Photos by Samantha Jane Beatty
Styling by Todd Ramos
Model Jerry Raines for Neal Hamil Agency
Grooming by Briana Dai
Photography assistance by John Lewis
Styling assistance by Tyler Treadwell
Shot on location at The Barn at Four Pines Ranch in Crosby
Jose and Carolina Quiros
Some of the party's most popular costumes included Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce; various iterations of Barbie; and beautified vampires and witches galore. Chaired by April and Wells McGee, the evening included silent and live auctions, plus a raffle and a "Pick Your Poison" spirit pull. A bidding war broke out in competition for a wine-tastic trip to Sonoma, and a teenage beneficiary of Ronald McDonald House's services presented the night's final prize up for grabs — an adorable puppy!
After the auctions and program, emceed by Lisa Malosky and featuring remarks by organization CEO Cristina Vetrano, party band Hybrid 7 had everyone out on the dance floor, boogying the night away. The total till topped $820,000 — talk about a treat!
Wayne Chapman, Sherry Fuller
Betsy and Elliott Hirshfeld, Matt and Melinda Mogas
Cari and Steve Greenley
Wade Upton and Flo McGee
Cristina Vetrano, Wells and April McGee, Dan Connally
Vicsandra Jones and Melissa Juneau
Diane and John Tully
Seth and Emma Elsenbrook, Kate Archer, Evan Elsenbrook
John and Diane Riley, Lizabeth and Tom Riley
Kaely Suarez with puppy
Ryan and Iryns Herbst
Patty and Greg Glasscock
Michael and Angela White
Ken and Mady Kades
Kristen Cannon, Faith Majors
Mel Chin's 'Actual Size' billboard
The United States already has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and Texas is home to the largest prison population in the country, with Houston’s Harris County jail holding approximately 8,000 people on any given day — the majority of whom are legally innocent, unable to pay the cost of bail, and stuck inside awaiting trial. Activists and lawmakers both red and blue have expressed alarm about the abuse of human rights inside of prisons, as well as the inordinate amount of state and federal spending required to keep prisons staffed as the number of people incarcerated post-pandemic increases.
Trenton Doyle Hancock's billboard
Billboard by McKenna Gessner
On Nov. 4, the non-profit arts organization Art At A Time Like This will launch 8x5 Houston, a public art endeavor designed to bring attention to prison reform by displaying commissioned artworks by 10 artists on billboards and mobile billboard trucks throughout the city. (Eight feet by five feet is the size of the average prison cell.) The participating Houston-based artists include Mel Chin, McKenna Gessner, Trenton Doyle Hancock, and Chandrika Metivier. Faylita Hicks, Monti Hill, Kill Joy, Jared Owens, Jenny Polak, and El Rebo also contributed to the project.
To provide an outlet for community dialogue about prison reform, 8x5 Houston will hold a panel discussion at the Houston Museum of African American Culture on Nov. 4 at 2pm, moderated by HMAAC’s chief curator Christopher Blay. The speakers include Faylita Hicks; Houston artist Ronald Lewellyn Jones; Harris County Project Attorney at the Texas Center for Justice and Equity Jay Jenkins; and Houston-born actor and activist Kendrick Sampson, who starred in the HBO series Insecure and collaborated with JusticeLA to create a public service announcement about the health of inmates in Los Angeles County jails during the Covid-19 pandemic.
8x5 Houston will be on view on a billboard near you through Nov. 30.