Five Points Museum honors founder with ‘Ann’s Gift’ Art Car Exhibition
Published 1:00 pm Sunday, May 31, 2026
Ten years ago, a vision rolled into Victoria on four wheels and transformed the local cultural landscape forever. This month, Five Points Museum of Contemporary Art celebrated its milestone tenth anniversary with “Ann’s Gift” – a dazzling art car exhibition that serves as a direct love letter to the museum’s late founder, visionary arts patron Ann Harithas.
“When we started the art car parade, she capped it at 100 cars,” said Magdalena Segura Kuykendall, Manager and Marketing Director of Five Points Museum “But then she said that if anybody wants to join from Victoria, you can’t tell them no because this is her town, and this is her gift.”
Harithas, a force of nature in the Texas art world, possessed a deep passion for art cars and a fierce conviction that world-class contemporary art should never be locked behind a paywall. Her mission was radical yet simple: ensure everyone, regardless of background, has a chance to experience boundary-pushing creativity for free.
In doing so, she built Five Points into a highly addictive space where the works of renowned national figures and exceptional regional artists collide.
“This was her crown jewel,” Kuykendall said. “She loved art cars and said the epitome of an art car was a low rider because everything was from the inside out. She loved showing the low riders.”
“Ann’s Gift” brings that legacy full circle. The exhibition transforms the museum into a high-octane celebration of automotive artistry, featuring intricately sculpted, brilliantly painted, and wildly imaginative art cars that perfectly mirror Harithas’ vibrant spirit. It is an immersive reminder of how she turned a passion for car culture into a gateway for contemporary art appreciation in South Texas.
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“We’ll leave the answer of whether or not we are meeting [Ann’s] mission up to others,” said Maurice Roberts, Chief Curator of Five Points Museum in their Art Car Exhibition brochure. “We are so grateful to Ann Harithas and her family for the gift that Ann gave us all, and we are grateful to our visitors who consistently ‘get it’ and keep visiting and helping us spread the word.”
For a decade, Five Points has challenged, inspired, and welcomed the Victoria community without ever asking for a dime at the door. As visitors walk among the gleaming, eccentric vehicles of “Ann’s Gift,” the overarching feeling is one of profound gratitude.
“She was so down to earth and was just a fabulous old soul,” Kuykendall said. “You cannot come in here and not be touched by what she built, because it’s just special and you’re not going to see it anywhere else.”
Ann Harithas didn’t just open a museum, she gifted Victoria a living, breathing sanctuary of imagination. Ten years later, her engine of accessibility and creative joy is still running at full speed.
