 77025