For Immediate Release
Project Row Houses Highlights Revitalization and Preservation Efforts of Third Ward’s Emancipation Economic Development Council in Round 47
Opening + Free Market Square | Saturday, October 14, 2017 4-7pm
Viewing Period | October 14, 2017 – February 11, 2018
Houston, TX – September 27, 2017 – Project Row Houses (PRH) is proud to present its 47th Round of installations, collectively titled The Act of Doing: Preserving, Revitalizing and Protecting Third Ward, in the Art Houses of Holman Street. The Emancipation Economic Development Council (EEDC) was formed in the face of uncertainty. Threatened by gentrification and the loss of their history and culture, a coalition of churches, nonprofits, community development corporations, business owners, artists, and residents joined forces to inspire hope and contribute to the revitalization and preservation of the Third Ward.
“PRH spearheaded the formation of the EEDC because we sensed that the redevelopment of our community was at a tipping point,” said Eureka Gilkey, Executive Director of Project Row Houses. “It has been incredible to witness the collective and creative efforts of our residents and community leaders, all working to build an inclusive revitalized community and preserve its historic legacy.”
The Act of Doing amplifies the questions posed by the EEDC – questions of place, displacement, ownership, and creative community organizing – while documenting its formation and early impact on the community through a timeline installation and an interactive space capturing the stories ignored in the gentrification process. While these houses are dedicated to the EEDC’s journey, several installations will house a poetic exchange between local artists and the vision of the Council.
“The art houses are a beautiful way for us to elevate the conversation around the work happening at a level localized specifically to the Third Ward,” said Curator and Programs Director Ryan N. Dennis. “This Round highlights the exchange between artists, the EEDC, and the community as a marriage of poetics and fundamentals, utilized as a means of engagement.”
Participating artists include Right to Stay/ Right to Say (Zeinab Bakhiet, Olutomi Subulade, and Melanie Meleekah Villegas); Brian Ellison; Danielle Fanfair, Harrison Guy, Marlon Hall, and Anthony Suber; Nikita Hodge; Sofia Mekonnen; Marc Newsome; and Collaboration Timeline House, designed by Adelle Main.
PRH hopes that this Round will be seen as an opportunity to raise awareness of community-led revitalization efforts in communities like Third Ward, what it means to truly engage a community in these efforts, and how their history and culture can be preserved in an evolving city like Houston. “The EEDC is determined to prove that the people and institutions that have historically defined a place can be leveraged as assets to build a thriving community,” stated Assata Richards, Vice Chair of the EEDC and Director of Sankofa Research Institute.
Please join PRH and the EEDC on Saturday, October 14, 2017 from 4-7pm as we open the installations of Round 47 to the public. In conjunction with the opening of the Round, Free Market Square will organize a family friendly market with vendors and performers from the Third Ward and communities across Houston.
Full Release (PDF)
About 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. The mission of Project Row Houses is to be the catalyst for transforming community through the celebration of art and African-American history and culture. Learn more at ProjectRowHouses.org
About Emancipation Economic Development Council
Emancipation Economic Development Council is an organized, informed and engaged collaborative of faith-based organizations, nonprofits, community development corporations, businesses, local government entities and other stakeholders with a mission to inspire hope and contribute to the revitalization and preservation of the historic Third Ward. For more information, visit emancipationhouston.org.
Programming at Project Row Houses is generously supported by The Brown Foundation; Bruner Foundation Inc.; Chevron; Communities Foundation of Texas; James V. Derrick, Jr.; John R. Eckels, Jr. Foundation; Fareed and Paula Zakaria Foundation; First Unitarian Universalist Church; Houston Endowment Inc.; Joan Hohlt & Roger Wich Foundation; Hasty Johnson; The Kinder Foundation; The Kresge Foundation; The Lewis Family Foundation; Marc Melcher; John P. McGovern Foundation; the Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation; Sara and Bill Morgan; National Endowment for the Arts; Nightingale Code Foundation; Betty Pecore and Howard Hilliard; Picnic; The Simmons Foundation Inc.; Luisa Strode Sarafim; South Texas Charitable Foundation; Southern Methodist University; Surdna Foundation; Texas Commission on the Arts; Susan Vaughan Foundation; and a grant from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.
