Remembering Sylvester Turner, The Arts Champion — Houston’s Hometown Mayor Knew a Great City Needs To Be Creative

Editor’s note: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who passed away at age 70, was laid to rest this weekend after a lifetime of love for and service to his hometown. The City of Houston Mayor’s Ambassador to the Arts Lester Marks reflects on his own history with the mayor who also elevated Houston’s art scene to new heights.  

The Honorable Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was, and is, my all-time art idol.

I came into Sylvester’s orbit through two different influences. One was Cindy Clifford, who has one of the sharpest political minds in Texas. The other was through my board service on the Community Artists Collective, the 501C3 brainchild of Michelle and Barry Barnes (the latter also being Sylvester’s lifelong law partner). The Community Artists Collective has been reaching out to Houston’s underserved populations through the arts for decades, bringing hope and skills to so many tens of thousands of in-need Houstonians.

Sylvester was not the type who hyped the arts just because it was the “right” political move — no, he deeply understood that the arts could serve as a catalyst to help raise up our community to higher levels of joy, excitement and enlightenment. Most of all, he passionately believed that visual and performing arts, as well as public installations, could help make Houston the type of city that attracted both new residents and the all-important community of tourists.

Sylvester felt the arts with both his soul and his mind. He helped oversee the eight-year-long expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, culminating in the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building. That expansion elevated the MFAH to one of the top five largest museums in the United States.

Sylvester was instrumental in insuring that, through the arts, Houston was a city for all. He was kind enough to take me under his wings, naming me the Ambassador to the Arts during his eight-year term. Together, we worked on Houston’s art ecosystems.

Sylvester Turner realized that a city rich in cultural diversity was the type of community its citizens could rally around. He wanted Houstonians to love this city not only as an energy capital, but also as a place of history. This was evident through his dedication to Project Row Houses, his commitment to Houston’s Freedmen’s Town Conservancy, and his work with Ryan Dennis (co-director and chief curator) at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

On a personal note, we had some of our best times at the Houston Arts Alliance annual holiday parties that my wife and I hosted. Yes, they were about having fun, but it was always in the context of elevating Houston’s individual artists and art organizations, bringing them into the fold that enveloped the rich artistic tapestry of Houston.

Sylvester, you were The advocate for the arts in Houston. I will miss you forever.

You can follow Lester Marks on Instagram @lestermarksartcollection.