Project Row Houses
El Proyecto de Hileras de Hogares
Project Row Houses
El Proyecto de Hileras de Hogares
Project Row Houses [PRH] occupies a significant footprint in Houston’s Historic Third Ward, one of the city’s oldest African-American neighborhoods. PRH is a unique experiment activating the intersections between art, enrichment and preservation to "empower people and enrich communities through engagement, art, and direct action." The site encompasses five city blocks and houses 39 structures that serve as home base to a variety of community-enriching initiatives, art programs, and neighborhood development activities. Project Row Houses began to work with the surrounding community in 1993 when seven visionary African-American artists—James Bettison Bert Long, Jr., Jesse Lott, Rick Lowe, Floyd Newsum, Bert Samples, and George Smith—recognized real potential in a block and a half of derelict shotgun houses at the corner of Holman and Live Oak. Engaging with a community of creative thinkers and the neighbors around them, Project Row Houses quickly began to shift the understanding of art from traditional studio practice to a more conceptual base of transforming the social environment.
