Project Row Houses: Interview with Rick Lowe

Project Row Houses: An Urban Art and Community Initiative

Introduction to Project Row Houses

Cultural centers are often built in downtown areas, driven by the belief that arts stimulate economic growth.
However, these initiatives rarely prioritize the needs of the urban underclass.
Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas, is an exception, focusing on public art, education, community service, neighborhood revitalization, and historic preservation in the Third Ward.
It involves twenty-two buildings renovated by artists, administrators, and community activists, led by Rick Lowe.

Rick Lowe's Artistic Background and Inspiration

Rick Lowe created art centered on the image of the house, incorporating themes from African American experience.
He drew inspiration from John Biggers, whose work often depicted row houses in African American life.
In 1992, Lowe envisioned a project using derelict row houses to revitalize a poor African American community.
Lowe's initial reaction was aesthetic, reminiscent of Biggers' work, but intertwined with social and political concerns.
Within a year, the houses were purchased and renovation began, supported by volunteers, cultural institutions, and corporate sponsors.

Physical Structure and Purpose

Project Row Houses spans two city blocks: one with fifteen houses, the other with seven.
The first block includes eight houses for artists' projects, an open house/office, and a business office.
Behind these are two neighborhood galleries, a facility for after-school programs, a storage facility, and a wood shop.
The second block has six rent-free houses for single mothers.
Row houses, also known as "shotgun" houses, are a vernacular American architectural form with possible African origins.
Their design allows a bullet to be shot through the house without hitting a wall.
Associated with poor communities, row houses have a positive history in African American culture.
Front porches fostered community interaction.

Art Exhibitions and Community Engagement

Eight houses are dedicated to art exhibitions, similar to project rooms in contemporary art centers.
Installations generally focus on African American experience, with predominantly black artists.
The audience is diverse due to the "House Challenge," where Houston cultural institutions "adopted" and restored a house.
Participants included the Contemporary Arts Museum, DiverseWorks Artspace, the Menil Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Trinity United Methodist Church.
Each group raised funds and mobilized volunteers for repairs, fostering collaboration between the Third Ward community and museum supporters.

Addressing Social Problems

Project Row Houses aims to address economic and cultural redevelopment in a poor neighborhood.
The Third Ward faces poverty, infrastructure issues, poor health, unemployment, and limited education.
Statistics: 90.8% African-American population, 51% teenage mothers, 51% children below poverty level, 23% of youth aged 16–19 not in school.
These issues are often intractable for planners and rarely addressed by art-as-urban-development projects.
Rick Lowe has initiated similar projects in Watts, Los Angeles, and Birmingham, Alabama, drawing from Joseph Beuys’s concept of “social sculpture.”
He engages in long-term dialogue with residents to avoid imposing unwanted projects.
The goal is to use art to enrich lives outside of power establishments.

Interview with Rick Lowe: Early Artistic Development

Rick Lowe was trained as a landscape painter at Columbus College in Georgia.
He shifted from a community of black athletes to the art department, studying with Jamie Howard, whose work focused on the Holocaust.
Lowe's early landscapes felt disconnected from his life.
He began addressing relevant issues and seeking accessible forms for his community.
In 1983, he created a drive-through exhibit in Mississippi to reach a different audience.
After moving to Houston, he worked with political action groups like Amnesty International.
His pieces involved cutouts and paintings on plywood, addressing domestic violence, police brutality, hunger, and poverty.

Focusing on the African American Community

Around 1988, Lowe focused his efforts on the poor, African American community for greater effectiveness.
In 1986 and 1987, he exhibited in alternative spaces in Houston while working with advocacy groups.
His first museum show was in 1988 at the Texas Triennial at the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, featuring an installation about a lynching.
This experience led him to consider community-based work over galleries and museums.

Disillusionment with the Gallery Scene

Lowe felt disconnected from the predominantly white, middle-class audience at his museum show.
He perceived the gallery scene as a superficial "shopping mall for ideas," lacking sincerity.
He stopped making objects for two years to engage more deeply with the African American community through reading and volunteer work.
He supported himself through carpentry and painting.

Engagement with the Third Ward Community

Lowe volunteered at the S.H.A.P.E. Community Center and joined the Ida Delaney Justice Committee in Houston’s Third Ward.
He proposed an installation addressing police brutality to the committee, which they supported but didn’t initiate.
The installation, using his established cutout style, was well-received and led to press coverage.
The Houston Post's art critic supported his efforts to stretch the boundaries of fine art.
The Houston Chronicle's critic accused him of crossing the line between art and propaganda, reinforcing his commitment to the community.

Community-Based Art and Organizing

Lowe created a visual platform at the Convention Center for community groups to speak, involving groups related to the Persian Gulf War and the Houston Area Women’s Center.
The project was successful but led to many requests for commissioned work, which he avoided to maintain his independence.
He founded the Union of Independent Artists to engage politically active artists in issues affecting the black community but found limited overlap of concerns.

The Idea of Houses

He was invited to create a piece for Snug Harbor Cultural Center's outdoor sculpture exhibition.
He built a small "house of justice," which focused on African Americans' fight for justice through the church and educational institutions.
He considered making houses for others to use.
He discussed with other African American artists the possibility of each creating an installation in a house.
While curating an exhibit, one artist also wanted to build a house for their work.

Inspiration from John Biggers

Lowe attended Texas Southern University, where John Biggers founded the art department, and observed the strong presence of Biggers' work.
Biggers highlighted a lack of appreciation for African American culture and heritage.
Lowe saw how Biggers portrayed the strength and emotional commitment to family in his art.
Crucially, Lowe recognized the shotgun house in Biggers’s work as both a compositional foundation and a foundation for the people portrayed.

The Genesis of Project Row Houses

Lowe decided to find a historically significant area within the community and revitalize it.
He was drawn to the site of Project Row Houses, seeing them as similar to a John Biggers painting.
He envisioned the houses as they were in the past, with activity and life, and what they could become in the future.
The site was perfect for artists to work in the community.
The decision was partly aesthetic, appreciating the site as a "found object."

Initial Vision and Securing Support

Initially, Lowe considered a one-time guerrilla art show in the abandoned houses before committing to a long-term community project.
He independently researched the properties, sought the owner, and planned a mechanism for the project to grow.
He sought support from artists and arts organizations, including DiverseWorks Art Space, where he was a board member.
DiverseWorks allowed him to apply to the NEA for a grant without disclosing the extensive renovation needs of 280,000-$300,000.
Burt Kubli at the NEA's Art in Public Places Program supported the proposal.
Lowe then approached city officials about saving the properties and revitalizing the neighborhood.
Michael Peranteau at DiverseWorks and the Firestone Graham Foundation provided initial funding.

Purchasing the Houses

In December 1992, Lowe contacted the Taiwanese owner of the abandoned properties, who was considering demolition due to city pressure.
The owner initially offered a five-year lease but hesitated due to a lien on the properties.
The owner suggested Lowe seek community development funds to buy the houses.
City officials expressed initial reservations but became interested, outlining complex financial options.
Lowe obtained a lease-purchase agreement in August 1993.

Community Organizing and Initial Renovation

With the agreement and initial funding, Lowe organized the community and enlisted help from African American artists.
They began cleaning and clearing the site.
Contractors advised against the project due to the extensive work required.
Lowe and Dean Ruck, a studio mate, began renovating one of the houses, approaching it as a sculpture, using resourcefulness to overcome challenges.
The cleaning and clearing lasted from September to January.
By March 1994, they completed the first house and began on the second.

Demonstrating Progress and Securing Further Funding

They held a reception for volunteers to showcase the renovated house with electricity and plumbing.
This generated hope and proved the project was feasible.
After an open house for potential funders, the Brown Foundation provided a 10,000 grant.
Amoco Oil Corporation partnered with Project Row Houses through their "Corporate Olympics" summer program.
Deborah Grotfeldt began working with Project Row Houses full time.

Amoco's Involvement

Amoco executives, including Cory Webster, were enthusiastic about the project's potential impact.
Amoco agreed to renovate the exterior of twelve houses.
They planned to bring 400 people to replace sill beams and rebuild porches in one day, which Lowe knew was unrealistic.
Amoco formed smaller groups to prepare the foundations and build the porches in advance.

Museum Partnerships and Community Engagement

Paul Winkler, Director of the Menil Collection, offered to fund the renovation of a house for 3,000 and challenged other museums to do the same.
The Museum of Fine Arts, the Contemporary Art Museum, and DiverseWorks joined the effort.
Trinity United Methodist Church, The Links, the Coleman/Whitfield family, and Betty Pecore also adopted houses.
This mobilized a large volunteer effort, bringing diverse people together in the Third Ward.

Conceptualizing the Houses' Use

Lowe and his artist friends discussed how the houses could be used.
They decided to allow artists to pursue their creative impulses freely.
Lowe saw the work as stretching the boundaries of art, relating it to artists like Hans Haacke and Leon Golub.
Community involvement increased after six months, with local residents helping out.

Challenges and Community Perceptions

State Representative Garnet Coleman initially perceived the project negatively, seeing it as a "wine and cheese place for middle-class white folks."
This feedback highlighted the need to address community perceptions.
Church groups began to participate, fulfilling their commitment to community service.
Karen Jennings from Trinity United Methodist Church became heavily involved, encouraging others to participate.

Artistic Themes and Projects

Artists are encouraged to address issues of African American experience.
The approach is not always literal; for example, Paul Kittleson and Carter Ernst (both white) created a project based on the meaning of the house to its former residents.
The essence of their work related to the lives of people who may have lived in row houses.

Structure of Project Row Houses

The site has two blocks: one with fifteen houses, the other with seven.
The first block includes eight houses for artist projects, a partial office/lounge, and an office.
The rear of the block contains a neighborhood gallery, a schoolhouse for after-school programs, a gallery for young students, storage, and a wood shop.
The second block contains seven houses renovated for a residency program for single mothers.

Housing for Single Mothers

The idea to create housing for single mothers came from Debbie Grotfeldt, with input from Texas Southern University.
US Homes Corporation and Masco Home Furnishings partnered to renovate and furnish the houses.
Five interior designers, selected with Woman’s Day magazine, designed the interiors.

Criteria for Selecting Residents

Residents are single mothers, ages eighteen to twenty-five, pursuing educational goals.
They sign a one-year renewable contract and live rent-free.
Progress is assessed annually, and the contract is renewed or terminated.

Life Skills and Program Structure

The program also teaches life skills, driven by Deborah Grotfeldt's research.
Dr. Nelda Lewis coordinates the program, drawing on her experience working with black parents.
The program initially had strict rules, including no overnight guests and a curfew.
Rules have been relaxed over time to accommodate individual circumstances.
There are concerns about avoiding divisive welfare rules that might discourage supportive relationships.

Future Developments and Challenges

A new house is being built, potentially for the Young Mothers Program.
Maintaining the connection between the art and residential components is a challenge.
Finding people to address social issues reasonably is also difficult.

Conflicting Values and Choices

Conflicting values arise, such as differing views on Planned Parenthood and abortion among supporters.
Some residents make poor choices, highlighting the complexities of the program.
Despite these challenges, the program is active and always in transition.

Rick Lowe's Future Role

Rick Lowe believes his creative involvement in Project Row Houses is largely complete.
He envisions becoming a volunteer in the community.
He was inspired by Mel Chin's idea that artists should create a form or forum and then step away.

Impact on Lowe's Art

Project Row Houses has fundamentally shifted Lowe's view of art.
He no longer feels the need to rely on making objects to utilize his creative energy.
He now views "social sculpture," inspired by Joseph Beuys, as a legitimate art form.

Relationship with Traditional Art Forms

Lowe maintains respect for object-making as a powerful form, despite abandoning it for himself.
He emphasizes that choosing this route does not mean he is divorced from the history of art.
He cites a Japanese artist's response to the bombing of Hiroshima as an example of powerful traditional work.
His feelings about “museum” art remain, but he does not rule out its potential return in the future.