San Antonio gets COWlorful: CHRISTUS Children's Foundation launches CowParade 2025 with an artist party at AnArte Gallery

CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation hosted a CowParade San Antonio 2025 kick-off celebration Friday, October 18 at AnArte Gallery to introduce the 40 artists selected to transform life-size cow sculptures that will be auctioned to benefit the foundation.

CowParade artists, local art patrons and CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation board members also were treated to the unveiling of the first completed cow, Good MOOd, a celestial, colorful cow created by the campaign’s lead artist, Allison Gregory.

“Good MOOd was inspired by my involvement with CowParade Austin in 2011,” says Gregory, “I met some of the children who benefited from that initiative and when I saw the smiles on their faces it reaffirmed how amazing CowParade is, and what an impact art can have on so many lives. My goal for CowParade San Antonio was to create a cow that was not only happy and colorful, but a work of art that would exude feelings of joy, hope, and peace.”

San Antonio artists were asked to submit designs in August for the campaign. Over the next two months, CowParade will deliver a life-size cow sculpture to each chosen artist’s studio. Artists will have eight weeks to complete their moo-sterpieces. From designs celebrating San Antonio’s culture, to out-of-the-box creations, the 2025 CowParade will have something for everyone to enjoy.

In spring 2025, the cows will be spread throughout San Antonio to “graze.” A scavenger hunt map will be released for the public to locate the different cows stationed at iconic San Antonio locations. In early summer 2025, the completed cows will be auctioned to support CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation.

“We were honored to meet and celebrate the CowParade 2025 artists,” said Theo Meyer, Director of Philanthropy at CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation, “Not only are they sharing their incredible talents with our city, but they are helping to support the crucial work we do at CHRISTUS. We look forward to seeing the artists turn their design concepts into larger-than-life bovine sculptures that will inspire and bring joy to our patients and the entire San Antonio community.”

CowParade is the largest and most successful public art event in the world, with over 100 major cities worldwide participating in the creation of over 5,000 cow sculptures since 1999. The campaign first came to San Antonio in 2003 and has officially returned to produce, exhibit and auction painted cow sculptures that will benefit CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation.

Interested artists are encouraged to apply for a chance to paint the remaining cows. The application is still active at https://christuschildrensfoundation.org/cowparade/.