Auliya Flory’s “Evolve,” will be our contribution for Houston’s #FreeArtFriday. See more on her website http://auliyafloryphotography.weebly.com. Check out our Instagram @PaperCityMag for details about the drop.

Lover’s Oak in Brunswick, Georgia, is a majestic tree under which couples historically meet and profess their devotion to each other. Within the trunks of this tree, Larissa Berg (@usnxkk) tucked her “Outward Energy” for Brunswick’s Free Art Friday.

Midge (@thisismidge), an artist from the UK, exhibits her work internationally; through her ghostly, mythical creatures, she evokes an expression of longing for the viewer. She hid these paintings in Cork, Ireland, for #FreeArtFridayIreland.

In the shadows of downtown lies one of Coolidge’s signature creature spray paintings. Here, Alex Barber (@visibleinlight) placed a photo he took of a mural by Daniel Aguilu for a passerby to take. Check out more of his photographs at http://www.visibleinlight.com.

Jesus A. Castaneda (@exoskeletal27) is presenting his first solo exhibition, Extracted Manifestations, at the Division 9 Gallery in Riverside, California. His work is often composed of paintings or statues that depict teeth, evoking the human condition.

This charming hot air balloon in Paris was created by enigmatic talent Beautiful Existence (@beautifulexistence), an American who helped contribute to the global presence of the Free Art Friday movement.

Keith Roberts (@kbob82), a talent from Santa Rosa, created this mini sculpture from a slab of wood. The rings from the tree create a ripple-like effect suggesting a pool of water, a perfect marriage between nature and art.

Laura Burlton donated “Coming, Going, and Walking a Thin Line,” for the Houston Center of Photography to use for #HTXFreeArtFriday. The photograph was dropped off at the Byzantine Fresco Chapel of the Menil campus for people to find. To see more of her work, visit http://lauraburlton.com.

Social media is everywhere, and while it’s easy to get lost amid the plethora of pictures and messages, it is now simpler than ever to bring people together in new ways. Take #FreeArtFriday, for example, a weekly hashtag that promotes free artwork in cities around the globe. PaperCity searched through Instagram and selected some of our favorite pieces that have been used in this initiative.

Artists create a work of art, place it in a public area, and post a photo of the art on Instagram with a hint about the location, thus beginning a city-wide scavenger hunt. The description should contain the hashtag #FreeArtFriday, along with the city’s local Free Art Friday Hashtag (In Houston’s case, it’s #HTXFreeArtFriday). The art can be in any form: sculptures, paintings, or photographs. Individuals then race to find the piece of art before anyone else does, then comment back on the Instagram post announcing they found it.

#FreeArtFriday lets people collect art for free – a more accessible option for those who want to own art without the often hefty price tag. By putting their art on the streets as a gift for passersby to take, artists engage with the community and create new fans. The movement has become so substantial that it’s starting to create a dominant presence in places like Paris and Ireland.

A local Houston participant is Jessi Bowman, the exhibitions and website coordinator for the Houston Center for Photography (HCP). Recently, Bowman hid two photographs donated by center instructors Laura Burlton and Teresa Munisteri. She then posted hints to the locations on HCP’s Instagram.

Bowman said she wanted people to “take notice of all the amazing artists that [they] have showing at HCP, as well as those living and working in the field.” One of Houston Center for Photography’s goals is to find different ways to encourage collaboration between artists and the community, and participating in the scavenger hunt helps “boost the confidence of those who are just getting started as artists, as well as those who have been creating for years,” says Bowman. “It is always a nice feeling to be wanted and to be a part of something bigger than you.”

PaperCity will hide one of our photographer’s exclusive pieces, featured in this article, around Houston tomorrow (Friday, September 18). Keep checking our Instagram for updates on where we put it, and good luck!