We are pleased to join our many partners (listed below) in hosting Rick Lowe, the internationally acclaimed Houston-based artist who in 1993 founded Project Row Houses (http://projectrowhouses.org) for two upcoming public events in Saskatoon:
(1) Join us at the Roxy Theatre (320 20 Street W) on Wednesday September 7 at 7:00 PM for a talk by internationally acclaimed artist and community organizer, Rick Lowe, titled Exploring Social and Community Engaged Art. Free Admission.
Project Row Houses is a community-based arts and culture non-profit in one of Houston’s oldest African American neighbourhoods. Rick Lowe’s unconventional approach to community revitalization transformed this long-neglected neighbourhood into a visionary public art project centred on the art and culture of African Americans. It is a project that continues to evolve, more than two decades since its inception. Project Row Houses approach to community revitalization includes youth arts education programs, exhibition spaces and studio residencies for artists, residential mentoring for young mothers, an organic gardening program, among other things. It is also a development incubator for historically appropriate low-income housing design on the land surrounding the original row houses. Key to the Project Row Houses approach is continuous collaboration with area residents, artists, churches, architects, and urban planners. Rick Lowe’s vision is one that seeks to animate the assets of a place using the creativity of its people. In 2014 Rick Lowe was awarded the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Among his many honours, fellowships, and residencies, he has been at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Harvard Graduate School of Design, University of California Berkeley, and the Nasher Sculpture Centre.
(2) Join Rick Lowe again at the Friendship Inn (619 20 Street W) on Friday September 9 between 6:00-9:00 PM for a public conversation about Changing Saskatoon Neighbourhoods. Free Admission. Tea and bannock will be served.
Neighbourhood development or gentrification? Rejuvenation or white-washing? What’s going on in Riversdale, Pleasant Hill, and nearby neighbourhoods? How do current residents imagine the future of their communities? Come hear Project Row Houses founder Rick Lowe and local artists, affordable housing advocates, activists, and neighbourhood residents discuss the role of art and creativity in education, social safety nets, housing, and culture. Join the conversation with your ideas and questions!
Rick Lowe’s engagements are sponsored by: AKA artist-run; Canada Council for the Arts; City of Saskatoon’s Public Art Advisory Committee; Great Places; Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy; PAVED Arts; TRIBE; U of S Office of Community Engagement and Outreach; U of S Interdisciplinary Centre for Culture and Creativity.
For more information about these events, contact jen.budney@shaw.ca or ryan.walker@usask.ca.
