Where are the cows now?

Nathan Mason with the bronze Cow

Location: The entrance to the Chicago Cultural Center

[78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602]

[Intersection of Washington and Michigan Ave].

For more, click here..

It would be fun to find out where the cows from Cows on Parade are these days??? Please help with names, artists, location and whatever information you can get... I have photographed a few and seen a few more..

Cows on Parade: Debuted  in Chicago in 1999...

and became one of the largest and one of the most successful [and controversial] Public Art event. It featured about 300 life-size cows, hand-painted by local artists, in public spaces, throughout the city of Chicago. I can only imagine the amount of work involved in organizing such an event.

Curator was Nathan Mason [Curator of Special Projects for the Department of Cultural Affairs].

W. la Vaca 1999 #2, by Virginio Ferrari

Location: Atrium lobby of  Illinois Medical Society Bldg

[20 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60602]

Location: 310 W. Dickens Avenue, Chicago 60614.





Few more cows were discovered by my good friend Lynn Becker, click here..

These are:

-  "Nine Spotted Lady Bug Cow" by Brian Calvin

Location: Hotel Talbott, Delaware near Rush.

-  "piCowso", by Todd Treleven, Jeff McMahon and Scott Wallace..

Location: Was originally outside SOM's One Mag Mile on Oak Street. Now, it's retired to the offices of its donor, HavasChicago.

For Lynn Becker's wonderful post, 13 years later, Cows on Parade still hanging on.. click here..

MORE information on "Cows on Parade" can be found in these websites..

The Chicago Traveler website informs   click here



The idea was the brainchild of Swiss artistic direct Walter Knapp who was influenced by a similar exhibition of lions on display around the city of Zurich in 1986. The Cows on Parade idea was presented in Switzerland during the summer of 1998 and became a hit.

After making its American debut in Chicago, the Cow Parade cows quickly spread to more than 50 countries around the world. The idea is a simple one; have local artists, architects, photographers and designers, and celebrities paint, decorate, and dress up fiberglass cow statues, and then exhibit them around the city for several months. The art exhibit is a great way for cities to attract tourism dollars and showcase their local attractions. But there is more to the Cow Parade event than just accruing revenue. After the exhibition is over, the Cow Parade cows are auctioned off, and the money is donated to many different charities. During its 12 year run, it is estimated that Cows on Parade has raised more than $20 million for charitable organizations around the world.

According to the website CowParade.com   click here..

CowParade is the largest and most successful public art event in the world. CowParade events have been staged in over 75 cities worldwide since Chicago in 1999. Our host cities include New York City (2000) – Houston (2001) – London (2002) – Tokyo (2003, 2006 and 2009) – Dublin (2003) – Prague (2004) – Sao Paulo (2005 and 2010) -Mexico City (2005) -Buenos Aires (2006) -Boston (2006) – Denver (2006) – Moscow (2006) – Paris (2006) -Cape Town (2006) -Milan (2007) – Istanbul (2007) – Madrid (2009) – Taipei (2009) – Lima (2009). Xiamen, China (2010) – Rome (2010) -Margaret River, Australia (2010) – Rio de Janeiro (2011) – Austin (2011)

Another website Art Parade informs..   click here..

Cows on Parade, inspired exhibitions on similar themes..

There were Pigs in Cincinnati. Guitars in Cleveland and Nashville. Fish in Baltimore. Mermaids in Norfolk. Donkeys and Elephants in Washington, DC. Hearts in San Francisco. Buffalo in Buffalo, New York and Oklahoma City. Snoopys in St. Paul. Seagulls in Salt Lake City. Rescue Dogs in New York City. Lions in Sacramento. Painted Ponies in Santa Fe... and the parades continued.