Aldine High School Students to Participate in Creation of Art Car

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The student-created art car will be showcased at the 2025 and 2026 Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Parade, presented by Team Gillman.

A car can represent a lot to different people. It can become a part of your identity and be a way to express yourself. A vehicle can also be a canvas for even further expression, from the cultural identity—and gravity-defying hydraulics—of Chicano low-rider car scenes in the East Los Angeles or New Mexico areas to wild and wacky and, in some cases, sculptural masterpieces on wheels at the annual Orange Show’s Houston Art Car Parade.

Not every high school student has the cash to purchase a car solely to use it to create something uniquely visionary and inventive. Luckily for a few students at Aldine High School, they will get the opportunity of a lifetime to do just that: be utterly creative.

Visual Arts Director Kaileigh Newman poses with the truck donated by Team Gillman for the Art Cars in Schools Program.

Aldine ISD is one of the school districts selected to participate in the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art‘s (OSCVA) Team Gillman Art Cars in the Schools Program. It will be a joint venture between the district’s Visual Arts and Career and Technical Education departments. The departments selected Aldine High School’s welding teachers Chad Reese and Kenneth Burrell and visual arts teacher Chinedu Onochie to sponsor and lead the initiative with their students.

“This program has the potential to inspire our students by bridging their current learning experiences with future career opportunities in both the visual arts and career and technical careers,” said Kaileigh Newman, visual arts director. “Beyond that, it will be an innovative vehicle for hands-on, cross-curricular learning.”

On December 7, Newman attended the program kickoff event, where Chris Gillman of Team Gillman donated nine vehicles — one to each participating school. The team at Aldine High School will be working on a truck for their project.

The two-year initiative is a creative and collaborative program for high school students interested in art, design, fabrication, and construction. Under the instruction of award-winning artist Rebecca Bass, students will build an art car to be featured in the 2025 and 2026 Houston Art Car Parade.

Over several months, students will learn design fundamentals, automotive basics, mixed-media techniques, prototyping, collaborative creativity, project management, hands-on fabrication, and a public showcase.

“I am excited about all the art car support we will have through the OSCVA’s Program Coordinator Rebecca Bass and the other art educators participating, and a big shoutout to Chris Gillman’s generosity,” added Newman. “The goal is to create an art design of radical creative expression that represents student ownership through their ideas down to the creation of the car design. I can’t wait to see how far the students’ imagination can go!”

AISD will determine the fate of the donated vehicle after the two-year agreement with the OSCVA and Team Gillman expires.

Contact Newman via email at [email protected] if you have any questions about the program at Aldine High School.