Since the early 2000s, there has been a resurgence of the arts serving as an economic driver for cities to establish themselves as cultural centers, create tourist destinations, and revitalize neighborhoods. Moreover, conversations surrounding urban neighborhoods and social justice have expanded to include art and wellness. Therefore, it is an opportune time to reexamine the importance of arts-related real estate and community development in African American communities that have historically been under-resourced, particular how artists of color might lead that charge.

In a new working paper, I draw on archival research, interviews, and site visits to review the history and accomplishments of Project Row Houses (PRH) an initiative co-founded in 1993 by Rick Lowe and six other artists in Houston, Texas. (PRH is one of three initiatives I examine in my doctoral dissertation, which was supported in part by the Center’s Meyer Dissertation Fellowship.)

Located in Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood, which has long been a stronghold of the city’s African American community, PRH began in 1993 with the purchase of 22 shotgun rowhouses on one-and-a-half blocks. With support from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Menil Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and countless others, PRH renovated those homes and turned them into exhibition spaces and other community uses. Today, more than 30 years later, PRH owns 39 structures spread across five city blocks and offers a host of services to artists and community members.

While many of the neighborhood’s residents still struggle with housing affordability and while development pressures are increasing, PRH’s significance cannot be overstated. It is a vital anchor in, and landmark for, the Third Ward. Through its Young Mothers Residential Program, a PRH Community Development Corporation, and a preservation arm, PRH has provided stable housing for some of Houston’s most vulnerable residents. Through its Emancipation Economic Development Council, PRH has partnered with other community organizations to try and ensure that growth and gentrification in the Third Ward doesn’t displace the area’s longtime residents and destroy its culture. Indeed, in response to concerns that racial and socioeconomic changes in the Third Ward would obliterate the Third Ward’s central role for residents and visitors who are Black, PRH has been a leader in efforts to celebrate and preserve the area’s history and culture. And it has done so in ways that use the arts to reinforce social cohesion and community. For these and other reasons (including the fact that Lowe, who received a MacArthur genius fellowship in 2014, has become a well-known and successful artist) PRH has become a leading example of artist-led community development efforts in historically African American neighborhoods. In fact, in 2020 The New York Times said PRH was one of the 25 most influential works of American protest art since World War II.

At the same time, it is essential to note the challenges of sustaining an arts-led community organization like PRH. Ultimately, these efforts must be financially feasible. Moreover, even if their leaders can clearly communicate their goals and challenges (which can be difficult), they cannot please everyone in the community.  Nevertheless, PRH and similar entities have provided far-reaching benefits that not only include affordable housing and needed services but also improved social cohesion and cultural preservation.

And PRH continues to build on this work. In early 2023, after several years of work, it finished a multi-year restoration of the Eldorado Ballroom, an historic venue that had welcomed generations of Third Ward residents for various performances, special occasions, and events. At that time, Jesse Lott (affectionately known as Brother Jesse), one of PRH’s founders, was asked what he advice he would offer to his successors at PRH.  Lott, who died a few months later, responded: “Keep up the good work. And keep expanding.”

Photo: Jasmine Zelaya Art House, Fall 2020, courtesy of Project Row Houses