VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Discovery Green and The National Multiple Sclerosis Society: Lone Star present MS ART BIKE 2011, on view March 15 – April 17, 2011, 6 a.m. – 11 p.m. Daily, at Discovery Green 1500 McKinney St. on the Bill and Andrea White Promenade at the intersection of McKinney and Crawford.

In conjunction with MS Awareness Week, The National Multiple Sclerosis Society: Lone Star will unveil ART BIKE 2011. This month-long art installation of 15 colorful, uniquely-designed bicycles, will kick-off on March 15 at Discovery Green. In partnership with National MS Society: Lone Star, Houston’s leading artists will bring awareness to the incurable, progressive disease of MS through their transformation of used bikes.

“With these one-of-a-kind ART BIKES, we hope to remind people that an individual’s life can move forward once you’ve been diagnosed,” said Mark Neagli, Regional Executive Vice President, National MS Society.

A star-studded roster comprised of 15 local artists stepped up to redesign and transform donated used bikes to delight spectators of all ages. Participating talent hail from: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Glassell School; Orange Show’s Art Car Parade; CowParade Houston and professional local artists.

A variety of themes will be represented throughout the installation. “Joy Ride” by Julie Brook Alexander was created to symbolize a beacon of positive energy for all who are diagnosed with MS. “Color By Wheels” by Kermit Eisenhut hopes to bring about healing through art to individuals living with MS. “We’re All Together” by Maricel Blum depicts the action, energy and the beauty of life explaining how we are all parts of a bike who work together for one unified cause, to find a cure for MS. “Break Away” by Lorena Morales was inspired by the idea of breaking away from all negative attachments and “moving forward”. On a lighter note, Workshop Houston Chopper Shop’s “B.C. Cruiser” was inspired by a Flintstone themed foot powered go-cart.

15 local artists, including:

Donna Glick Lewis
Glenda Araiza
GONZO247
Jim Brown
Julie Brook Alexander
Kermit Eisenhut
Lorena Morales
Lorenzo Chuca
Maricel Blum
Mark “ScrapDaddy” Bradford
Noah Edmundson
Rose Sprott Swain
Suzanne E. Sellers
Rosalinda R. Toro
Workshop Houston

Click here to download artist descriptions of the works to take with you when you visit Discovery Green!

ART BIKE 2011 will be on display from Tuesday March 15 through Sunday April 17 at Discovery Green in the Bill and Andrea White Promenade between the Alkek Building and The Lake House Waterside Café. The installation is free to the public and will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The initiative was created to raise awareness for MS and the National MS Society.

Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. There is no cure, and MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide.

For more information on Art Bike 2011, contact www.jointhemovementlonestar.org  or 1-800-344-4867.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. The Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, collaborating with MS organizations around the world, and providing programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. In 2009 alone, through its national office and 50-state network, the Society devoted over $132 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives.

To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested nearly $36 million to support 375 research projects around the world. The National MS Society: Lone Star serves more than 20,000 Texas families affected by MS with offices in Amarillo, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, Midland and San Antonio. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. Join the movement at jointhemovementLoneStar.org.

Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn about your options by talking to your health care professional and contacting the National MS Society at nationalMSsociety.org or 1-800-344-4867.

About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and over 2.1 million worldwide.

Pictured above:  Nic by Mark Scrap Daddy Bradford.