An artist draws a street painting in Houston, Texas, the United States, on Nov. 19, 2017. More than 200 artists worldwide took part in this year's Houston Via Colori, one of the largest and most well-known art festivals in the city. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei)
HOUSTON, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 artists worldwide took part in this year's Houston Via Colori, one of the largest and most well-known art festivals in the city in the U.S. state of Texas.
In its 12th year, Via Colori boasts an attendance of 30,000 people, three stages of live music, a delightful array of local food and beverage vendors, and award-winning street painters from all over the world.
Chinese artist Wu Yingde participated in the festival for the first time. Inspired by the touching moments when people helping each other during the disaster caused by Hurricane Harvey, Wu made a piece on the topic.
"During Hurricane Harvey, I could feel the power of people helping each other. I was deeply moved," Wu told Xinhua.
Used to work in a private studio, Wu said the atmosphere of street painting is really nice. "Here you can see the whole process of making a piece of art and you can better communicate and exchanges views with other artists," he said.
Art teacher Kevin Richert, who has been attending the event for eight years, said "It's a wonderful get-together for the community. Because if you notice the crowd, it just get bigger and bigger."
"Some are expected to be entertained, but also be amazed. We as artists get to expose to all the different things, simple film stars to philosophy," he said.
Young artist Brenda Melgar said she went through a contest to participate in the event for the first time as a high school student several years ago.
"It's great for the youth. But not only is that great because it's benefiting the Center for Hearing and Speech, which is one of the biggest, and probably the only center in Houston that helps out kids with hearing impairment to live a life without using sign language. So it's really for a great cause," she told Xinhua.
Produced by the Center for Hearing and Speech, the activity aims to fund critical health and educational services for local children with mild to profound hearing loss. Since its inception, the festival has raised 3 million U.S. dollars for the cause.
