10 Socially Engaged Art Practitioners to Know: 2. Project Row Houses

Project Row Houses

Project Row Houses (PRH) is a community-based arts and culture non-profit organization in Houston’s northern Third Ward, one of the city’s oldest African American neighborhoods. Founded in 1993 as a result of the vision of local African-American artists wanting a positive creative presence in their own community, PRH shifts the view of art from traditional studio practice to a more conceptual base of transforming the social environment.

Central to the vision of PRH is the social role of art as seen in neighborhood revitalization, historic preservation, community service, and youth education. The programs of PRH are built around Five Pillars inspired by the work of internationally renowned artist John Biggers and his principles concerning the components of row house communities:

• Art and Creativity
• Education
• Social Safety Nets
• Architecture
• Sustainability

Since its founding, PRH has sought to engage artists in a process that connects them directly with residents, neighborhood institutions, and the environment of a low-income neighborhood. The result is artistic production informed by authentic experiences interacting with community residents creating work about these encounters and situates the conversation in a local-national context, related to contemporary art practice.

(Source: projectrowhouses.org)

Photo courtesy Project Row Houses

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